Quote:
Originally Posted by Cotton Hill
Juries seem absolutely incapable of convicting a major celebrity for a serious crime. They either acquit them or give them a slap on the wrist somehow. People like to blame the money aspect and I guess that plays a part (they can hire the best lawyers) but I honestly think the celebrity is a bigger aspect. I tend to think the general public likely has this idea baked into their subconscious that celebrities are somehow special and deserving of extra benefit of the doubt. If you grew up admiring Bill Cosby as some sort of heroic father figure your entire life you are going to be horribly biased almost to the point of being in denial. Look at how many people to this day refuse to accept him as anything other than a hero who's being railroaded, etc.
IMO one of the telltale signs of stupidity is an inability to have nuanced opinions of other people. So in this case, dumb people think "Bill Cosby = legendary comedian = must be good person. So if I admit he's a rapist, that means he's a bad person and that just doesn't make sense."
I've also heard some people take the flip side of this, which is "Bill Cosby = rapist = bad person. So if I admit he was funny, that means he's a good person and that just doesn't make sense."
I don't remember who it was, but I was listening to a podcast where a female comedian was talking about Cosby and she said "well I'm glad I never thought he was funny!" As if thinking he was funny, especially many years before you knew about any of these allegations, would somehow contradict your view that he's a rapist?
Dumb people tend to not be able to wrap their heads around a person being capable of great talents or achievements while also having severe personality flaws. They have to make a black and white judgement about everyone or else their heads explode.