Do you remember this Facebook post? I scoured the internet for hours to look for it. I love it because it's such an interesting insight into the mind of the person sharing it.
Right-wingers were sharing this like crazy in 2008. Today, not so much.
As you can see, Bill Cosby is pretty much sick of the welfare queens and Muslims who call themselves "peaceful". The Conservative Right really took a liking to Mr. Cosby back then. He was speaking truth to power and "telling it like it is". Welp, as it turns out he didn't even say it.
It was actually penned by this guy, Robert A. Hall.
Read his blog, it's really uplifting and lighthearted.
So, why did we believe it? Well, Bill was the darling of the Far Right for a while because this is something he actually did say;
“People used to be ashamed. Today, a woman has eight children with eight different ‘husbands’ — or men or whatever you call them now.
We have millionaire football players who cannot read.
We have million-dollar basketball players who can’t write two paragraphs.
We, as black folks have to do a better job. Someone working at Wal- Mart with seven kids... you are hurting us.
We have to start holding each other to a higher standard.
We cannot blame the white people any longer.
”
Hardcore right-wingers LOVE black people who dislike other black people. Reaffirming prejudice keeps the Conservative dream alive. Now, whether or not Cosby's criticism of black culture is legitimate, I'd like to point out that at one point people cared enough about his opinions to falsely attribute the surly Thanksgiving Day rantings of your racist uncle to him.
There's not so much support for old Bill Cosby these days, neither from the Right or the Left. As it turns out, the moralistic Pudding Papa of the black community is one of the most prolific serial rapists of all time. For many years he has drugged women he wanted to sleep with, raped them and then intimidated them if they came forward. He seemed untouchable due to his power and his wealth. These women were powerless and afraid of what would happen if they ever went public, a fact which Cosby took advantage of. Bill Cosby is a detestable human being. Do you remember when he told Eddie Murphy to stop cursing so much in his routine?
By the time Cosby placed that call to Eddie Murphy, he had already raped at least two dozen women. He had no tolerance for harsh language by black comedians, though.
So, I say fuck Bill Cosby. Fuck his opinions and fuck his contributions to the comedy world.
I'll go on to say that I've grown suspicious of anyone who places themselves on a moral high ground. The more loudly you proclaim yourself to be a beacon of moral light, the more likely that you're hiding something dark in your closet. The examples are many:
Jim Baker, Praise the Lord (PTL) founder and creator of the Christian fundamentalist theme park, Heritage USA, paid hush money to a female church secretary to cover up their sexual affair. Prosecutors later convicted Baker of embezzling $158. million from his parishioners.
Jimmy Swaggart condemned Jim Baker for his affair before his own prostitution scandal came to light. Let the tears flow, Jimmy.
Senator Larry Craig of Idaho who voted feverishly against LGBT rights was arrested for soliciting an undercover police officer for gay sex in an airport bathroom.
Senator David Vitter of Louisiana voted against women's rights to choose and to defund planned parenthood. As it turns out, he was in full support of a woman's right to change his diaper and then pay them for sex. I'm all for letting your freak flag fly, but that dude is sick.
Newt Gingrich, John Edwards, Ted Haggard, Anthony Weiner, Josh Duggar, Bill Clinton. The list could go for days. You know what though? Their transgressions really don't matter to me. People are flawed, they make mistakes. What I hate is the utter hypocrisy of it all. Touting yourself as some moral lighthouse and even suppressing the rights of other based on moral grounds and being such an immoral individual at the same time. It's a sickening part of the human condition.
Show me a moralist and I'll show you a liar. Let's all make a decision to denounce all public moralists and people who are selling themselves on "family values". I don't believe any of them.
You know who I like? Fred Rogers.
Mr. Rogers was by every single account, a really decent human being. You won't find any disparaging or negative articles about him. No one ever had anything bad to say about Fred Rogers.
Even more important than though is the fact that he never had to proclaim his moral fortitude. He simply lived his life as a good person and let the good deeds add to his legacy. He knew that he was an example to kids everywhere and that he needed to live his life as a good example. He wasn't selling himself for political gain. He never announced himself to be greater than some other person or some other group of people. He was simply a good person who never had to toot his own horn.
There's nothing scandalous or salacious about Mr. Rogers. He's not exciting or controversial. That's why he's a good example. Quietly and without fanfare live your life in a moral and just way. Perhaps it's the people that lack moral fortitude that need to raise themselves up and put down others. They need to criticize and self-aggrandize to cover up the moral issues within themselves.
If someone is selling themselves as Jesus reincarnated, make sure they get put on a government watch list. Their browser history may shock you. I won't listen to any religious leader who isn't practical about the human nature of sin. If a priest or a preacher recognizes the human element of flawed and can they themselves own up to their flaws, then we can have a conversation. Don't try to sell me on your divine perfection.
We are complex creatures, us humans. We have the capacity to love and nurture. We also have the capacity to kill and torture. Any person who does not recognize the duality we all have within us should be approached with much suspicion. They are probably too stuck on one side of the equation. If someone is trying to sell you rainbows and bunnies, you can bet on the inside there are a slew of decapitated kittens.
So, let's all remember our Shakespeare when we hear someone put themselves up too highly or put someone else down too low,
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks”
Or, the straight business from Joe Rogan,