Roman Polanski - vent

[ima062002]

Did you hear that he got arrested a few days ago. Well my mom relayed the story to me that a friend of theirs (a photographer) was supposed to pick him up at the airport and that he was shocked to find out that the man had been arrested. My mom sounded as if she felt for her friend. I said that I didn't think the arrest was unwarranted; after all he drugged and then had sex with a 13 year old. My mom's comment was "what a mother lets her 13 yo go alone to a photo session"? As if the mom was guilty. She was arguably not being a good mom at that moment, but HELLOOOOO the real guilty guy is that old fart who thought it was OK to pressure a teenager into having sex. And apparently he assaulted her both vaginally and anally. I don't give a hoot that the "girl" now says she should go free. He committed a crime and he should do the time. He should have been arrested years ago IMO.

What irked me too were some comments from French officials who are trying to get him out of jail. They said he paid enough in his life because he wasn't able to do films in Hollywood - WTF???

[QuiltyConscience]

I will never understand how people can just overlook a really sick crime like that because somebody is famous. So what? His fame is what allowed him the access to do what he did to that young girl. I always wonder what the hell else he did that was overlooked or not reported because he was famous.

I don't feel sorry for him. I think it's a shame that somebody with the talent he has is a sick pedophile and got away with it.

[Still_Tbog]

And if he did it then, I doubt it was the only and last time he did something like that. Piece of crap.

[still_me]

Tbog, I was thinking the same thing. I wonder if any officials in France are aware if has done more.


I don't get why they haven't caught up with him before now.

[AuLait]

It truly baffles me that many people feel that he should get away with "time served" or the courts should let it drop. Newsflash: He RAPED a child. It doesn't matter if she consented (which she most certainly did not), it doesn't matter if she was near the age of consent (she wasn't), it doesn't matter if her mother shamelessly placed her in that situation. He RAPED a child, admitted to doing it, then fled from his punishment. It would be a total miscarriage of justice to allow him to get away with what he did.

Great article in Salon about it: http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/09/28/polanski_arrest/

[JudyJudyJudy]

He's a scumbag, and I have no sympathy for him. As Tbog pointed out, most likely this isn't the only time he's done this.

The man who targeted my stepdaughter when she was 13 (the uncle of a friend of hers who lived with the friend's family) had targeted other young girls in the past. After charges were pressed against him, it came out that his "thing" was to get virgins to have sex with him.

[Becca75]

I heard some Hollywood studio guy (somewhat famous, but I can't remember his name) thought that since he's made good movies, that should count for something. What a load of crap!

[AuLait]

Did you hear the Whoopi Goldberg comment? Unbelievable.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/09/30/roman-polanski-crime-not-rape-rape-claims-whoopi-goldberg-115875-21710702/

Whoopi Goldberg provoked fury yesterday by claiming Roman Polanski wasn’t guilty of “rape-rape.”

The actress, 53, said of his confession to sex with a girl of 13 in 1977: “It was something else but I don’t believe it was rape-rape.”

She added: “He went to jail and when they let him out he was like ‘This guy’s gonna give me 100 years. I’m not staying.’”

She said on TV’s The View: “We’re a different kind of society, we see things differently. Would I want my 14-year-old having sex? Not necessarily, no.”

[Justicedog]

Whoopi's out there. I don't understand why we couldn't get to him before. Do we not have reciprocity with France? Isn't that where he was living?

[Sputterduck]

France is actually considered a decent place to hide out, but I do think there is an extradition treaty with them. That doesn't mean they honor it.

[still_me]

My sister told me about what Whoopie said. Personally, it made me not like her at all anymore (not that I did like her before though). I think what she said was stupid, and I wonder how in the world anyone, especially someone who has a daughter, can even be so nonchalant about this whole thing.

It just gives me another reason not to watch The View. I don't like the bitchiness and I definitely have no urge to watch someone who tries to bring rape into a gray area.

