Anti-heroes

I think what I enjoyed about the Cosby show the most is that they showed the parents actually disciplining the kids and not hugging it out all the time. It did always irritate me though when you'd see castmembers discussing the show while it was on and always referring to "Mr. Cosby." I mean, I can't remember the last time I referred to a co-worker or boss as "Mr." Maybe my first job in high school when the owner walked in.

 

He got out on a technicality. Overturning the conviction may have been a valid ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, but it doesn't change the fact that he was convicted.

 

Current criminal conviction.

 

Yeah, I never much liked Cosby from the get-go. I thought the "Cosby Kids" were screamingly unfunny, particularly Fat Albert.

Them in the 80's he assumed the role of the Republicans' Favorite Negro, the middle-aged finger-shaking scold who could be reliably be counted on to lecture ghetto punks to quit acting so ghetto at graduation ceremonies and other photo ops.

When he turned out to be a creepy perv as well, my reaction was a hearty "meh."

Happily I can say I have never in my life watched a full episode of The Cosby Show.

 

Remains the gold standard for TV parent ass chewings. Claire Huxtable’s tour de force.

 

For several years I was a big Bill Maher fan; so much so that I used to take out of town guests to his show tapings (3 of them). But his heel turn caused me to delete him from my DVR queue.

I also haven’t watched a single hole of PGA Tour golf since the sudden merger with the bonesaw tour. For years I could sock away a Saturday or Sunday afternoon watching round after round and yet this summer I haven’t missed it at all.

 

Eddie Murphy's SNL return was a riotous joy, in no small part because of this in the opening minutes of his monologue:

"My kids are actually pretty much my whole life now. But if you had told me 30 years ago that I would be this boring stay-at-home, you know, house Dad and Bill Cosby would be in jail, even I would have took that bet. 'Whooo is America's Dad now?" (Cosby grinning eyeroll)

 

Let's get this party REALLY started. The mental gymnastics used to defend the following person has made my jaw drop.

Kobe Fucking Bryant.

The sanitization of him was disgusting while he lived and has only become worse in the wake of his death.

 

A horrible human being who exploited the #GirlDad thing to sanitize his rep as a rapist.

 

But he was the Ultimate Competitor (TM), BYH.

I've been mystified why colleagues, who would normally be all over someone who all but admitted to rape (he said in his own post-court statement that he recognized the woman did not deem the hook-up as consensual), not only jump to his defense, but also, call out those who point out this very important part of his life. The justifications are just high-on bullshit.

O.J. Simpson is rightly pilloried for the way he's lived his life and we seem to find a way to parse his excellent playing career with his deplorable choices away from football. Like Bryant, Deshaun Watson has never been criminally convicted of sexual assault, but he is rightly shit on in the court of public opinion. Why is Kobe worthy of the free pass?

But "The Mamba!" is about the size of the defenses of him. It's fucking bullshit.

 

My knee-jerk reaction is to defend Kobe because of the Philadelphia connection. And, in his case, our connection is a little deeper than just growing up in the same general area.

At the time of his death, I fully recognized his sordid history, but at the same time didn’t think it should be the lede of his obituary.

I stand by that.

He was among the 10 or 15 greatest to ever play basketball, first and foremost.

 

O.J. Simpson was the best running back of his era. When he retired, he was comfortably on the Mount Rushmore of all-time running backs, if he's not still there.

He was also not criminally convicted of his most high-profile alleged crime.

Guess what is first and foremost in his legacy?

But The Mamba! ... Christ.

And, sorta to your point, the endless justifications for what he was accused (and admitted) make him, by dictionary definition, the ultimate anti-hero.