It appears that as Gloria Allred and her clients move forward with a civil suit against Bill Cosby, we all must be assaulted on all sides by propaganda.

The following clip appeared on The Huffington Post yesterday:

HuffPostBlackVoices

“The Cosby Show” and Bill Cosby are not one and the same. To pull a show that portrayed a positive image of a Black family because one of the actors was really only acting is ludicrous and not beneficial to the Black community.

If I were raising young kids today, I would explain the difference between fantasy and real life; but, I would encourage them to read and watch positive stories.

I hope the Black actress in this clip was paid well to gloss over the fact that Bill Cosby has not been convicted of a crime. I hope the Black actress in the clip was paid well for hinting that Bill Cosby has preyed on the Black community. She is a great actress, but she should have held up a sign that said “The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect my feelings.”

Of course, I should give this young woman in the Ad the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe she really thinks that Bill Cosby’s alleged misdeeds will harm us if we enjoy his art.  Perhaps she is young enough to hold this view.  However, I am older.  And the same way that I am able to read great books, view great art, appreciate The Constitution of The United States of America which was produced by people of questionable moral integrity; I am able to enjoy The Cosby Show, A Different World and Fat Albert.

To pull The Cosby Show because of the horrendous allegations against Bill Cosby amounts to denying me the right to choose to watch or not watch the show.  And, I do not need to defend my choice — that guarantee must be, or ought to be, spelled out in The Constitution somewhere.  In my humble opinion free choice as a concept is as important as the concept that “a man is innocent until proven guilty” in a court of law.