Whose silence has been deafening? Matt Williams writer of the early seasons of Cosby's show, story editor/show runner. He and the obvious handful of creatives who were decidedly on hand when the Cosby/Huxtable mythology was concocted, preserved, protected at all costs.
I agree with Namo. And why is this a particularly important myth to pierce? Because of the period in Cosby's life when it's exposed to the light and oxygen. A perverse ageism is at work in this toxic mix, since accusations against a beloved grandpa figure leave us with another layer of anxiety. To some, this is like a witch hunt against Mr. Rogers, so treasured is Cosby as a cultural arbiter and scold. To consider even the possibility of his guilt shakes us. We do not like to contemplate 77 year-olds as possessing or hampered by attributes of youth, i.e. sexuality run amok or the reckless abuse of power. We want to grant our white-bearded curmudgeons a strange grandfatherly immunity, because it serves our comfort zones, not theirs.
A woman in Chicago penned a pro-Cosby editorial, and appeared on CNN last night saying "the man is too old and tired to face this." Yet not to old and tired to secure TV series, sell-out auditoriums and receive standing O's just for walking and talking. Therein lies the creepy all-American ageism: when age cannot be used to block employment or the preservation of iconography, but is used readily as a shield against charges seemingly too unseemly for men past their prime. He gets to hide behind his age, because we're uncomfortable? No.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
Updated On: 11/23/14 at 08:41 PM