Unjust Cos

I've been struggling with this one for a few days. Deciding to do it, then deciding not to, then deciding again. In that time, something occurred to me (well, several things, actually). I can't commit professional suicide with an amateur blog, I can't become a pariah in my own backyard if no one in my backyard is reading it, and blasphemy isn't real. The most important epiphany for me, however, is that sometimes those whom we once held as titans and heros, turn out to be regular, sometimes disappointing people.

That being said; this is an open letter to William H. Cosby, Jr. Ed.D.

Dr. Cosby,

I'll do you the courtesy of addressing you by the title you've been awarded, because I was taught to do so, but I would still love to read your dissertation (it seems oddly lacking from the Temple library) which, according to your recent note / essay 83 and Tired you've worked so diligently and laboriously to complete.

Sir, I grew up watching the Huxtables regularly, and took many lessons away from that show. Not the least being that someone who applies themselves can do anything he wishes successfully. I used to own "Bill Cosby: Himself" on Betamax. I watched it until the tape stretched, and still laughed dutifully, because as I grew older, jokes I didn't understand became relevant. I also had a copy of "To My Brother Russell, Who I Slept With." It was an LP, and you had my rapt attention, despite the glaring grammar error, and my OCD relevant to same. I watched "Leonard Part VI," and "Ghost Dad," applauding your range. I even watched "Mother, Jugs, and Speed" twice, and had the decency to not fall asleep either time.

Why is this relevant?

Well, Doctor, I want you to understand that I have admired you and your work for most of my life. I've often seen the things you post online and agreed with a majority of them. I must, however, take issue with the most recent one I read, "83, and Tired."

While I applaud your criticisms of Islam, I would expect you to be fair and justly point out that there is hypocrisy in all religions. I also welcome your usual rhetoric regarding thuggery and hooliganism in young people, and I myself take that criticism and apply it to people of all colors (since in fact, there are people of all colors guilty of same).

What I cannot abide, Dr. Cosby, is the assertion that tattoos or piercings make someone "unemployable" and therefore "lazy." I honestly didn't expect such myopia in you. I don't believe you're 83 and tired, sir. I believe you're cranky, and your views have become antiquated. I believe, Doctor, that you need a nap. You simply can't judge someone's work ethic on what they wear, regardless of how permanent. So sir, to be succinct, I do not agree, and I am not part of the problem. It is you, and those aged, stubborn fist-shakers like you (who, I admit, I am likely to one day become, since I'm well-practiced in the art of fist-shaking already) who are part of the problem.

With all due respect, and measurably less reverence, please step aside, sir. Retire, write a book, enjoy your remaining years, but please, get out of the way. There's progress to be made, and I don't think you're anymore qualified to lead it than you are to hold that doctorate.

Sincerely,

a tattooed, pierced, employed, former adjunct of Mathematics.