Would Polanski get a pass if he were a paedophile priest?
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It’s hard to watch France’s political and cultural elite rush to support filmmaker Roman Polanski against extradition to the United States on a decades-old sex charge and not wonder exactly how they interpret the national motto “liberté, égalité, fraternité.” It’s tempting to ask whether they’re defending the liberty to break the law and skip town, respecting the equality of all before the law and championing a brotherhood of artists who can do no wrong.
(Photo: Roman Polanski, 19 Feb 2009/Hannibal Hanschke)
Here in Paris, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner declared the arrest was “a bit sinister … frankly, (arresting) a man of such talent recognised around the world, recognised in the country where he was arrested — that’s not very nice.” He and his Polish counterpart have written to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the issue. Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand said “just as there is a generous America that we like, there’s also an America that scares us, and that’s the America that has just shown us its face.” Directors, actors and intellectuals have been signing a petition demanding Polanski’s immediate release.
Almost all the focus is on the argument that Polanski is a brilliant director, the charge of unlawful sex with a 13-year old dates back to 1977 and the victim herself says she wants the whole issue to be forgotten. Almost completely ignored is the fact that he fled the U.S. to escape sentencing, which added a crime to the original crime. There is such a widespread assumption that all artists and intellectuals would automatically support Polanski that Paris papers today — both the left-of-centre Libération and the conservative Le Figaro — wrote with an air of surprise that Hollywood was not storming the barricades to back him.
The French Greens leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit made headlines by bucking the trend and saying he was “ill at ease” with the rush to absolve Polanski of raping a minor and the culture minister should have been more cautious in his comments.
Across the Atlantic, by contrast, Hollywood’s hometown paper, the Los Angeles Times, reviewed the objections by Polanski’s supporters and concluded: “Plausible or preposterous, these arguments are eclipsed by a simple fact: Polanski fled the country … the Justice Department and L.A.’s district attorney are right to seek extradition.”
And almost nobody in the media here in France asks the tough questions that Fr. Tom Reese, S.J. (photo at right) did in his Washington Post blog post entitled “Father Polanski would go to jail”:
“Polanski’s defenders … argue that he should not be punished. They say that the girl was willing and sexually experienced and she has forgiven him (after receiving a settlement). They even cite his tragic childhood and life as an excuse. And besides, it is ancient history. Such arguments from paedophile priests would be laughed out of court and lambasted by everyone, and rightly so…
“The Catholic Church has rightly been put under a microscope when 4 percent of its priests were involved in abuse, but what about the film industry? The world has truly changed. Entertainment is the new religion with sex, violence and money the new Trinity. The directors and stars are worshipped and quickly forgiven for any infraction as long as the PR agent is as skilled as a saintly confessor. Entertainment, not religion, is the new opiate of the people and we don’t want our supply disturbed.
“Is there a double standard here? You bet.”
There’s a lot to say about the different ways Americans and French approach the law. But let’s go right to Tom Reese’s question. Do you think Polanski’s supporters cut him slack they wouldn’t think of permitting for a paedophile priest? Is the entertainment industry setting our values?
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If Polanski were a priest he’d be quietly reassigned to some other parish while the archdiocese settled out of court. Polanski is anything but a saint, still you have to ask if taxpayer money would be better spent getting Switzerland to give up the names of American tax cheats.
I recall being astounded when Mr. Polanski fled the country to avoid prosecution for this travesty. If the victim now wishes not to prosecute, perhaps that should be taken into consideration; however, Mr. Polanski should be prosecuted for leaving the country to avoid prosecution. Artists and athletes are not above the law.
the arrest of Polanski is ridiclous and absurd. The woman asked for the case to be dismissed and it’s ancient history. The Catholic Church with it’s paedophilic priest’s is a different matter altogether. They systematically victimized kids and moreover the Church covered the asses of the predatorial priests. Even when the Church was subpoened, the church was still arguing that what happens between a confessor and penitent is a matter of sealed privacy–so SJ Reese is off his rock. The catholic church has for centuries been able to justify corruption and escape legal consequences– you can go all the way back to the Decameron. And another huge problem is that Polansky is not a predator whereas the Church willfully protected and moved priests around with long histories of predation. So now SH Reese can come out and act self-righteous? forget it. The other problem is that priests supposedly take vows of chastity and are supposed to be somewhat trustworthy. The entire situation is different, so sorry no comparing rats with chickens. different things. Polanski fled the US only after he learned that he was victim to legal corruption. Such a huge waste of money when the “victim” wants the case dropped.
