Readers React: Bill Cosby put forth a positive image for young black men. Now we know it was just an act

To the editor: Bill Cosby, one of my childhood heroes, was just sent to prison.

In my younger years, I used my hero’s comedy albums to edit a fictional talk show where I would be interviewing him using my own questions, and the answers would be excerpts from his comedy routines. Cosby played good role models on television and presented positive images that inspired me as a young black man.

As I matured, I realized that actors’ private lives don’t always reflect their characters on television. When Cosby admitted in the 1990s to having an extramarital affair, which he characterized as a “rendezvous,” I caught a glimpse of the personality beneath the veneer we all loved.

Fortunately, my dad modeled good fatherhood for me. Public figures like Cosby may entertain or even inspire us, but their public persona does not show us the fullness of who they are. The real heroes are the three-dimensional people in our lives.

Michael Hudson, Windsor Hills

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To the editor: While I’m glad to see the wheels of justice turning in on Cosby, I won’t feel vindication for the #MeToo movement until and unless it’s a white man going to prison for crimes of this nature.

Anne Proffit, Long Beach

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