ETA: Someone needs to tell her to STFU. Just rereading what she said makes me annoyed beyond belief. I honestly can't remember being so annoyed at what a simple stranger has said in a long time.

[Sputterduck]

France is actually considered a decent place to hide out, but I do think there is an extradition treaty with them. That doesn't mean they honor it.


I looked into it and they don't tend to extradite their own citizens. He had citizenship there.

[Justicedog]

I think we need to look at restricting visas for the French then. If they're the kind of country that likes to protect admitted child rapists. I could understand if sleezeball faced the death penalty and France opposes it (I don't know that they do, I'd rather suspect they do though) but this was a jail sentence.

Kind of like diplomatic immunity can be bull dung.

[Becca75]

Amen, JD. I just love how many news reports are calling it "sex with a thirteen year old." It's rape you stupid asses! Even if it would have been consentual (which it wasn't anyhow) it was still rape since she was only thirteen! Why do people seem to want to sugarcoat what he did?

[still_me]

Amen, JD. I just love how many news reports are calling it "sex with a thirteen year old." It's rape you stupid asses! Even if it would have been consentual (which it wasn't anyhow) it was still rape since she was only thirteen! Why do people seem to want to sugarcoat what he did?


No clue.

What blows my mind, is that if it happened last week, would people like Whoopie defend him? Would they still blame it on the mom? So, basically because "years have passed", what he did lessens?

[Justicedog]

Hey, he skillfully evaded the law for such a long time, he shouldn't have to pay now, it's not fair, just like it's not fair that they find the Nazi leaders in Brazil and bring them to justice - it's been so long, it's not fair to punish them now. [sarcasm]

[JudyJudyJudy]

I'm not surprised, and it's not just because he is famous (lol, I didn't even know who he was before this, though). When we (fil, stepmil, dh, and I) pressed charges against the man I mentioned earlier, some people thought we were assholes.

[still_me]

I wonder if they will try and say he was "temporarily insane" or out of his mind from grief of his wife being murdered. DH said he wondered if that would be brought up.

[Sputterduck]

I'm not surprised, and it's not just because he is famous (lol, I didn't even know who he was before this, though). When we (fil, stepmil, dh, and I) pressed charges against the man I mentioned earlier, some people thought we were assholes.


Seriously? What a bunch of BS.

eta: That really pisses me off for you Judy.

[leosmommy]

He is a rapist and a pedophile. Period. He needs to be brought to justice.
Oh, and a coward for evading his sentence this long.

[ima062002]

Hey, he skillfully evaded the law for such a long time, he shouldn't have to pay now, it's not fair, just like it's not fair that they find the Nazi leaders in Brazil and bring them to justice - it's been so long, it's not fair to punish them now. [sarcasm]

Ouch, Justicedog. That analogy, with the "just like" that is way over the top. There is a huge difference here. He is a scumbag and deserves to go to prison, but his crime does not compare to a Nazi leader who was responsible for the suffering and killing of many, many people (including Polanski's mother and other family members).

[still_me]

She isn't comparing the crime though. She is comparing the mentality people have with justice being served.

[Justicedog]

Exactly still me. But, if one wants to take offense, that's them.

[ima062002]

Exactly still me. But, if one wants to take offense, that's them.

In my defense, it was 1 am ;).

[MMof5]

Disgusting!

[Jacksmommy]

I don't understand why so long after the fact this is now happening. It just doesn't make sense to me. Do I have this right, this crime was committed 32 years ago? The girl in question is now 45? There's no evidence that he's done anything like it since? WHy now? He doesn't seem like a threat to me.

[Becca75]

Because he ran away after pleading guilty and not serving anywhere near as long in jail as he should have. Threat or not, he still needs to serve a proper sentence for the horrible things he did to her. If you haven't read what he did to her, I'd suggest you do and then decide if 42 days in jail was long enough.

[Justicedog]

In my defense, it was 1 am ;).

