Hollywood is all aTwitter over the Swiss arrest of French director Roman Polanski at the Zurich Film Festival. It seems that many of his peers feel it unjust that an "international cultural event,
paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend" the 76-year old admitted child molester. That little gem came from the petition SACD (a French artist and film industry association) produced with the goal of winning his release on bail. Like nearly every other French-led attempt to affect the behavior of another country over the last 100 years, the effort has failed miserably.
paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend" the 76-year old admitted child molester. That little gem came from the petition SACD (a French artist and film industry association) produced with the goal of winning his release on bail. Like nearly every other French-led attempt to affect the behavior of another country over the last 100 years, the effort has failed miserably.Before I go any further into this issue, allow me to give you a little background. In 1977, Polanski accepted a plea bargain and pled guilty to engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. After a 42-day psychiatric evaluation, Polanski feared that the judge in the case would renege on an agreed probation, so on the eve of his sentencing hearing he fled to France by way of London. He has been gone ever since, suffering through a life of freedom, financial success, professional accolades, and an Oscar.
Being the intrepid blogger that I am, I did a little research on the issue. It seems the minor that Polanski engaged in "unlawful sexual intercourse" with was one 13-year old Samantha Gailey. Polanski's grand jury, after hearing Miss Gailey's testimony, indicted him on five charges:
Being the intrepid blogger that I am, I did a little research on the issue. It seems the minor that Polanski engaged in "unlawful sexual intercourse" with was one 13-year old Samantha Gailey. Polanski's grand jury, after hearing Miss Gailey's testimony, indicted him on five charges:
Rape by use of drugs
Perversion
Sodomy
Lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14
Furnishing a controlled substance (methaqualone) to a minor
I reviewed 36 pages of Miss Gailey's testimony (what did you do for lunch?). You can find them at The Smoking Gun - just click on the image to the right. 
Pay special attention to the end of page 17 and beyond. Keep in mind that at the time this rape occurred this girl was 13-years old and Polanski was 44-years
old. That's a difference of 31 years for those keeping score.
Pay special attention to the end of page 17 and beyond. Keep in mind that at the time this rape occurred this girl was 13-years old and Polanski was 44-years
old. That's a difference of 31 years for those keeping score."Rape?" you ask. "The charges didn't say anything about rape. And isn't a person innocent until proven guilty?" Read the transcript, and remember that it was so damning that Polanski pled guilty. Sure, they were lesser charges - that's why it's called a plea bargain. Polanski got the bargain; little Miss Gailey got raped. If there is any question in your mind about whether he did wrong by this girl, why don't you ask your 13-year old daughter what she thinks?
There's your background. Back to the petition. Just based upon what I already knew about the case from a lifetime of hearing about it I couldn't understand why anyone would sign a petition in this cree
p's defense... even cowardly Hollywood-types. Notice that I didn't say it surprised me, just that I couldn't understand it. Perhaps you are having a difficult time, too. Let's explore it together.The SACD wants to point out that it is conspicuously not talking about the charges against Polanski, just that he was arrested at a film festival. Here is the first element of this moral failure: these people clearly think they and what they do are above the rest of society. Their film industry celebration carries with it protection from the retribution for crimes committed against your daughters. What if the Vatican were to protest that a priest was in church and therefore could not be arrested for raping altar boys? What would you think if a drunk driver tried to escape arrest on manslaughter charges by hiding at an A.A. meeting? Am I immune to legal prosecution as long as I am attending a... I don't know where bloggers gather... as long as I am at Starbucks? Of course not! But the Hollywood elite are not your normal rapists.
Having said that, superiority alone doesn't account for everything in this case. How can a group of people dedicated to ending human trafficking in the third world, rape in the Congo, and the selling of
little brown children on the black market (except to fellow Hollywood elitists) defend a man who provided alcohol and drugs to, molested, raped and sodomized a 13-year old girl? Okay, in Woody Allen's case it may not be THAT big a stretch, but what about the 700+ other signatories? It's a matter of philosophy.
little brown children on the black market (except to fellow Hollywood elitists) defend a man who provided alcohol and drugs to, molested, raped and sodomized a 13-year old girl? Okay, in Woody Allen's case it may not be THAT big a stretch, but what about the 700+ other signatories? It's a matter of philosophy.The other day my son and I were on a road trip so, having him trapped in the cab of the truck with me, I instructed him on the importance of establishing principles in one's life... and staying 
true to them. We talked about the apparent difference between embezzling money from someone's retirement plan versus seeing a jerk drop a $20 bill and not mentioning it to him and picking it up after he leaves. One is plainly wrong while the other... well, might be tempting. This is a common problem for many people, and it is the result of learning about right and wrong actions rather than right and wrong philosophies. If you only accept that some actions are wrong, you will likely hesitate, balk, or just fail in the face of a challenging situation. But if, early on, you establish philosophical stances, you will more clearly understand what is right and what is wrong in any situation.
