Stand back! I feel a Folk Song comin' on.

[evile]

How Rapey Rape-Rape does a Rape have to be/Before you can call it a Rape?

Apparently drugging a 13 year old and getting her drunk, then sticking your disgusting old man cock in every hole she has, isn't really all that Rape-y. Good to know.

Comments

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that I could lose even more respect for that woman.

I wonder how she would feel if it had happened yesterday--and if the girl had been her daughter.

[bramblekite.livejournal.com]

I guess that is the main thing I'm not getting about this.

So damn many of the people who think this was OK and we should all just forget about it and let Polanski go his way are people who HAVE children, or WERE once 13 year old girls.

Don't they remember what it was like to be that age? Can't they imagine what their lives may have been like if they'd been drugged and raped at 13? Can't they imagine the rage they'd feel if someone had done this to THEIR child? Why doesn't this horrify and sicken them?

I don't buy the excuses. And I certainly don't buy the 'genius entitles a person to a different morality' excuse because, damn, Jesus Christ wasn't a rapist. Einstein wasn't a rapist. In fact, MOST famous geniuses weren't rapists.

Nor do I buy the 'he was victimized terribly in life, therefore he has carte blanche to treat others badly...absolutely NOT. I can't even tell you how much I despise that rationale. If you become a bad person because others were bad to you, then the monsters have won and you may as well off yourself. In fact, I wish he would. Perhaps using the latest in terrorist technology,the Butt Bomb (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/28/eveningnews/main5347847.shtml). Him going out in an explosion of shit would be pretty damn appropriate, now that I think about it.

[longshot14.livejournal.com]

Too many people fall into the trap of feeling like they have to respect the totality of a person if they respect any aspect about them. I disagree.

Michael Jackson made some iconic music and videos - but that doesn't excuse his super-creepy behavior with kids.

O.J. Simpson was a mighty football player and a not-bad actor - but that doesn't excuse murder.

R. Kelly is a beloved R&B performer - but that doesn't excuse statutory rape or child pornography.

James Brown, Ike Turner, the list goes on and on and on. And I can totally get down to some James Brown without excusing or waving away domestic violence.

Polanski should come home and face the music. And ppl acting like his work (which is admittedly amazing - I loved The Ninth Gate, Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby) excuses what he did should STFU.

[bramblekite.livejournal.com]

And maybe that's a good lesson to take away from this...finding a way to respect a person's Art &/or Achievements while still holding them accountable for their bad behavior. I'm afraid I'm not so good with that sort of compartmentalizing. I really don't know how to say "I hate lying, cheating, abuse, rape, but I love the person who does those things,"

Even if, along with the rape and abuse, they've also maybe bailed someone out of a bad situation at considerable cost and effort to themselves, or achieved recognition for their career, or given a lot of money to a good cause, made a fantastic piece of art, or whatever.

It's a good thought. Maybe the key to this whole thing.

Another thought I thunked is that, IMHO, the mother who gave her child to the rapist is just as guilty, if not more so, than the rapist.

[longshot14.livejournal.com]

I try (repeat, *try*) to find at least a little honest good to acknowledge in just about everybody. And really? It's been extremely rare that I find just *nothing* in or about a person to respect, or admire, or at least acknowledge as a strength. Even my dad, a thoroughly despicable specimen, taught me about the Texian Navy. It's rare that I encounter anyone else, even here in Texas, that knew we ever even *had* a navy. He was also a smooth, charismatic talker. The tragedy of that is that he could have done *so much more* with that strength than bullshit and snooker people. My hatred of the man is so intense it's sometimes a source of shame to me, and I hope when he dies they bury him in an unmarked grave so I don't have to worry about succumbing to the temptation to commit an act of desecration. But I can give even *that* devil his due.

I think, I suppose I *believe* if that's the word, that when we despise someone so much that we can't acknowledge even obviously good things about them, then we blind ourselves to their potential and become an obstacle to their eventual redemption. We affirm their belief that they are irredeemable, so they come to the conclusion that there's no point in trying to redeem themselves. In doing so, we *help* them damn themselves forever.

I'm trying to think of a piece of classical literature that illustrates the point but I'm currently coming up blank. In lieu of that, might I recommend a fine novel called God's Demon, by Wayne Barlowe (the artist of _Barlowe's Illustrated Guide to Extraterrestrials_ and _Darwin IV_ fame), a story of how redemption is possible even in Hell. It's a good read even if one rejects the premise :)

[bramblekite.livejournal.com]

You are a far better person than I am.

I think it's important for people to work on themselves and find redemption...thru their art, thru suffering and repentance, thru being forgiven, thru being allowed to change and grow and not having people say 'you did a bad thing, therefore you are unforgiveable and unredeemable'....

but with this Polanski guy...he doesn't seem to feel he did anything wrong, either in drugging and raping a young girl("hey, everyone wants to fuck young girls" was basically his explanation of the situation) or in evading law enforcement and avoiding sentencing/incarceration. So...I guess that's whats missing, for me to be able to empathize or forgive this man.

We all make mistakes, we all have bad judgement, we all do stupid things that hurt other people. But very few of us rape (or commit other crimes), avoid the law, and have no visible remorse for it. for me I guess that's a crucial difference.

I'm not a literary historian, but I'm pretty sure there have been authors who wrote about rape, and did not actually commit rape in RL. There are movies about any number of gruesome horrific acts, and the screenwriters, actors and directors didn't actually do any of that in RL. Polanski had (and continues to HAVE) access to any number of artistic outlets for working thru his life's traumas, and his criminal desires...so there's no excuse or justification for taking it out on a child in RL. Not for him or anyone else.

[longshot14.livejournal.com]

Oh no, I totally agree with all of this (well, except that bit about being a better person than you ;) ). I'm not suggesting empathy or forgiveness at all. Like I said, I think the man should come home and own his heinous crime.

[longshot14.livejournal.com]

Shit - just when you think the case couldn't get any weirder, there's now an admission of prosecutorial misconduct in the original case. If Polanski gets extradited, this case may have to go to trial all over again. *facepalm*

[turbojj.livejournal.com]

At first, I was like "Ok, Whoopi is trying to clarify that the legal charge was rape and they dropped it to sex with a minor."

Then, she kept talking and it became clear she was trying to defend drugging and raping children. Crazy.

[bramblekite.livejournal.com]

Pretty disappointing. I don't think she's given any credibility to her personal causes by coming out with a statement like that. (Humor Aid or whatever it's called.)

And it's just so wierd, because she has done spoken word about various social ills, and it seems like she ought to have known better than to say, or even THINK, something like that.