The question unfortunately presumes something which is not obviously true, a la “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” Namely, there is a difference between a paedophile and a person who has sex with a child once per 76 years.
This is a stupid comparison. Do you think the circumstances were the same? A priest is not supposed to have sex in the first place, with anyone, he’s supposed to inspire trust and spread the word of god. He works in a church, he doesn’t invite teenage girls for photoshoots in a luxury villa where there’s a jacuzzi, champagne and drugs. That’s the problem with people talking about this case, for them, a crime is a crime and that’s the end of it. Circumstances don’t enter the scope of their understanding even though they’re key to figure what happened here. Polanski was wrong to do what he did obviously, but the girl was a bit of a lolita too, she said “no” but she didn’t defend herself or fight back. She kept doing what he wanted to, going where he wanted to. The real question would have been: did he actually coerce or threaten her? It’s a bad memory for her, but not the kind that would haunt her so badly that it would ruin her life, I think that tells a lot. Rape victims don’t recover so well. Now, for this, I heard he might have spent 50 years in jail. I don’t think anyone in his situation would have chosen to stay and get the jail time. Surely Polanski thought he made a mistake too, otherwise he wouldn’t have pleaded guilty, but given the CIRCUMSTANCES, spending 50 years, the rest of his life, in jail for a one night mistake like this seemed out of proportion and insane.
Polanski belongs in jail, of course, but Reese’s comparison between sex scandals in Hollywood and the Catholic church is terribly flawed.
First, no one in Hollywood purports to be holy, celibate representatives of Christ on earth.
Second, no “higher ups” in Hollywood knowingly conceal horrific child sex crimes and deliberately move child molesting directors to unsuspecting churches where they can molest again.
David Clohessy, National Director, SNAP-Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, 7234 Arsenal Street, St. Louis MO 63143 (314 566 9790 cell)
Interesting perspective. It’s time to send Hollywood a message that we don’t agree withthem that drugging, rape and sodomy with a child is a mere trifle under any circumstances.
Simply don’t go to one movie that you would otherwise have seen. Not a total boycott. Just one movie. Odds are you won’t be missing much anyhow.
I don’t know what planet Father Reese inhabits, but here on Earth pedophile priests have been leaving the United States to avoid prosecution for child rape more frequently than Hollywood can say Polanski. Father Reese forgets to mention how few pedophile priests have been prosecuted.And does Father Reese forget all the support the bishops gave to their pedophile priests?: Lying for them, helping them escape, placing innocent children in their paths. The Roman Catholic priesthood was a haven for pedophiles and will remain so as long as the decent priests live in fear of their corrupt bishops. And is there a double standard? Of course there is. Surely Father Reese is aware that Roman Polanski was not representing Christ on earth when he committed his hideous acts. He didn’t hear her confession and bury her grandmother.
I also think the wishes of the victim should be taken into account. However, no one should be above the law and his initial sentence should be served. Should Woody Allen really being weighing on an issue regarding an issue of sex with an inappropriately young female?
it’s either OK to have sex with 13 year old girls or it is not OK. I don’t see how fleeing justice for 30 odd years changes that. I also don’t see how the victim’s forgiveness changes it. She has certainly been affected by it.
How about if we focus on the fact Polanski did confess to raping a 13 yr old girl after drugging her and her repeated requests to stop. As obvious by the posters here, comparing Polanski to abusers within the Catholic Church wasn’t exactly wise, but it is still germane, no matter what the Catholic Church did or didn’t do. I’m not a famous filmmaker or French politician, but I have worked in the film industry and most of us are disgusted by Polanski and the support being given to him. Focus on the matter at hand. Polanksi is a confessed rapist who should be punished for that crime whether the victim no longer wants prosecution or not. A nation of laws brings charges against an individual in the name of the people as a whole, not as a tool of revenge for the victim. Don’t compare Polanski with other people who deserve our scorn and anger….apples and oranges, folks.
Let’s look at the arguements against punishment
from the article:
1.They say that the girl was willing — she said no
2. and sexually experienced — irrelevant. Raping a virgin is no worse than raping a slut
3. and she has forgiven him – defeats the “she was willing” excuse and is irrelevant
4. They even cite his tragic childhood and life – this has never held up in court
5. it is ancient history – because he fled the country
from commenters:
1. taxpayer money would be better spent getting [...] – justice is a very worthwhile way to spend tax money
2. the victim now wishes not to prosecute – she was 13, which makes it statutory and removes the option. Prosecution is mandatory for such cases.
