How Many? How Long?
This might sound like the start of a bad joke: What do a theologian (John Howard Yoder) and a comedian (Bill Cosby) have in common? More than you might imagine—and I’m not laughing. Both were major figures in their fields. Both were widely regarded and respected, even adored by many. Both were powerful men with a sense of entitlement. With impunity, both sexually abused scores of young women who trusted them for years. Both were shielded by their peers and colleagues from any meaningful accountability.
This might sound like the start of a bad joke: What do a theologian (John Howard Yoder) and a comedian (Bill Cosby) have in common? More than you might imagine—and I’m not laughing.
Both were major figures in their fields. Both were widely regarded and respected, even adored by many. Both were powerful men with a sense of entitlement. With impunity, both sexually abused scores of young women who trusted them for years. Both were shielded by their peers and colleagues from any meaningful accountability.
John Howard Yoder was a prominent Mennonite twentieth century theologian. I studied him in seminary. His work on Christian pacifism and social justice is still taught in many seminaries today.
Finally this past week, at the Mennonite USA’s biennial convention, the church engaged in confession of its failure in responding to the complaints of victims and survivors over the years. It sounds like the denomination is finally coming to terms with what Yoder did and with its failure to respond.
I grew up listening to Bill Cosby’s stand-up routines; I watched his TV show change the nature of sitcoms and the dominant culture’s perception of African Americans. In the 1980s, he was known as “America’s Dad.”
We now know that Bill Cosby, comedian, actor, author, activist and philanthropist, testified in 2005 that he obtained drugs to give to young women in order to “have sex” with them, and actually did so on at least one occasion. (I hope it’s not necessary to point out that this is a description of rape, not sex). This case was settled out of court. Cosby’s attorneys tried to keep the court documents from being made public now arguing that they posed “real, specific threat of serious embarrassment.” No kidding. With the release of these court documents in the last week, suddenly the dozens of public disclosures by women who allege that Cosby drugged and raped them have become credible.
Yoder used the excuse of experimenting with a “new sexual ethic” in order to seduce women students and colleagues. Cosby used his celebrity status and then drugged the women he abused. They both used the power of their positions and charisma to take advantage of vulnerable women. Even after many women came forward, in each case there were people who defended them—refusing to believe the words of the victims. I wrote about Yoder a year ago when one of the first reports was finally published acknowledging his abuse and the institutional coverup which accompanied it. It took over 30 years for a public acknowledgement of his crimes. The same is true for Cosby. Apparently, based on the disclosures of victims, he has been drugging and raping women for decades.
Perhaps we should cease to be surprised at these disclosures of sexual abuse by prominent, charismatic men. Because as tired as it is to say, this is still all about power and control. We are not talking about men who “make a mistake” or use “poor judgment”; we all do that. We are talking about powerful men in leadership who intentionally use their power to exploit other people and are protected by those who surround them and know what they are doing.
I am reminded of a clergy abuse case that I worked on years ago. Five women had complained to the judicatory which dismissed the complaints, saying, “There are not enough women.” My response to them was: “How many do you need? What is the magic number –seven? ten? – to convince you that you have a problem here?”
So how many victim/survivors have to come forward? And how long do we wait before we believe them?
Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune
www.FaithTrustInstitute.org
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How Many? How Long?