So Woody Allen thinks that Roman Polanski should be released. Shocking that a man who would have a sexual relationship with his own much-younger stepdaughter would think that way, isn't it? What IS surprising to me is the number of other pseudo-respected people within the film industry who are also defending Polanski.
I say "pseudo" because how can you really respect someone that you only know through their craft? Just because your grouter did a good job on your house, doesn't make him a good person. But these people (Martin Scorsese and Tilda Swinton, among many others) are using all the influence they can muster to release a child rapist. THAT says much more about them than the ability to entertain. John Wayne Gacy was "entertaining".
A man who drugs and rapes a child deserves to be reviled, not supported by his peers. Supporting Polanski makes them just as abhorrent as the rapist himself, in my opinion (which, as we know, is the only one that counts). That says to me that they find his behavior acceptable, that they do not believe in justice, and that they do not support the victims of rape. That they consider themselves more important than mere laws. All of that, far more than any movie they may make, illustrates their character.
The victim herself (and unlike others, I refuse to put that word in quotes) would like to see this end. She's tired of being reminded of this every few years. She's tired of people talking about her, her family and her mother (who holds not a small amount of blame). She has come to terms with what happened to her, no thanks to her rapist or those who SHOULD have had her best interests at heart. Or the people who claimed that what happened to her was somehow okay *cough* Angelica Huston *cough* because she "looked older" (you tell me, cause she sure looks young to my eye). She wants it all to end. But instead of blaming the prosecutor (whose job it is to pursue justice), instead of blaming those who report about it when Polanski is in the news, she SHOULD be blaming the man himself. Had he faced justice 32 years ago, this topic would long since have been dropped.
I am assuming that this is her way of coping with what happened to her, and the fact that a powerful man is not going to be punished for what he's done. She has probably accepted that. But I do not understand her willingness. She has 3 children. What would she think/feel/hope for if one of her children was drugged and raped? Would she want to see the case "dropped" or would she pursue justice, no matter how many years it took? While I can't put myself in her shoes in how she has coped with her attack, I can, as a mother, say with certainty what *I* would want done if someone abused my child. I would, merely in setting an example for them, demand justice. Otherwise all that she is showing is that money can buy you freedom from retribution and that justice is secondary to fame.
How sad it is that she, and those who love her, have accepted this. As I said before, *I* am unwilling to accept this. For my sake, the sake of my children, and the sake of any child that is victimized by both a rapist and a society that finds a rapist respectable if not laudable.
I think, jen, that you... yes you are even being far too kind to the rapist... but then, i am of the opinion that a charge 0f either rape, or of child abuse, ought carry the death penalty.
Posted by: C.S. McClendon | 09/30/2009 at 12:36 PM
Oh, I agree with you. Whole-heartedly. Pedophiles are incurable, and you cannot rehabilitate them. They are a waste of space and air, and I want them all executed (I am not opposed to the death penalty). I make no secret about that (and have been attacked for it on Facebook occasionally in regards to some of their polls).
All I'm asking for in this case is that the punishment that he SHOULD have gotten be carried out. The sentence has all ready been handed down and (unfortunately) that cannot be changed. But to allow him to get away with it entirely? That's just disgusting.
Posted by: The Queen of the Blog | 09/30/2009 at 01:01 PM
mhm...
Our only hope at this point is that he die, (either by natural causes or through the careful application of a shiv) while in prison.
Posted by: C.S. McClendon | 09/30/2009 at 01:39 PM
Hollywood is a clubbish crowd that defends its own regardless of their behavior.
Posted by: Jabber | 10/01/2009 at 05:51 PM
And that, Jabber, is probably the single most serious thing I've ever seen you write. :D
Posted by: The Queen of the Blog | 10/01/2009 at 10:31 PM