The comparison to a priest can be attacked, but if Polanski was just an average working man, this wouldn’t have made the news, let alone been a discussion. The man belongs in jail.
A 46-year-old Roman Polanski drugged, raped and sodomized a 13 year old girl against her will. Pleaded guilty to a lesser charge (consensual) statutory rape and later fled to safe tolerant Europe where he suffered for years in exile in southern France. He even continued his behavior with underage teens (ref: 15-year-old Nastassja Kinski ).
Posters should review the girls Grand jury testimony… it is chilling.
The Left think its no big deal that ACORN offices in five cities can provide advice on setting up a brothel with 13-year-old illegals.
The Left forgave Bill Clintons serial womanizing and assaults on at least four different woman.
Where is the liberal feminist outrage ?
Where is the morality on the Left ? in Hollywood ?
Can anybody provide more details about what actually happened at that party. Particularly how this 13 year old end up there? Were they aware that she was only 13?
Did she misrepresent her age?
He drugged and raped a little girl, fergawdssakes. Why is this even being debated? What’s sick is that we live in a world that AFTER everyone KNEW that this POS had done this, Hollywood and the elite still praised him in whatever he did.
I see that the answer to Fr. Reese’s question, judging by the excuses for Polanski on this blog thus far, is a resounding YES POLANSKI SHOULD BE HANDLED MORE FORGIVINGLY THAN PRIESTS. Only one poster could bring himself to state that Polanski should be in jail (before first excusing an immoral Hollywood culture and then changing the subject from world reaction of these pedphiles to the narrower Catholic Church reaction). One poster even forgives Polanski because he only raped a girl once? Where is the international outrage demanding that priest pedophiles be left alone? There is none of course. Compare that to these posts and international comments and Whoopie’s remarks (etc.) and you will see that Fr. Reese’s point is exactly right. There is a BIG difference. The guy RAPED and FLED. He belongs in jail on both counts. Period. May the moral degenerate coward die in prison dreaming of his caviar.
Good article, good question to ask.
Would Polanski get a pass if he were a Buddhist monk who had been celibate?
I’m surprised this moron is wading into the debate about Polanski. The church used it’s diplomatic status to hide it’s own rapists and enforced a code of silence on it’s victims to ensure charges were not brought. For a long time accusers were threatened with excommunication. In Ireland, investigations have revealed that a majority of children under care of the Catholic Church were victims of some kind of abuse.
Roman Polanski was charged… and will face justice. Most priests have not even been charged. For a priest to come out and write so much nonsense is a disgrace.
Roman Polanski is a pedophile. There is no question as to whether he drugged and had sex with a 13 years old girl. The only question is whether he will be punished for this crime and additionally for the crime of fleeing the country to avoid sentencing.
This is the same bunch from HolyWould that re-invigorated Deep Throat on its 25-year anniversary. It was so “trendy” — forgetting about the degradation of women that enables the porn industry to make its Billion$.
The Catholic Church was certainly not in the right — but also investigate all the rabbis who flee to I$rael after being charged with having sex with their rabbinical students.
The part about statutory rape that I never got — even when I was in law school — is that it “assumes” the girl would consent if she were older. What an insane assumption to make.
I wonder what the reaction to this question would have been if it hadn’t been a priest who posed it. By bringing up so many objections, some who attacked the question and the questioner seemed to imply it shouldn’t have been asked at all. Does that put them in the same camp as Polanski supporters who don’t seem to care about equal treatment before the law? Comparing the director to a paedophile priest may be flawed, but it is an effective way to focus attention on two core questions:
1. does the rare case of a famous film maker guilty of raping a minor gets the same treatment as the much more frequent cases of little-known priests found guilty of doing the same?
2. is fleeing the country to avoid sentencing OK for a prize-winning director while doing the same or getting transferred to another parish is not for a priest?
This is not to excuse the paedophile priests, no way. A lot has gone wrong there and the Catholic Church has a lot to answer for. But responding with attacks on this question and questioner takes the focus off Polanski, where it belongs.
But Roman Polanski never pretended to a rabbi, minister or priest, did he? He never took vows committing his life to the service of others or was ordained was he? He never presumed to be an ordained representative of Jesus Christ did he?
No, Polanski was what he was, just your garden variety sexual predator who was caught and convicted, but who because he had the ability to flee, fled. But thankfully his conviction for the sexual abuse of a minor does not expire because of the passage of years and he will be held accountable.
The fact is that there are any number of priests known to have “fled the country” to avoid being held accountable for the sexual abuse of girls and boys.
