Polanski's Victim and Me

[Hello_Kitty]

Yeah, another fucking Polanski thread. For those of you who still don't fucking get it about rape and child sex abuse.

...From where I sit—and I have sat exactly in this same spot for sixty years—the rape of a child is absolutely the equivalent of first-degree murder. Roman Polanski is a murderer, the murderer of a child. Surely, even in this ghastly age, we have to draw the line somewhere. Artists, instead of weeping into their expensive handkerchiefs and flailing their oh-so-delicate arms, should realize that the very notion of art is antithetical to Polanski’s actions, and to use his creativity as an excuse for them is disgusting. For people like Woody Allen, David Lynch, and Martin Scorsese to even hint that Polanski is some kind of harried martyr is despicable. Just ask any one of the thousands upon thousands of children who have been raped. Just ask me...


http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-09-29/polanskis-victim-and-me/

[Hello_Kitty]

1. I'm sure whoever unrec'd this actually read the article. Sure you did, Evelyn Wood. eom

[noiretextatique]

2. powerful article, especially this part

Let us concentrate instead on the undeniable truth that a 44-year-old man fed a child drugs and liquor and then stuck his penis inside her, admitted his guilt, and has led a perfectly elegant life in the arms of Mother France for decades, has traveled widely and openly, been welcomed by the culturati, continued to make movies (most of them not very good) and now is embraced as a cultural martyr.

There is a sense of outrage which cannot be quelled, that never, ever, ever goes away. Polanski will go scot free, of course. He is rich, he is famous, he is, ridiculously, an Artist. And he and his supporters make both themselves and the notion of the saving grace of art despicable.

[LiberalEsto]

3. Bravo!

This writer does an excellent job of boiling down all the hype into bare facts.

I worked for a child abuse prevention program years ago. I find the sexual abuse of children by adults despicable.

[Hello_Kitty]

9. It is a form of murder. It truly is. eom

[Chorophyll]

4. K and R. nt

[Demobrat]

5. There are people who defend this guy?

I haven't followed the story closely or read any of the threads here yet, but I can't believe anybody but a child rapist would defend a child rapist. That's just too sick to wrap my head around. Who cares if he's an artist? So was Hitler.

[pnwmom]

7. Plenty right here on DU. n/t

[orpupilofnature57]

6. And people that cling to the Victims Forgiveness are deluded.

It's the ultimate act of misanthropy.

[Demobrat]

10. She may have had to forgive him in order to

get on with her own life, but that has nothing to do with the fact that he ran like a weasel to avoid sentencing. Anybody else would have to pay for that. So should he.

[girl gone mad]

8. et tu, David Lynch?

I've always had so much respect for him. I thought that Twin Peaks/Fire Walk With Me were pretty strong anti-child-rape pieces. Maybe I misread that.

[orpupilofnature57]

13. Thats how I took it to ,Wild at Heart also covers child rape ,David Lynch

is a genius and good man.

[wildflower]

11. Wow, I was looking at the comments

This commenter is speaking about the 70s:

This was years before the "No means no" campaigns. Back then no meant maybe, maybe meant yes, and a lady never said yes outright. Indeed it was a different time and place.

This makes me so sad and tired.

[Hello_Kitty]

12. And then there's this one:

I am sorry for this person's sad story but the rape of a 4 year old BOY by his own father is many times more horrifying than the statutory rape we are talking about. It just is. I would think that was obvious. A sense of perspective is needed.

Very sad.

[orpupilofnature57]

14. Well I couldnt agree more ,and this was my punishment for posting " Slowly"

thats all "Slowly" http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6675489

[ThomCat]

15. Wow.

We have to wonder what kind of horrible person would compare one rape to another as a way of saying that one rape is not really rape, or not really a crime, or whatever the hell that person is trying to say. x(

That's really sick.

When comparing two tragedies, always remember that they are both tragedies. One can never diminish the severity or importance of the other.

Anyone who plays the sick game that person is playing can Always find some "worse" situation to site in order to dismiss any rape. What an astounding lack of empathy, compassion and perspective that shows. :(