AFTER making a splash last May with a controversial speech about the problems facing many African-Americans, Bill Cosby's moral authority and credibility are now tarnished by allegations of sexual misconduct -- one from thirty years ago. Even if proven true, which I hope they are not, the accusations should not undermine Cosby's cause. Rather, they are a sad reminder that in our society, those who don't like a message will not think twice about shooting the messenger.
Some time after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, public figures' sex lives became fair game for character assassination plots. Although the press never bothered JFK about his now well-documented sexual exploits, we have since seen both the left and the right try to bring down each other's leaders with charges of sexual misconduct, whether true or not. As a Republican, I will be the first to admit that the investigation into Bill Clinton's sex life was politically motivated.
On the other hand, I also suspect that the recent allegations of sexual harassment against conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly (which his accuser dropped in a settlement disclaiming all wrongdoing by O'Reilly) were a partisan hatchet job. And let's not forget the sexual misconduct charges against conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, which he called a "high-tech lynching." Of course, racists in the FBI also tried to tarnish Martin Luther King, Jr. by alleging he was unfaithful to his wife.
Last year, liberal cartoonist Aaron McGruder even tried to impugn now Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's sex life, or lack thereof, in his "Boondocks" comic strip. If the tack against male public figures is to libel their libido, McGruder must have figured (stupidly) that the weapon against women is to condemn their chastity. Go figure.
As for Bill Cosby, this is not the first time he has faced such ugly allegations. A few years ago, a young woman was sentenced to more than two years in prison for trying to extort money from Cosby, claiming she was his illegitimate daughter. True enough, Cosby hadan affair with the woman's mother, but the claim that Cosby was the woman's deadbeat dad was discredited.
Even if Cosby's personal lapses are proven, he is still a great American who has done great work, and he should not be judged by a different standard than other prominent leaders with similar problems, such as Jesse Jackson and Bill Clinton. As the creator and star of the 1980s "Cosby Show," Bill Cosby dispelled prior media caricatures of African-Americans as frivolous and ignorant in shows like "Amos 'n Andy." Not only that, but he tried, unsuccessfully, to preempt the portrayals of violence and irresponsibility in "gangsta rap" and hip-hop that would follow. Instead, Cosby presented to the nation a wholesome picture of the ideal, stable, loving, two-parent African-American family.
Recently, Cosby has been attacked for his speeches urging African-Americans to take greater responsibility for the problems of poverty that disproportionately affect them. In last May's speech before the NAACP, Cosby criticized many African-Americans for using improper grammar and not looking after their children. Critics claimed Cosby was out of touch -- blaming African-Americans for the effects of systemic racism. Many believed Cosby was underscoring a split within the African-American community that would be exploited by whites (a claim that is unfortunately familiar here at the University). Some even called Cosby a puppet of white conservatives.
If Cosby is a puppet, his critics have an obligation to say specifically who is pulling the strings, and how. The truth is, since Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. King and Stokely Carmichael, African-Americans have been debating the issues that Cosby has underscored. Not only that, but one can find similarities between Cosby's message of personal responsibility and those advanced by such diverse figures as Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan. This is not a dialogue African-Americans should be ashamed of or shy away from. Moreover, "outsiders" who show a genuine, good-faith concern about this issue should not be cast off as "interlopers," or kicked out of discussions simply because they are not black.
Jesse Jackson stood with Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He asked his supporters to stand with him when he admitted he fathered an illegitimate daughter and paid $40,000 in hush money from his tax-exempt charity. If we continue to respect Jesse Jackson and Bill Clinton despite their personal lapses, we should stand with Bill Cosby, whether or not we like his message.
Eric Wang's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at ewang@cavalierdaily.com.
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