I do think Cosby put a target on his back the day he spoke out in criticism of hip-hop behavior in a hip-hop-ascendant world. After that, he was fair game, the first time he stepped on a crack. Thus, the #MeToo crowd had a token sacrifice to show they weren’t completely PC.

A lot of conservatives cheered his conviction. To judge by the comments at Unz, many still think it was a good idea. Me, I think it’s chilling. If a powerful celebrity like Cosby can be taken down so easily, on the basis of the poor evidence summarized in this column, the rest of us are sitting ducks the first time we stray a little too far from acceptable behavior.