I likened it to a scantron sheet. These are the sheets that have the little bubbles labeled A, B, C, D, and E. You fill in the corresponding bubble for each question asked. If each of these represented the situations you face in your life and you are only armed with the knowledge of right and wrong actions, it can be a daunting task to check each of your answers. Now pictu
re your set of philosophical stances, let's call them principles, as a scantron answer key where each correct answer lines up with "A." By placing the key on top of the scantron sheet one can quickly and clearly identify the "right" actions.
true to them. We talked about the apparent difference between embezzling money from someone's retirement plan versus seeing a jerk drop a $20 bill and not mentioning it to him and picking it up after he leaves. One is plainly wrong while the other... well, might be tempting. This is a common problem for many people, and it is the result of learning about right and wrong actions rather than right and wrong philosophies. If you only accept that some actions are wrong, you will likely hesitate, balk, or just fail in the face of a challenging situation. But if, early on, you establish philosophical stances, you will more clearly understand what is right and what is wrong in any situation.I likened it to a scantron sheet. These are the sheets that have the little bubbles labeled A, B, C, D, and E. You fill in the corresponding bubble for each question asked. If each of these represented the situations you face in your life and you are only armed with the knowledge of right and wrong actions, it can be a daunting task to check each of your answers. Now pictu
re your set of philosophical stances, let's call them principles, as a scantron answer key where each correct answer lines up with "A." By placing the key on top of the scantron sheet one can quickly and clearly identify the "right" actions. The people who have signed this Polanski petition never went through this process in their life. They never sought the answers. They never accepted truth. And they have no principles. This is why their actions can so often be contradictory. It is why Rosie O'Donnell can work to make handguns illegal for you while her bodyguards carry them. It is why Congress can push Health Care Reform for you, but leave themselves out of it. Hollywood-Washington. They've got you surrounded, America.
I don't know how all of this mess with Polanski will end up. There is talk of misconduct of one of the D.A.'s in the case. The mother of Gailey seems to have been complacent with her accompanying 
Polanski - there certainly seems to be some hero-worship going on. Some point out that the victim of the crime now wants Polanski forgiven so that all of this would be over - of course, would we really care what Sharon Tate has to say? It's about punishment and stopping future crimes. And folks, if a 44-year old man is capable of drugging, raping, and sodomizing a 13-year old girl once, I'll bet you he's done it before, since, and a hundred different ways.
Polanski - there certainly seems to be some hero-worship going on. Some point out that the victim of the crime now wants Polanski forgiven so that all of this would be over - of course, would we really care what Sharon Tate has to say? It's about punishment and stopping future crimes. And folks, if a 44-year old man is capable of drugging, raping, and sodomizing a 13-year old girl once, I'll bet you he's done it before, since, and a hundred different ways.Although I don't know how the case will end up I can assure you of this: Had Samantha Gailey been my daughter there would not have been a Roman Polanski-directed film after 1977. Hell, there wouldn't have been a Roman Polanski after 1977. And I defy any man who reads that transcript to suggest otherwise.
I don't know why, but I'm constantly amazed at the number of "Hollywood" creatures who are allowed to continue their lifestyle even though they have committed numerous, sometimes heinous (O.J. Simpson), crimes. They are cloaked and protected in the identities that "we the people" have created for them and deem themselves above the law. A recent example - Paris Hilton: "Hilton will spend just 23 days in a cushy little "special needs housing unit" in a suburb of Los Angeles which caters to celebrities, public officials, police officers and other high-profile inmates.
ReplyDeleteThe 26-year-old was sentenced after violating her probation for a drunk-driving conviction.
Her initial 45-day sentence has been reduced to a little over three weeks, for two main reasons: good behaviour and the fact that she actually attended her last court hearing.
We're baffled as to how she can have half her sentence reduced for good behaviour two-and-a-half weeks BEFORE she actually begins her sentence.
It's the same old story: celebrities are just so much more special than us common scum."
WTF is that???!!! The every day man (or woman) would never be allowed such leniency.
Good for her, she managed to "show up" for court. It can be so difficult to squeeze something like that in between all those parties and club nights. Ironically, it was Woody Allen who said, "Eighty percent of success is just showing up." Thanks, Woddy. Paris was listening.
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