Bill Cosby made a joke about his rape accusations during stand-up routine

boing
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Only a Marxist would say that Women control the Means of Reproduction.

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Your mother is so classless, she could be a Marxist utopia.

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Let me assure you, then, that I’m very close friends with someone who trained with him and spent many years with him both professionally and personally, so I have it on good authority that Mr. Rogers really was that wonderful. Really and truly. You do not have to worry about that bubble ever bursting. (Whew!)

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Please. Yo’ head-of-state is so bougie, they call her QE II.

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Unfortunately, once a man is accused of rape, there is zero chance that some would ever think he’s innocent.

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Don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for her.

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Let’s run that idea down, shall we?

If the allegations are false…

Incentive for dozens of women to lie: 15 minutes of “fame.” (Hey, what girl doesn’t grow up dreaming of getting famous for being a sexual assault victim?)

Disincentive for dozens of women to lie: Public humiliation, slut-shaming, and exposing themselves to huge defamation lawsuits by a rich, powerful and beloved public figure.

If the allegations are true…

Incentive for Cosby to lie: He doesn’t have to face legal or professional consequences for dozens of felony assaults.

Disincentive for Cosby to lie: Guilty conscience?

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Ahahahah. You’re kidding me, right? You have obviously have never been involved/close to/heard about an actual rape case. People most always blame the women for lying or either for deserving; because of their short skirt, or because they were drunk, or maybe they even dared to flirt with the guy. The assumption is typically that the guy is innocent, because hey, he’s such a sweet nice guy, he wouldn’t do something like that, right? No one wants to believe that their son/brorther/dad/friend/neighbour would rape someone, and yet they do, everyday.

I did only a few seconds of googling and found endless amounts of examples of this.

Here’s just one case of a whole town victim-blaming a rape victim:
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/06/10/2113781/another-town-shames-rape-victim/

Here’s some classis victim-blaming in mainstream media:
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03/18/1732701/media-steubenville/

This “slut” ended her own life after being gang raped and then the photo being distributed:
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/04/09/1840501/rehtaeh-parsons-rape-culture/

You still want to talk about how men are supposedly always assumed guilty? Because they’re not. Not even half the ttime. Just look at most message boards and comment sections on the internet right now about this Bill Cosby case, or any other rape case - you’ll always find lots of victim blaming. Because she must have deserved it.

Also, Brainspore, you’re amazing, thank you for voicing all the things I want to say but can’t articulate as well.

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Oh yeah, that’s totally been a problem for Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Mike Tyson, R. Kelly, Julian Assange… those guys just can’t catch a break in the court of public opinion, amiright?

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You can’t just assume someone is guilty solely on what someone says. What would it take for you to believe a man is actually innocent, if all it takes for them to be guilty is someone’s word?

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As has already been pointed out more than once upthread, we KNOW at least one person is guilty of a crime here. Either

A) Cosby is guilty of repeated sexual assault and lied about it for reasons that are obvious, or
B) Dozens of women are guilty of false accusations and lied for reasons that are still unclear.

By assuming Cosby is innocent, you are assuming guilt for dozens of others.

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You should go back and read through the thread. As several people have pointed out the reasons for thinking Cosby may be guilty go beyond “someone’s word”.

And keep in mind that your argument works both ways. You can’t just assume someone is innocent solely because they say they are.

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Guilt and Innocence are an arbitrarily dichotomous worldview imposed on us by an imperfect justice system.

I don’t need that worldview to know that Cosby squicks me; and I’d not trust him around any of my beloved.

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The onus is always on any accuser to prove guilt, never the other way round.

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If I was a jury member for Cosby’s rape trial, I’d assume (for legal reasons) that he was innocent of sexual assault until the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty.

If I was a jury member for any of these 30 women’s defamation trials, I’d assume they were telling the truth until the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that they were lying. (This is where you seem to be forgetting that the “onus to prove guilt” part works both ways.)

Since I am not a jury member on any trial I have no problem believing the word of these 30 accusers over the word of the single person they’ve accused, especially considering that he hasn’t even directly refuted most of their claims.

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People like to say this but without any understanding of what it means. Proving something is not some impossible standard, it depends on the balance of evidence, which right now is completely in one direction. And it applies to everyone; you don’t get to just assume evidence-free the 30 women are all probably lying for some specious fame.

It’s not like any exonerating evidence has been provided, just his word, and as marilove points out not even to the extent of a positive denial. He can count on fans to stand up for him, and the usual bigots who don’t think a woman’s words should have any weight.

So what would it take you to believe a man is guilty, and his accusers innocent of lying, if thirty women reporting the details of their assaults despite being publicly derided for opposing a celebrity isn’t enough? Because right now the only guesses I have are the man not being famous, not being a man, or the victims not being women.

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What would it take? Evidence other that one word against another. Otherwise there’s no way of knowing who is telling the truth. The accused doesn’t have to prove their innocence. It’s up to the accuser to prove their accusations, and despite what some believe, their word isn’t enough.

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It’s. Not. JUST. ONE.

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In a court of law. This isn’t a court. This is a discussion. If all you have to say is that Cosby’s accusers are all liars then you’re not offering anything substantive. All you’re doing is ignoring points that others have made.

And you’re free to do that. Just as others are free to point out that what you’re saying is that the reputation of a man accused of rape suffers, although that’s frequently not the case. And I appreciate your desire to live in a world where only the genuinely guilty are accused, but your desire for such a world isn’t an argument for Cosby’s innocence or guilt.

Edit to add: You’re making an accusation, and yet you don’t seem to feel burdened to offer proof, or even a motive. All you’re offering is an accusation. If this were a court there would be a burden on you to offer some evidence for your claim that Cosby’s accusers are all liars.

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In any court of law, the testimony of 30 women plus all the other people who have been aware of Bill Cosby’s inappropriate behavior would be quite enough to ensure a conviction. A lot of the time, it is a “he-said-she-said” situation, but that doesn’t mean the accused should automatically get scot free (even though they sadly usually do).

Here’s some proof that people were always aware of this:
http://deadline.com/2014/11/bill-cosby-the-cosby-show-nbc-frank-scotti-1201293952/

This woman has witnesses for the crime she endured:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lawyer-two-witnesses-back-woman-758283

And here’s something you REALLY should read, though I doubt you will:
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120338/bill-cosby-rape-allegations-why-america-took-so-long-wake

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