by Simone E., Editor-in-Chief When I was younger, I watched The Cosby Show almost every day. Not only was it funny, but it showed me a reality for black families that was possible. I grew up with a nuclear family (a couple and a few children), but I realized at a young age that that wasn’t always considered “normal” for black families. It was also not normal for it to be shown on television. Not only that, but they were abnormally rich, for any family, with a dad who was a doctor and a mom who was a lawyer. Everybody on the show was attractive, which is not always seen for people of color, and they had problems that every family has on a daily basis. The show told me that I either wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer, and I only wanted to marry either one, and I wanted a family that was similar to what I’d watched so many times: black and successful.
I wanted to hang out with Ruby and date Theo, and I often compared my dad, who is not a doctor, although just as funny as the character, to Dr. Cosby. My mom was just as stern and beautiful and Mrs. Cosby, attorney at law, and even though my brothers and I don’t always get along, I compared the bond to that of the siblings on the show. Now, I realize that the show is separate from the real Mr. Cosby. I’m not even sure if he’s married, nor do I care. But when I first heard about Bill Cosby’s transgressions, and then I further heard that they would no longer air The Cosby Show, I felt betrayed. The TV network Bounce has decided to air the shows now, but at the time, when I found out that I would no longer be able to watch the show that I love so much, I couldn’t believe it. I felt, for some reason, that he was targeted—that someone had used his crimes to take down such a powerful show. I knew Stephen Collins, from 7th Heaven, confessed to sexually abusing young girls and they still played his show on television. So I was confused. It’s taken a while for my to fully come to terms with the fact that, not only are things not always what they seem, but that I shouldn’t put so much stake into a television show and the idiots who create them and still manage to commit crimes. Nothing excuses his crimes, or even the crimes of Stephen Collins, but there’s no point in being offended. I should just enjoy what I can, when I can, and hope it’ll get better eventually.
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December 2018
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