Bill Cosby Thoughts-December 30, 2015

I know no one really cares about my Bill Cosby thoughts (my children claim no one cares anything about what I think or write on this blog...I beg to differ), but I think that being within earshot of the helicopters circling overhead while he was being arraigned gives me a little bit of permission to speak my mind about some things.

I thought it was weird yesterday when I saw an ABC Channel 7 news van leaving the parking lot near the Acme....I said to my kids, "that is really weird...what is that doing here?  Something big must be happening."  We couldn't figure out what it was.   About an hour later, Lily was playing with her friend in the back yard, and she came in to complain that the helicopters overhead were so loud, they couldn't hear each other talking.  Also weird.  Then I walked through the room where CNN was on mute, and saw the district court less than 3/4 a mile down the street from us on the news, with throngs of reporters around a black SUV.   And then I realized, it was all about Bill Cosby.

Cosby's Cheltenham home is about 1/2 mile from our house.  It is really a beautiful house.  Anyway, I was only watching a little, when I saw his attorney walk out of the SUV.  The male attorney is a guy I used to work with at Cozen,  Brian McMonagle.  I have seen Brian McMonagle several times over the last 20 years since I left working full time as a lawyer after I had my first baby.  The point is, that it occurred to me that this attorney who worked at the same firm as me (he was a few years older than me, I think), is now on national news as a criminal defense attorney, and I am a stay at home mom of 5 kids. Interesting the different paths people can take.

My other thought is how much Bill Cosby has aged...either because his attorneys told him to look like an old man to try to get sympathy, or because he is now 78 years old, and getting old.  Either way, the strategy worked...he looks old. He was shuffling along, with a cane, looking befuddled, actually stumbled at one point, and being helped along by two attorneys each holding an arm.  I think a lot of people will feel sorry for him, actually.    For me, however, it made me mad, because I suspect it is part of a legal strategy to garner support, and he apparently wasn't all that befuddled and stumbling when he (allegedly) sexually assaulted all those women.

Which brings me to all those women.  I think there is certainly the threat of a few women jumping in claiming that they were victimized, when they weren't really victims, but in this case, there are over 40 women who claim Bill Cosby assaulted them over the course of the last 50 years.  I heard his attorney Monica Pressley saying on one of the news programs that these ladies aren't to be believed for numerous reasons, one of which is that many of these alleged victims never told anyone about their assault until recently.  Which I think is the nature of sexual assault victims, especially when the (alleged) perpetrator is a (once) powerful man.   So, I believe these women.  I think there is the chance some of them may be fabricating their stories, but overall, I believe these women.

Lastly, I think that Gloria Allred represents everything that people hate about lawyers.  I wish she would just shush her mouth.