I don't want this topic to be a heated debate, so here are a few thoughts and you can take what you want and leave the rest:What if he is guilty? Among many other things there may be a feeling of relief. Some criminologists speculate that criminals often wittingly or otherwise leave clues which lead to their apprehension because they want to get caught...
If Cosby is innocent, if Cosby is a saint even the most shameful and untrue allegations can be an occasion of spiritual mortification and sanctification. If Cosby is a saint his heart of hearts may find freedom in being abandoned by fickle fame and adulation, he may draw closer to Christ despised, spat upon and crucified.
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/spir ... bill-cosby
On refusing to comment regarding the recent allegations, Bill Cosby is merely heeding good legal advice. Any decent attorney will tell you that anything you say can be used against you, especially if you are a public figure. Pleading the Fifth is not an admission of guilt and legally cannot be treated as such.
If you are ever arrested for a serious crime, the first thing you should do is ask to talk with an attorney before you say anything to police, especially if you believe you are innocent. I know that Law and Order may tell you otherwise, but former interrogators will tell you that it's their job to get a confession out of you, and they will use whatever comment you make, however innocent you may think it sounds, against you in a court of law.
http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-ri ... ation.html
In the media, I am seeing the same kind of lack of respect for due process regarding the allegations made against Bill Cosby that was earlier heaped against Michael Jackson.
Before Jackson had even seen his day in court, news reporters like Nancy Grace already acted as judge and jury on his guilt, ignoring the fact that the family who accused Jackson had already tried to extort money from a JC Penny store, and Jackson's prosecutor wanted to settle the score after failing to prosecute him in 1993:
http://www.today.com/id/4448227/ns/toda ... G7Edslxm1s
Based on the media's past track record, should we be so quick to conclude that Bill Cosby is a sexual predator too? Does Cosby deserve to have his career ruined before any actual evidence comes out against him?
http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/billcosby.asp
I in no way want Cosby's accusers to be called loose women, liars or gold diggers, because that will only discourage the real victims of non-celebrity rapists from speaking out in the future. As the father of two daughters, I particularly take allegations of rape seriously. However, Cosby still deserves to not be found guilty before all the facts come out. It shouldn't overnight ruin his career and reputation without proof.
A talented comedian and actor who erased color barriers, all while giving tens of millions of dollars to higher education and charitable causes deserves a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. It's kind of sad that people need to be reminded this. The fact that Cosby refuses to dignify these decades-old, unproven allegations with a comment does not automatically prove his guilt.
We shouldn't forget that, sixty years ago, a black man would have been lynched for even consensual sex with a white woman, let alone rape. Our country has come too far since then for the media to lynch an accomplished comedian and philanthropist before any evidence has even come forward.
In the 1960s, Bill Cosby was a civil rights activist, and more recently, he was critical of black communities for the high rate of absentee fathers, crime, and lack of concern for education. There are people who would love to see Cosby fall, either for being a successful black man or for asking the black community to improve itself.
Even when lynching as a common practice ended, that didn't stop black men from being falsely accused of raping white women just for having consensual sex. That's why I find it hard to believe that, in 1969, Cosby would have been alone in a hotel room with an intoxicated white woman.