I saw something amazing on my TV this afternoon. I saw Bill Cosby being led off to prison in handcuffs. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
My reaction was not joy or relief or sorrow or anger or any of those. It was pure, unfiltered amazement. We've all known for some time that it might happen. This morning when I awoke, it was a near certainty. But seeing it happen…I just stared at my TV and reran it a few times on my TiVo, reacting like I'd seen the Loch Ness Monster with Elvis riding on his back. I thought of the running gag in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons: "Now, there's something you don't see every day, Chauncey…"
Bill Cosby being led off to prison in handcuffs. He looked pretty amazed by it, too.
You have to wonder what was going through his mind…
- "But…but…I paid the best lawyers a fortune and they seemed so certain they would prevent this from ever happening…"
- "Don't these people know how much good I did, funding education and raising money for worthy causes?"
- "I'm Bill Cosby, damn it. They're not supposed to do this to Bill Cosby."
- "I got away with it for so long. Why did that one time lead to this?"
- "And I know so many people who did worse and nobody ever put them in handcuffs."
- "I had everything — money, fame, respect, power — but I threw it all away by being stupid and not controlling my worst impulses."
He could have been thinking anything, though I wouldn't bet money on that last one. There are a thousand other possibilities, too. I'd lean towards the ones that are the least in touch with reality…but who knows?
Logic tells me I should be pleased that The System worked and all his money and celebrity couldn't stop that. I should also be pleased that the women he violated received some justice. It may be too little and/or too late but some now is better than none ever. Other women may feel good that this may be indicative of a trend, reversing the shabby, insensitive way in which the victims of sexual abuse are ignored or treated like criminals.
I'm sure in a few days, I'll feel all that and more. Right now, I just feel amazed.