It's all good. :)

[still_me]

I don't understand why so long after the fact this is now happening. It just doesn't make sense to me. Do I have this right, this crime was committed 32 years ago? The girl in question is now 45? There's no evidence that he's done anything like it since? WHy now? He doesn't seem like a threat to me.


So since he doesn't seem like a threat, pays his taxes, and has lived in one area for 30 some years he is forgiven for raping a 13 year old girl anally, vaginally, and performing oral sex on her?

Let me ask you a question. If this was your daughter that he raped, would you be fine if he wasn't held accountable because "time had passed"?

Imagine how that little girl felt and how it has stayed with her (even though she claims she wants to move on). As for the moving on, I don't believe it. I think that she most likely doesn't have much belief in a system that let her down, and would rather not define the rest of her life as a rape victim. It still doesn't excuse what he did.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I don't understand why so long after the fact this is now happening. It just doesn't make sense to me. Do I have this right, this crime was committed 32 years ago? The girl in question is now 45? There's no evidence that he's done anything like it since? WHy now? He doesn't seem like a threat to me.
Wow.

[still_me]

Wow.


Yeah. I had to make myself think clearly before I even responded to that. I am still dumbfounded a bit.

[Bellaelle]

I don't understand why so long after the fact this is now happening. It just doesn't make sense to me. Do I have this right, this crime was committed 32 years ago? The girl in question is now 45? There's no evidence that he's done anything like it since? WHy now? He doesn't seem like a threat to me.

I don't give a rat's ass if this occurred 32 years ago. The son of a bitch raped a child and he needs to serve time for what he did. I am so sick of these dumbasses in Hollywood thinking they are so damn special and therefore do not need to adhere to the same rules as everyone else.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I'm not sure why the woman's age NOW matters, either. I'm quite sure she has suffered like hell for the past 32 years because of this shit.

As I mentioned earlier, my stepdaughter was 13 when she was fucked over by a man (23yo). He was convicted of statutory rape and child molestation (statutory rape because of intercourse and child molestation because of oral sex); the prosecutors decided not to even pursue the issue with his getting her drunk since they had so much else on him already. At the time, dsd didn't think he should go to jail. She kept saying, "But it was my fault, too. I agreed to do it."

She was fucking 13 years old! A 13yo can't "consent" with a scumbag man! Now she is 20, and her attitude about the matter is entirely different. It now bothers her a lot because she realizes how much he took advantage of her, and she sees that it contributed to her going down the wrong pathway for a while.

[Bellaelle]

Exactly, Judy. 13 is a freaking child, for crying out loud. If we as a society do not step up to the plate to protect them, who the hell will? Fuck France and the rest of those morons who think this asswipe gets a free pass because he is a tortured genius.

[_Viva_]

I'll just follow Judy and Bella around and nod. A lot.

[_Viva_]

It truly baffles me that many people feel that he should get away with "time served" or the courts should let it drop. Newsflash: He RAPED a child. It doesn't matter if she consented (which she most certainly did not), it doesn't matter if she was near the age of consent (she wasn't), it doesn't matter if her mother shamelessly placed her in that situation. He RAPED a child, admitted to doing it, then fled from his punishment. It would be a total miscarriage of justice to allow him to get away with what he did.

Great article in Salon about it: http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/09/28/polanski_arrest/

That is an awesome article.

[Sputterduck]

Bella is always awesome on matters of protecting children.

[_Viva_]

Bella is always awesome on matters of protecting children.


Bella is always awesome, period. :)

[AuLait]

I don't understand why so long after the fact this is now happening. It just doesn't make sense to me. Do I have this right, this crime was committed 32 years ago? The girl in question is now 45? There's no evidence that he's done anything like it since? WHy now? He doesn't seem like a threat to me.


He may not be a threat now Or, maybe he raped many other little girls over the years but in a country that "understands" a penchant for young girls and never got in trouble for it. We don't know. And regardless, his age or ability to re-offend has no bearing in his facing justice.