There are more who were shipped to the foreign missions, sent to Rome to study or otherwise transferred out of the country by their bishops or religious superiors because of the rape of adult women in addition to the sexual abuse of children.
The important difference that Reese does not mention is that very few sexually abusive priests of girls, boys, young women, men, vulnerable adults, and that includes sisters and nuns, have ever been tried in a criminal court and found guilty, very few.
Moreover, the sorry fact is that there are a lot more that those we know about and that’s closer to or more than 10%.
Visit the web site of former Benedictine monk, Catholic priest and psychotherapist at http://www.richardsipe.com or http://www.bishopaccountability.org or http://www.napsac.us
Unfortunately, very few sexual predators among the Roman Catholic clergy ever find their way even into a civil courtroom because the statutes of limitation have expired.
They didn’t even need a get out of jail card because they received a completely free pass as did their bishops or religious superiors, if they were order priests or brothers.
And why is that? Because bishops and religious superiors chose not to report the sexual molestation and rape of minors to the police, they chose not to remove them from ministry, they chose not to reach out pastorally, to warn parishioners but instead transferred them to another parish in the diocese where their predatory and criminal behavior continuned unchecked.
Keep in mind that the reason the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church even BEGAN to do much of anything in regard to the sexual abuse of untold numbers of children was because of the revelations of the Boston Globe newspaper in Massachusetts.
Unfortunately, their actions in 2002 were no harbinger of Accountability & Transparency.
Far from it.
Bishops in New York, Colorado, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania and others have viciously opposed any states’ movement to bring the sexual abuse statutes regarding the sexual abuse of children into the 21st century and spent millions of dollars, hiring law firms, lobbyists, public relations firms, and spin doctors to do it along with instructing their state Catholic Conferences to bankroll the same kinds of actions.
Would that it were possible to get all the living pedophile priests and the enablers into a civil court.
Most of them along with their enabling bishops or superiors will never be held accountable for their crimes and mortal sins in this life.
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
Victims’ Advocate
New Castle, Delaware
maureenpaulturlish@yahoo.com
Rule of Law must no longer exist in France. Or maybe the rape of a child is not a crime in France. Because a person has talent is now a legal justification to allow a rapist to go free? Maybe the lady in NY harbor should go back to France…if it represents the moral value expressed in support of this criminal rapist.
Polanski committed the crime and regardless of the fact that his victim has forgiven him, he should pay the penalty. His victim was under age, he was not, and regardless of what happened to him, should have known better than take advantage of a 13 year old. He should not blame anyone else for his actions, and take responsibility for what he has done. The fact it happened a long time ago also does not excuse what he did.
What is it that makes somebody who can make great movies or hit a ball or throw a football or be famous better than anyone else? Are they not subjected to the same laws the rest of us have to obey. His crime was not sex with a minor, it was the rape of a 13 year old child. If it was your little girl, would you let time forgive him?
I say bring him back and as he admits he did the crime, so let him do the time.
Polanski broke the Law of Land and should face his accusers. Now, in the other hand, the girl in question is already been compensated very well and will not like to be drag in to the mud again. Polanski should serve time in prison for his crime no doubt about it! Is like comparing the rich and the poor when it comes to who is the most liked it to be found guilty: rich will have a great defense team i.e. O.J. Simpson, so the same is taking place with Polanski: every one involved in the entertaining industry is crying for Polanski, they don’t care what ever happened to the girl after the assault toke place: shame on them!!!
I thought that it is normal to do any crime if you have enough money. This has been proved by not only the legal system but political as well as spiritual systems.
However if you are normal human, does not have friends in right place, or does not have backing of the POPE, then you will be prosecuted to fullest extent.
What difference does it make, if you have committed a crime yesterday or 40 years ago. The world still wants to find and prosecute the Nazi criminals. Who after committing crime fled to a place where there is no value for the crime. Just because Polanski is great director does not make him above the law. In fact if he is a gentleman then he should and must accept the fact that he committed a crime and pay for it. Well if he is not then he should not be treated as a gentleman.
Same thing goes for the Priests and Politicians. Hope someday people will believe that law is for everyone and all are to be treated equally.
He raped a little girl. That is a crime and he should be punished for his crime. He fled the US to escape his punishment. Another crime for which he should be punished. I have had to go to jail and if I fled at the time of sentencing I would have expected to be hunted down by US Marshalls. You do the crime you must do the time. Polanski suck it up and be a man. You are nothing but a pedophile and a coward, the absolut worst kind of human.
