JENSEN: You Did This, Bill Cosby

Rape.

My favorite Bill Cosby comedy routine was a tie between “Go Carts” and “Chicken Heart” from his 1960’s album, “Wonderfulness.”

At least 15 rapes.

I have found friends and acquaintances throughout the years who shared a love for this man, whom we all saw as a father figure; a mentor with such humor, storytelling skill and public passion for the traditional family that he was for us an example of how we would like our dads to be.

Multiple drug and alcohol infused rapes.

As children, college students and adults, everyone knew when someone was imitating Cosby’s unique delivery of a story or joke, often leading to a chorus of Cosby mimicking.

Forcible, aggressive rape.

When Bill Cosby spoke about society’s ills, we listened. The whole country listened.

We’re no longer listening.

When one or two accusations of sexual abuse are made against a wealthy celebrity, there’s surely a history of false accusations against such people. When four, five, ten and then fifteen women come forward with detailed stories and many corroborators, it’s highly unlikely that the stories are phony, no matter how many times the celebrity and his publicist calls them untrue.

The only differences between Bill Cosby abusing women and the behavior of Bill Clinton is that the media is doggedly pursuing Bill Cosby.

The rest of us wouldn’t leave our daughters alone with either one of them.

Hearts have broken over the Cosby rape accusations. Too many of them are identical in that Cosby would give the woman (or girl) one drink and she would awaken while he was raping her or after he had already raped her. Too many have described his fantasy of the woman having wet hair. They all report being drugged.

We Americans do tend to forgive those we admire who have failed morally, don’t we? Martin Luther King and President John F. Kennedy come to mind. Yet, their many reported affairs were mutual, not drug-induced physical violence that caused women to despise themselves and fear the repercussions should they report the crime and tell the media.

I doubt there are many entertainers whom we so admire that we feel a personal loss when it is revealed that they beat their children or cheated on their spouses.

Perhaps the previous generation of Bing Crosby fans felt this way when they learned the “family man” beat his children bloody.

There are still some in denial about the Cosby accusations. The problem with denial is the actual number of accusers, others who corroborate their stories, the fact that women who made such accusations decades ago would lose their careers in those days as Cosby the power-broker could handily convince other powerful men in the entertainment industry to avoid hiring those actresses, and now there are third-party witnesses.

We had heard rumors of multiple girlfriends and shady weekends at the Playboy Mansion, yet Cosby’s image as a family man endured. Perhaps he had ended his womanizing in the 80’s. Maybe he had finally learned to be a great dad and was sharing this knowledge with us through his humor and oft-serious demeanor between punchlines.

That would be forgivable. We would know he meant well and was much better at expressing the importance of fatherhood than we.

Multiple rapes are not forgivable.

Was I a “fan?” I just know his work and how so many of us grew up admiring the Bill Cosby who loved his family and his children, sharing his world with us so we could see how one might guide and direct our own kids through dyslexia, puberty and life decisions.

Now his own children and grandchildren must suffer from the public knowledge that he was a vicious serial rapist, not a good family man.

His actions will forever overshadow a brilliant career and those of his children.

You may think it unfair and perhaps it is, but it is true that when any of the Cosby kids are introduced to a new business or personal acquaintance there will always be that flash of deafening silence and dreadful recognition.

The whole family will suffer for the rest of their lives.

You did this, Bill.

Rick Jensen is Delaware’s award-winning conservative talk show host on 1150AM WDEL and 93.7FM HD3, Streaming live on WDEL.com from 1pm — 4pm EST. Contact Rick at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @Jensen1150WDEL.