If we say, "Oh, well, this crime is 40 years old... why hold people accountable now?" don't you see where that leads? For one, we're telling the victim, and any other victims that have had their perps run out on their sentences, that what happened to them isn't important enough to see justice through. We're telling the perps that if they can just delay things or hide out until they're old, they'll likely not suffer any consequence. It undermines the principles of our justice system.

To me, its not even about the victim anymore. She's been victimized over and over again by not just the crime, but having to rehash it in court and the media, and now all these years later, by having to fend off media again. I do believe she'd be happier if the whole thing went away. To me, this about him paying his debt to society. When someone rapes a child, it doesn't just affect the child. It affects their parents, their siblings, their entire family. It affects the children they end up having as adults. The repercussions go farther and deeper than one little child. For initiating that negative impact on society there should be a punishment. He should sit in a US jail, with all its uncomfortableness and problems, until he dies. Not in some luxury Swiss chalet with people to serve his every need, but here.

[Jacksmommy]

Maybe I didn't express myself correctly, or maybe I did. I'll rephrase. Why now? Why not 12 years ago? Why was he let go after 42 days? None of this makes much sense to me.

[Justicedog]

Exactly, Judy. 13 is a freaking child, for crying out loud. If we as a society do not step up to the plate to protect them, who the hell will? Fuck France and the rest of those morons who think this asswipe gets a free pass because he is a tortured genius.


I missed you Bella. :)

[Justicedog]

Maybe I didn't express myself correctly, or maybe I did. I'll rephrase. Why now? Why not 12 years ago? Why was he let go after 42 days? None of this makes much sense to me.


He was out prior to his sentencing and fled to France. I'm not sure why he had been in jail and not out waiting trial/sentencing. But, after he fled to France, France has been protecting him.

Now, I've never been a fan of France. I've never been one to think them sophisticated or whatnot because of their la dee da attitudes. This attitude of acceptance of this type of immoral behavior is a good reason. Of course "Hollywood" would be supportive of this immoral behavior as well because they think they're being sophisticated and worldly by doing so. If thinking that this behavior is disgusting and not accepting it makes me an unsophisticated hick, I'll proudly claim that name.

[still_me]

France has great food, wine, and seems to place a larger value on the extended family/community network. I don't think they intentionally harbour sex offenders.


Whether they did unintentionally or intentionally we'll not know until more information comes out. What we do know is that they don't think he should be tried and it was punishment enough that 'he couldn't make movies in the US'.

[still_me]

I think you are being France biased. If you look at the stats of sexual assaults taking place in the US/North America versus France I think we'd be higher.
How much did the American prosecuters work to get him back here? Was there political will here to have him extradited?


Of course we would. There are simply more people. IMO, it doesn't matter HOW many we have as much as it matters how we take care of the problem.

[Justicedog]

Stats really don't mean much as they can be manipulated and there are explanations for low stats or high stats. Stats for domestic violence increased when the US started taking it more seriously, acknowledging it more as a crime than a family matter. That doesn't mean that domestic violence increased as much as it means more victims were willing to come forward after knowing it'd be taken seriously.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Exactly, JD.

[_Viva_]

Whether they did unintentionally or intentionally we'll not know until more information comes out. What we do know is that they don't think he should be tried and it was punishment enough that 'he couldn't make movies in the US'.


Yeah, what a crock of shit.

[Becca75]

He was out prior to his sentencing and fled to France. I'm not sure why he had been in jail and not out waiting trial/sentencing. But, after he fled to France, France has been protecting him.

Now, I've never been a fan of France. I've never been one to think them sophisticated or whatnot because of their la dee da attitudes. This attitude of acceptance of this type of immoral behavior is a good reason. Of course "Hollywood" would be supportive of this immoral behavior as well because they think they're being sophisticated and worldly by doing so. If thinking that this behavior is disgusting and not accepting it makes me an unsophisticated hick, I'll proudly claim that name.

I'll gladly join you in hickville.