Tel-Chai Nation

I found this Time article recently about one of the entries in disgraced "comedian" Bill Cosby's series of children's books called Little Bill, this one called "My Big Lie". I knew vaguely about this series if only because it was adapted into an animated TV cartoon in the early 2000s, and after Cosby's whole rape scandal made headlines, it's pretty clear it won't retain much of the value it may have once had. Here's a description:

To anyone familiar with the allegations surrounding Bill Cosby, the book is a gold mine of irony. “Hello, friend! I’m Little Bill,” it begins. “Sorry. I can’t play with you now. I have to stay in my room and think about what I did wrong.” In the book, Little Bill lies to his parents about why he was late for dinner: he says he got into a man’s van when really he was playing basketball. When his parents try to call the police, he admits his “big lie.”

It’s eerie, too, that Cosby’s book for children is not just about lying, but about making a false accusation, namely that some creepy man lured him into a van. It shows how much Cosby thinks that false allegations are not only possible, but routine — a fallacy that has been repeatedly debunked by experts. Yet Cosby has repeatedly accused his alleged victims of lying, and in November sued seven of them for defamation.

So Cosby was apparently making it look as though young children lie about situations that could involve child rapists? This is utterly head-shaking and sigh inducing. And it may not be the only irony in his past work for children. I did some research on his past products, and discovered an episode from Fat Albert titled "Spare the Rod", broadcast in 1979, that dealt with child abuse, and the girl who'd fallen victim to it here was being abused by her mother.

Back at the time it was originally produced, not many may have thought there was anything wrong with its viewpoint, since there are vile mothers who abuse their children just as much as vile fathers can. Yet when looked upon through the lens of the modern discoveries about Cosby's past misdeeds, one can rightly wonder if Cosby was trying to say that mothers are the real abusers, and not so much fathers. Which just goes to show how twisted his whole mindset is.

In any case, the series' impact has already been irreparably damaged, and it's already clear that it won't be widely viewed again in the forseeable future.

Labels: misogyny, Moonbattery, showbiz, United States