@CTScoutmom, Wait, what? They didn’t willingly accept drugs from him. The whole point of the story, the reason we find it so shocking, is that woman after woman after woman says he drugged her secretly without her consent. They say he gave them drinks that he secretly had drugged, or he offered them a “decongestant” that was actually a sedative.
ha, ha, a skin exposing, heavy drinking, drug taking woman is probably what few mothers want their sons to be attracted to but then again a skin exposing, heavy drinking, drug taking woman might be a very nice intelligent person. I’m always amused by sentences like that warning moms of males as if men only think about the exterior package but women are far more discerning individuals. I think we’ve moved past those stereotypes don’tcha think? Don’t stereotype woman! Don’t stereotype men!
Especially in states with “three strike” life imprisonment laws, where the third strike can be a crime much less serious (based on the normal penalty) than rape.
I do have a problem with the the US prison population numbers. I understand it’s falling, perhaps backlash against such things as mandatory sentences and three strikes rules. My guess is Cosby will be on house arrest pending the appeal and then still on house arrest for the years it takes to move it all along. At his age, I’m satisfied with that. The most important thing was the verdict. Justice can take many forms our lock 'em up mentality in the US isn’t always the best at serving society as a whole in my opinion. I guess I’m liberal in that regard.
Very compelling piece by critic Wesley Morris in the NY Times today. Of course honest people know that the victimization by Cosby are crimes and are wholly horrendous. And yet, there is still a ring of sadness about about discovering that this particular man was a predator and criminal. No one who is rational is blaming his victims.
If any of you remember the actress Marsha Warfield, she recently admitted she felt ashamed that she didn’t speak up earlier. She played Roz on Night Court. The article below summarized the story, and normally I wouldn’t post a link to the Inquisitr but we aren’t allowed to post Facebook links. Her Facebook post is very heartfelt.
I think the ‘sadness’ people feel over Cosby is that they could have been so taken in by a character he played and assumed the man was like the character. People feel they were duped, naive, gullible and no one likes being conned.
I caught this short segment in the car yesterday. Why Prosecutors in Bill Cosby’s Case Focused on Addressing Misconceptions About Rape, interview with Dr. Barbara Ziv, forensic psychiatrist. You can read the transcript at the link or listen to the audio.
IMO, this is an important piece of the #MeToo movement. Similar to raising awareness re: domestic violence (why would anyone stay, etc.), raising awareness about sexual assault victims is key.
Here is one snippet from the transcript:
ZIV: Well, first of all, most victims of sexual assault are assaulted by somebody they know - 85 percent. The person who is the assailant is known and very often trusted by the person who is the victim of the sexual assault. So because that is a really difficult thing to live with, it’s not uncommon for victims to have subsequent contact with the offender because they want to make sense of it. They want to find some plausible explanation that will allow them to keep their faith in themselves and maybe their faith in the person, to find some way to make sense of something that really doesn’t make sense.
Nothing will satisfy me more than to see women with legitimate complaints get a fair shake in the legal system but unfortunately we are going to have to wait until every little affront stops being classified as assault or harassment and the media stops their knee jerk reaction reporting. Assault and rape are criminal. Harassment has turned into a cesspool ranging from the seriously inconsequential to illegal. Every time the media even writes a sentence about the seriously inconsequential it harms true victims. I have nothing but admiration for Ms. Constand for her inner strength and perseverance plus she bagged a bunch of money to boot. It would be nice if one if Weinstein’s accusers has as clean a story and the fortitude to press charges but until someone does it is just a bunch of complaints sad to say just like so many others that have drifted out of the media and public’s consciences.
Now let’s go after all the well-connected predators who have gotten away with it so far. Cosby will pay the price. Let the other victims be avenged as well.
Yeah because back in the day, when women were expected to put up with all sorts of sexual harassment without a peep, the justice system was just SO GOOD at prosecuting rapists. Oh wait, it was terrible at prosecuting rapists.
@“Cardinal Fang” and @momofthreeboys - I really think it’s crucial to know how you define “every little affront.” My H and I were discussing this topic and we came to the conclusion that there is clear criminal behavior: drugging, rape, sexual assault, any sexual advance without consent etc.
Then there are consensual affairs that are dangerous and probably prohibited - anytime there is a power imbalance, boss/employee, etc.
Then it gets tricky. If a man in the office says “that’s a nice dress” it can mean many different things. I’m not going to raise a stink about a comment like that unless it is part of an unwanted pattern that persists.
If he says “that dress really complements your figure” - IMHO that is uncalled for and wrong. But I am not going to run to HR the first time a comment like that is made. I hope I would tell him that I’d much prefer to hear his comments on the memo I wrote or something business related etc and make it clear that comments on my physical appearance are improper.
The high profile men who have been accused of things have all done something wrong, but they are not identical. Matt Lauer sounds like a “player.” If he goes around cheating on his wife and having consensual affairs, I don’t think he should be prosecuted for anything! NBC might have policies that prohibit conduct like that and that is their prerogative. I also think it would be wrong if he coerced a younger/junior employee into an affair by implying he could get her better job etc. Those are sleazy moves, but not criminal.
Charlie Rose walking around with an open bathrobe in the company of a woman who is supposed to be working with him is different. If she is not engaging in a consensual affair with him, then he is harassing her.
Some states are alittle archaic but I know in Michigan they have broken it down into different classes, I think 4, which allows prosecutors to fine tune the charge to whatever actually happened. Pennsylvania I think has 2. So if someone claims to have been assaulted it will depend on that state. My guess is harassment is also going to vary from state to state. In Michigan it is defined as repeated or continuing unconsented contact for legal action.
Let’s be clear what Lauer was accused of. He wasn’t accused of cheating on his wife and having consensual affairs. He was accused of sending a sex toy to a colleague who had not evinced any interest in him, with a note commenting that he’d like to use it on her,; inviting a woman colleague into his office and whipping out his johnson; asking female colleagues who they had slept with; and constantly talking about sex with unwilling female colleagues. There is no doubt that the allegations, if true, constituted sexual harassment or worse.
The allegations might not be true, but they are serious if true.
I would expect all states to have various levels (in terms of seriousness, signaled by the penalties given) of illegal sexual misconduct based on the specific type of illegal act involved, although a given act may be defined differently (and penalized differently if illegal) in different states.
Cosby is guilty. It shouldn’t matter that he is old. He needs to pay for his crimes just like anyone else. He should go to prison, not spend the time in his nice comfortable house. That is no punishment.