Writing for the Times of London, David Aaronovitch notes that, “Caravaggio was a predatory pederast.” He also tells us Carl Orff was a Nazi. Wagner was anti-Semitic. If we look too closely at many historical figures, we won’t like what we see.
At Gawker, Tom Scocca pointedly reminded us that Bill Cosby was accused of multiple counts of sexual assault less than a decade ago. As I read Scocca’s piece, I had no recollection of these accusations. I was somewhat mortified. Did I will myself to forget? How do I reconcile what “The Cosby Show” meant to me growing up with this painful reality that Cosby is an alleged criminal who has the audacity to offer correctives to the black community while expecting his audience to look the other way where accusations against him are concerned?
