We don’t have to pick either Bill Cosby’s victims or black victims of police violence

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Abstract

of him were real and what parts were not. It’s a feeling of betrayal. I was raped when I was a senior in college, and sometimes it feels like it happened just yesterday. So while I mourn for the Bill Cosby from television, I have to rectify that with the Bill Cosby who drugged and raped numerous women — many whose names we will never know. And I cannot and will not relegate his trial and conviction to a sexist, racist travesty, as his lawyer called it.Bill Cosby is a serial rapist. He got what he deserved. And for anyone to compare this to the injustices we’ve endured when the murderers of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile and many other black men and women went unpunished, we do the victims of Bill Cosby an injustice when we say, “Bill Cosby was convicted when those killers are still free.”We’re telling those women their pain is less important than the pain the families of murder victims endure. In most cases, the pain of sexual assault survivors is immeasurable. Rape is just the beginning of the trauma. It’s the nightmares, the isolation, the

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shame, the anger, the feelings of helplessness. Sexual assault survivors may feel like they’re dying. Oftentimes, those feelings last a lifetime. Rape survivors relive their rapes over and over again. That takes a heavy mental and physical toll on both them and their family and friends.Why do we have to compare traumas? We can acknowledge the pain in both instances and offer our support and compassion to the families of murder victims and to rape survivors. We don’t have to pick a side but stand beside both parties. We can spread our humanity to include anyone who endured a traumatic event. Let’s not dismiss the pain of the women Bill Cosby raped. They deserve our compassion and understanding. They deserve our support. They deserve our respect whether they chose to come forward or not.I didn’t report my rapist. But I survived. I survived with scars, but I’m here to tell my story. And that takes strength and bravery. So I refuse to take away anything from these women. I choose to stand with them.I choose to believe them.</article></body>

We can support and fight for both.

Bill Cosby is now a convicted rapist. As a sexual assault survivor, I hope his victims get some measure of closer. As a black person who grew up watching The Cosby Show, I’m saddened. The Cosby Show was the only show of its time that portrayed a black nuclear family that was healthy and happy. And they looked like me. Now it’s hard to separate Cliff Huxtable from Bill Cosby. I can’t even watch that show without feeling ill.

For the black community, we lost a much-loved father figure. We had no idea he was anything other than who he portrayed to us, and now we’re left wondering what parts of him were real and what parts were not. It’s a feeling of betrayal. I was raped when I was a senior in college, and sometimes it feels like it happened just yesterday. So while I mourn for the Bill Cosby from television, I have to rectify that with the Bill Cosby who drugged and raped numerous women — many whose names we will never know. And I cannot and will not relegate his trial and conviction to a sexist, racist travesty, as his lawyer called it.

Bill Cosby is a serial rapist. He got what he deserved. And for anyone to compare this to the injustices we’ve endured when the murderers of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile and many other black men and women went unpunished, we do the victims of Bill Cosby an injustice when we say, “Bill Cosby was convicted when those killers are still free.”

We’re telling those women their pain is less important than the pain the families of murder victims endure. In most cases, the pain of sexual assault survivors is immeasurable. Rape is just the beginning of the trauma. It’s the nightmares, the isolation, the shame, the anger, the feelings of helplessness. Sexual assault survivors may feel like they’re dying. Oftentimes, those feelings last a lifetime. Rape survivors relive their rapes over and over again. That takes a heavy mental and physical toll on both them and their family and friends.

Why do we have to compare traumas? We can acknowledge the pain in both instances and offer our support and compassion to the families of murder victims and to rape survivors. We don’t have to pick a side but stand beside both parties. We can spread our humanity to include anyone who endured a traumatic event. Let’s not dismiss the pain of the women Bill Cosby raped. They deserve our compassion and understanding. They deserve our support. They deserve our respect whether they chose to come forward or not.

I didn’t report my rapist. But I survived. I survived with scars, but I’m here to tell my story. And that takes strength and bravery. So I refuse to take away anything from these women. I choose to stand with them.

I choose to believe them.