Ta-Nehisi Coates' Brilliant Essay on The Bill Cosby Debacle!

Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote an article in The Atlantic regarding Cosby 
and His Enablers that is by far in my humble opinion the best assessment of the excruciating downfall of this once iconic celebrity of color . In line with Mr. Coates' style; it was thought provoking and well developed.  He pulled no punches especially when he addressed those who defended Bill Cosby when the evidence was painfully clear that ALL these women weren't lying.  He exposed the misogyny of many men and women who've for many reasons refuse to believe that women can be raped without some collusion on their part. Over the years the onus on the latter required that she have overwhelming proof that it wasn't her fault, if indeed the event did occur.  We understand the history in this country regarding black men and the raping of white women.  However, this isn't the case for many of them.  Discernment is the key...here.

After reading the comments of the men featured in his article and other articles on the subject, one would understand why women refused to come forth in many of these cases.  Thirty or forty years ago, no one would have believed them.  In 2016, the dynamics of rape culture persists although, there are more exceptions and people exposing the daunting underbelly of this society and worldwide.  It's unfortunate that a male comic was far more convincing than many women  who knew of and at times attempted to expose Bill's duplicitous and hypocritical persona.

An excerpt from the article speaks to the "tribal' need for preserving the legacy of "our heroes" at the expense of the welfare and safety of those who've been most vulnerable and victimized:


 Only tribalism and power can explain the theory put forth by Cosby’s defenders—that some 40 women have joined together in a wide-ranging conspiracy to bring a powerful black man down. Why this plot would target an aging entertainer well past his prime and not, say, the first black president is left unasked. We, too, are capable of fictions because, as it turns out, oppression confers no wisdom and is rarely self-improving. There is no virtue in being kicked in the face. The virtue is all in what you do after.