Polanski DRUGGED and sodomized a 13 year old girl. Is he to be punished for the sake of the victim, or for the benefit of society? The woman has grown up and it sounds as if she has been able to put the even behind her. Is that grounds to let a man who committed such an act to roam free? He and every priest, every person who touches a child inappropriately should be imprisoned not for justice but to protect our society. And as for “he only did it once…”, would that excuse grant lenience in the case of the man that performed premeditated murder for the sake of financial gain? And yes, Polanski’s act was premeditated, it took him two tries to get her…
One factor that makes surely makes some more likely to demand punishment from a priest-molester than a celebrity-rapist is that the former is supposed to be an example of high morality, while little morality is expected of the latter. You shouldn’t have to worry about leaving your 13-year-old boy alone with his priest, but you’re rightly wary about leaving your 13-year-old girl alone with a male Hollywood director (casting couch, anyone?). The fault is always with the molester or rapist, of course, but one is even more offensive because of its outrageous hypocrisy.
This is the same reason notable U.S. Republicans (whose party took a severe turn from fiscal prudence and small government into ‘family values’ and far-right, religion-based morality for the past 25 years) have probably had more career-ending sex scandals than U.S. Democrats (who’ve not been noted for preaching moral platitudes, Bill Clinton and the Kennedys being prime examples of politicians who remained effective even through the fallout from their moral failures). We expect more from people who believe they have the moral authority to tell us how we should behave, so we tend to crucify them when they practice the opposite of what they preach. (It’s no wonder hardly anyone wants to become a priest, with that kind of pressure.)
What a stupid question to put as the title for your article. He shouldn’t be compared to a priest on any level. If he did the crime he should do the crime!
The polish government is asking for his release at the same time that they are considering requiring mandatory castration for pedophiles who engage in acts with children 15 years old or younger.
Make up your mind! Either it is or is not a crime.
We decided long ago that in the US sex with a minor was a crime. Get over it. So what if he makes movies? Does that absolve him of any crimes in the past present or future? Put your big girl pants on and make a decision.
I don`t understand Polanksi`s defenders.
The man is a paedo. A CONVICTED paedo at that.
He was found guilty of plying a 13yr old with alcohol and having sex with her.
Then the peado coward fled the country rather than go to jail.
So what if it happened 30 years ago. If he`d served his sentence, he`d have been a free man a long time ago.
As to the child involved. It doesn`t matter that she is now a grown woman who wants to put it behind her. That isn`t the question. He`s already been found guilty, he doesn`t need a retrial, she doesn`t need to testify. He just needs to be sentenced and serve the prison time for a crime he has already been convicted for.
Shame on Polanski`s supporters.
Polanski raped a 13-year old girl. No one ever deserves leniency when you rape someone.
He raped 13 year old girl. Period. He should go to jail even if he is a Pope or President of United States.
The publisher of Vanity Fair wrote in a publishers letter this year that Polanski had drugged the girl with quaaludes and champagne and then sodomized her.
However he was much more descriptive of what happend (and was confessed to by Polanski)than the general term “sodomy” implies. It was sick that anyone would treat a non-consenting young girl in that manner.
I suggest reading his letter in VF.com
I agree that the widespread problem with the priesthood is different than the Polanski case but there are some parables. It is just not okay to rape someone, especially a child. Whether or not she was promiscuous, etc., as a man in his 40′s, he should have taken the high road and not initiate something like that in the first place. All adults have a responsibility to protect children. It is not the same as the priesthood knowing about these cases (which are also often with pubescent teens, not small children) and putting them back to work, but there was still a large community of adults that sheltered and protected Polanski. This is especially true of the entertainment world. It’s protecting your own despite their behavior. I try to avoid judgment of the original case, as I don’t know all the facts, but he fled prosecution on top of it which is very serious. I am not even saying he shouldn’t be exonerated in the end if the victim agrees, etc., but just because he makes good movies, does not excuse him from facing the legal consequences of his actions. The Swiss and US governments are perfectly in the right by arresting him. Otherwise, a precedent is set that if you can escape and get away with it long enough, you’re home free. To make the case that because so much time has passed it’s not fair is ludicrous, that was always borrowed time.
The huge coincidental irony in this story and the defense of Polansky by the Polish minister is that Poland just passed a law whereby pedophiles must submit to chemical castration as a condition of release after time served. The age of the minor must have been 15 or younger to qualify for a pedophile crime in Poland. This is the toughest enforcement standard in Europe.
HMM?
