Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Extradition - Not the most fun way to travel, but he's earned the trip

photo of 13 year old Samantha Geimer from mirror.co.uk


I've been thinking about this issue a lot, and I agree with Susan Jane Gilman.

How about you?


I've read that the victim has asked the court to drop the case. I feel bad for her and her family having to deal with the publicity. She seemed to think he should be held accountable in this interview a few years ago, and I think so too.

7 comments:

Mandy said...

Funny how I knew exactly who you were talking about. She doesn't look 18 - she hardly looks 13. Grrr. I want to say nasty things about him and Angelica Huston who is protecting him.

Kathy Amen said...

Ms. Gilman's piece seems very rational and well-put. I've never quite understood people who stopped watching Woody Allen movies, even though I certainly didn't approve of his personal life. Two different spheres of activity, responsibility, and accountability, imho.

Bill Lisleman said...

yes if he did the crime which I don't recall anyone denying he should face some type of justice.

The Gilman piece is very balanced. You wrote a post about unfair things recently. It's unfair that power and wealth let some bend the rules.

Anonymous said...

He's scum and I do feel so bad for the woman who just wants this to go away.

And how about Whoopi (who is usually RIGHT on the money) screwing up on this subject ....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/roman-polanski/6245219/Roman-Polanski-backlash-as-Whoopi-Goldberg-says-director-didnt-commit-rape-rape.html

monkey girl said...

There has been some more than spirited comments about this over at Huffington Post.
I guess I'm constantly surprised by the attitude that his supporters have.
He drugged and raped/sodomized a 13 year old. Just because he's an internationally known director doesn't give him a free pass.
He's a pedophile and by our standards would be in jail if this had happened yesterday. What does it matter that it happened in 1977? He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and skipped his sentencing hearing.
What's to debate?
If anything I think it's a reminder that not all pedophiles are crazy looking lunatics. They look just like your neighbor, bus driver, soccer coach, etc...

threadingwater said...

I do feel sorry for the victim, but as harsh as it seems, I don't believe her feelings should have anything to do with whether or not Polanski is extradited. The whole point of allowing ourselves to be held accountable by a set of laws is not just the accountability element, but the blind justice element that equalizes power and influence.
Polanski and his victim are not equals. When the crime occurred, she was a child. Even now, as a grown woman, she - and by extension any woman who suffers abuse at the hands of men - is still not Polanski's equal.
So, even though she would prefer the entire case to simply go away, a responsible society has an obligation to pursue it.

Becky said...

Yeah, I don't understand that this is even a debate. Is it because it happened a long time ago?

And Angelica Huston's comment about how "she didn't look thirteen"? Yeah, I'm sure she was a siren. Sometimes I think that people in our society don't care as much about children as we like to pretend.