celebrities everywhere feel comfortable publicly speaking out in defense of an admitted and convicted child rapist. A parallel universe in which CNN publishes articles covering the issue which gloss over that little "rape" thing and instead opt to focus on all the glowing praise showered on him by his supporters. A parallel universe in which Whoopi Goldberg insists we not call it "rape," because it wasn't "rape-rape". I seriously would not have believed this could happen in this day and age, but apparently, I was deluded and naive.
A primer:
- Polanski was 44. Samantha Gailey was 13. 44. 13.
- Polanski drugged her with alcohol and a Quaalude, and she was thus incapable of giving informed consent.
- The victim never consented at all. She said "no" and "please stop". She said this repeatedly.
You can read the grand jury transcript here.
The best we can really hope for is that many of those signing the petition are ignorant of the facts or have their panties in a twist simply because of the ~*~sanctity of film festivals~*~ or whatever. I do not see this as much of a defense. Either you are the absolute height of stereotypical star-studded flightiness, all eager to jump on the latest bandwagon cause and sign a petition to free a man without knowing the details of the crime he committed - when the crime he committed is the rape of a 13 year old girl - or you think that at international film festivals, legitimate political dissidents and child rapists should be protected alike, all for the sake of not harshing your award ceremony squee. And this is the best we can hope for.
But you know what I think most of them are thinking? Most of them are probably thinking that great artistic geniuses should be allowed their eccentricities. What's a little child rape compared to artistic greatness, right?
Some choice quotes:
"A little mistake." Child rape = "a little mistake". I repeat, what's a little child rape compared to artistic greatness, right?
Translation: The little slut deserved it - I mean, look at how short that skirt was! Not like it was Polanski's responsibility to know better or anything. Men have no control over their own penis.
Debra Winger calls his arrest a "philistine collusion" and says:
Can I get an encore of "what's a little child rape compared to artistic greatness" with a side of sneering at you plebes who just don't get it?
eta: Oh god, I totally forgot to include this winner:
Jean Valjean, people. Polanski is just like Jean Valjean. He needed to rape that child to survive, you know!
I don't think I'm going out on a limb much in positing that this is the attitude of the majority of Polanski's defenders. Even if it's not, the alternative is... not much better.
Fortunately, there is some sanity left in the world: here's a list of celebrities and writers who have spoken out against Polanski.
So apparently I have slipped into some parallel universe where
A primer:
- Polanski was 44. Samantha Gailey was 13. 44. 13.
- Polanski drugged her with alcohol and a Quaalude, and she was thus incapable of giving informed consent.
- The victim never consented at all. She said "no" and "please stop". She said this repeatedly.
You can read the grand jury transcript here.
The best we can really hope for is that many of those signing the petition are ignorant of the facts or have their panties in a twist simply because of the ~*~sanctity of film festivals~*~ or whatever. I do not see this as much of a defense. Either you are the absolute height of stereotypical star-studded flightiness, all eager to jump on the latest bandwagon cause and sign a petition to free a man without knowing the details of the crime he committed - when the crime he committed is the rape of a 13 year old girl - or you think that at international film festivals, legitimate political dissidents and child rapists should be protected alike, all for the sake of not harshing your award ceremony squee. And this is the best we can hope for.
But you know what I think most of them are thinking? Most of them are probably thinking that great artistic geniuses should be allowed their eccentricities. What's a little child rape compared to artistic greatness, right?
Some choice quotes:
This is for me a shock. I am ashamed to be Swiss, that the Swiss is doing such a thing to brilliant fantastic genius, that millions and millions of people love his work. He's a brilliant guy, and he made a little mistake 32 years ago. What a shame for Switzerland.
- Otto Weisser (as quoted in the CNN article)
"A little mistake." Child rape = "a little mistake". I repeat, what's a little child rape compared to artistic greatness, right?
Matt, you want to hold to those hard and fast rules – no problem. I disagree, though, that it’s “child abuse.” It was inappropriate, it was wrong, but it wasn’t the kind of child abuse the people I know who were victimized went through. For one thing, you all see the victim here as completely innocent – I do not. I knew young girls who were in a hurry to grow up, who drank and did drugs and slept around at that age — it was a 60s and 70s thing in that part of Los Angeles. She wanted to be a star – thought this was how it was done. It was dumb – my 11 year old daughter knows better. It was different than, say, him saying he was going to help her with a homework project, luring her inside, drugging her and raping her. This was a young girl acting a lot older than she was, trying to play along in order to become famous.
- Sasha Stone at Awards Daily
Translation: The little slut deserved it - I mean, look at how short that skirt was! Not like it was Polanski's responsibility to know better or anything. Men have no control over their own penis.
Debra Winger calls his arrest a "philistine collusion" and says:
This fledgling festival has been unfairly exploited, and whenever this happens, the whole art world suffers. We hope today this latest (arrest) order will be dropped. It is based on a three-decades-old case that is dead but for minor technicalities. We stand by him and await his release and his next masterpiece.
Can I get an encore of "what's a little child rape compared to artistic greatness" with a side of sneering at you plebes who just don't get it?
eta: Oh god, I totally forgot to include this winner:
We live in an age that is so thoroughly post-modern that you can find an obvious literary antecedent for nearly every seamy media storyline. The same goes for the Polanski case, which is full of echoes of “Les Miserables,” the classic Victor Hugo novel about Jean Valjean, an ex-con trying to turn his life around who is being obsessively tracked and hunted down by the Parisian police inspector Javert.
Hugo’s story is a tragedy, as is the life story of Polanski, who was a fugitive as a boy and is now a fugitive as an old man. Whether the L.A. County district attorney office has its way or not, it is not a story that can have a happy ending. I think Polanski has already paid a horrible, soul-wrenching price for the infamy surrounding his actions. The real tragedy is that he will always, till his death, be snubbed and stalked and confronted by people who think the price he has already paid isn’t enough.
- Patrick Goldstein
Jean Valjean, people. Polanski is just like Jean Valjean. He needed to rape that child to survive, you know!
I don't think I'm going out on a limb much in positing that this is the attitude of the majority of Polanski's defenders. Even if it's not, the alternative is... not much better.
Fortunately, there is some sanity left in the world: here's a list of celebrities and writers who have spoken out against Polanski.
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