Fame and fortune trumps the law? Or is it because it was a loose little American girl? (in the minds of the French or Poles)
His films are works of art. But Mr. Polansky raped a 13 year old girl. He drugged her, then had his way with her, and then tried to buy his way out of his crime.
Sorry, this has nothing to do with a “draconian” extension of power and everthing to do with justice.
Bring him back to back America, let him atone for his crime and let him and the rest of the world move on…
The fact that anyone is giving Polanski a pass on the rape of a 13 year old girl is amazing to me. On top of that he flees the country after being found guilty. This guy needs to pay his dues like any other person would be expected to. I think that Reese’s point is that when a priest is accused of abuse the liberal media is all over it (as they should be). However it is disgusting to see these same people saying that poor Roman is being singled out or that we should “just forget it”. An abusive priest is wrong, and Polanski is wrong. Just because a priest is associated with a church does not make the crime any more or less heinous than if a director did it. The comparison is perfectly valid to me.
Oh come on gang, does four percent of the entertainment industry commit child rape? Of course not, but there’s no doubt about the Roman Catholic history in that regard. Polanski ought to be extradited and imprisoned.Let’s not become confused, child rape is the same offence even if Hollywood stars and multibillion dollar churches step up to protect their own.
Hmmm. Let’s see. Europe gave us fascism and communism. They also accuse America of being arrogant yet they also act in this manner; the French, who needed the world’s help in 2 World Wars, especially. Is there any surprise that they would accept a pedophile in their midst. Regardless of whether or not the 13 yr. old victim has forgiven Polanski, there are still consequences for actions. 40-some days in jail as the original sentence? That’s ludicrous!
All citizens are equal before the law; fame, fortune and talent do not excuse crime, and neither does the fact that the perpetrator skipped bail 30 years ago and has been smart enough to elude attest until now.
It is shocking that that several government ministers of the French republic have gone so far as to criticise the arrest and probable extradition of Mr.Polanski. Does this mean that in France, “talented artists” and “immortals” (members of the French Academy) are henceforth welcome to drug and rape little girls ? Until now, I thought that the “droit de cuissage” was abolished on july 14, 1789. Apparently I was wrong.
the “victim” has forgiven him, she said it’s ok, lets forget it…and move on.
What is happening here…the “victim’s” request is irrelevant ???
She has no Right anymore, to ask to let it go ???
I’m sure also not 100%, but 1000% that she had sex with Polansky at her own will.
A 13 year old does not have the capacity to consent under the law. Sorry, but spreading propaganda that she was “loose” will not help. That’s a common dodge used by pedophiles. If she had been used before by other perverts, it just makes Polanski a bigger creep for shopping her out to continue the abuse.
Of course there is the issue of Polanski escaping the court, and in a well regulated society individuals have a duty. However, the reactions we are seeing in Europe (even if they are starry-eyed) do seem to reflect an unease with the behaviour of some young girls.
All of us knew girls of 13/14 who were sexually precocious and whose energy was social dynamite. They may have lacked an adult perspective, but they knew just what they wanted. To automatically assume that a young girl has been actually rather than legally raped is very simplistic.
Sure, a 40-year old man should steer clear of half-woman, half-child girls like this, but the case needs more than mass hysteria to be understood. Ask the lady herself what happened and how much damage was done (if any).
Hollywood supporters (French and Polish artists included) clearly demonstrate a lack of moral authority or even a respect for the law. Somehow they feel above the law. Talk about out of touch. How this became a popularity contest is beyond me. Maybe too many viewings of American Idol or Suvivor. Does Hollywood really think that they speak for even a large minority of people? The only ones supporting Polanski are those that think they have something to gain. Maybe a role in his next movie or the taxes he must pay to live his life of luxury. His supporters have a motive, it just isn’t one that any of us would admire.
He did a crime, he should pay the price. I like movies, but really, this is about child abuse.
@NobleKin
As a Polish-American I fully support his extradition and I am pretty sure that there is more Poles (and French for that matter) who don’t support Polanski.
So if you could kindly refrain from statements like:
“Fame and fortune trumps the law? Or is it because it was a loose little American girl? (in the minds of the French or Poles)”
people love condemning!!!!!!!
LEAVE THE MAN ALONE….ENOUGH…
HE HAS PAID ENOUGH…he is 76…
this is pathetic…
dont you know anything about human nature?
understand, forgive….help instead of pointing fingers all the time…
europeans are more evolved then americans who stll live in the inquisition times, and have a better understanding of human nature…
thats why you see such different reactions……