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Looks like the nails are being hammered into the coffin of Bill Cosby’s dead career. All the critters are abandoning his sinking ship and his house of cards is collapsing. Like all of these metaphors, the deserters are mixed, a cross section of former supporters who are now denouncing him, including staunch defender Whoopi Goldberg and a former male cast member of the Cosby show. Other unnamed sources are also starting to reveal that it was common knowledge among people he worked around that Cosby was a lecher. And this well-kept secret perhaps explains why all of the high profile black organization have been so quick to condemn and abandon him. Were they themselves familiar with Cosby’s behind the scenes piccadillos and for this reason had no problem believing the current accusations being leveled against him? It’s too bad that in the twilight of his long and successful show business tenure, Bill will live out his remaining days in disgrace. I am not that sympathetic toward him because so much of what has doomed him was brought on by the ego that let his fame and fortune go to his head - and I don’t mean the one on his shoulders… Here’s a guy who didn’t think the rules applied to him and his hypocritical credo seemed to have been don’t do as I do, but do as I say do. This is borne out by the harsh criticism aimed at the black underclass who he chided for embracing a welfare lifestyle and an Ebonics mentality. Yes, he did demonstrate a black consciousness about racial injustices and he has been very generous, using his millions to aid black colleges and prestigious institutions, but now one has to question his ulterior motives and whether these gestures and gifts were to enhance his image as a man worthy of the admiration he thinks he deserves. It is even coming out that he didn’t write his masters or doctorate thesis but hired 2 academics to complete the requirements that elevated him to the status of an intellectual scholar. tsk-tsk. Admittedly, I have never been a big fan of Cosby and, to me, his rambling anecdotal monologues were more corny than funny. One thing that struck me about him was how obvious a control freak he was. Whenever he appeared on talk shows, he would always take over the interview and turn it into a subject of his own choosing, while giving the host instruction on how to be his straight man. And to think that he reprimanded comics like Richard Pryor and later Eddie Murphy, pointing fingers at these upstarts for stooping to gutter humor and using profanity in their stand-up routines, apparently expecting them to emulate his clean, family-friendly approach to evoking laughter. To further implement this wholesome philosophy, he made the momentous decision to introduce the world to an affluent overachieving black family via The Cosby show. Early on, black critics of this long running sitcom, dismissed the Dr. Cliff Huxtable family as not being an accurate depiction of the average black household, and Cosby’s attempt to counter the idea that all Blacks were struggling working-class stiffs reeked with the implication that they had to be twice as accomplished as Whites in order to be on a par with them. Even so, this well-produced, ground-breaking show did serve to dispel negative misconceptions about black people. It also provided Cosby with the perfect cover for his sleazy hobby. Like all of his victims claimed when questioned as to why they didn’t come forward with their accusations: Who would believe anyone accusing the alter-ego of the respectable, consummate father figure, Cliff Huxtable, of being a rapist? In the final analysis, Bill Cosby made the mistake of becoming too big for his britches. And when he pulled them down in order to assault helpless females, he exposed his penis as being an erection to his sordid underbelly. Yes, he still has his millions, but is sadly paying the price for allowing power to corrupt him. Unfortunately, Cosby is not the first man to whom this has happened, and he won't be the last.