I just saw this AMAZING video on minxy's LJ. It is a clear, concise arguement as to why the apologists for Polanski have got it all wrong:



It seems to me, people can't reconcile the fact of someone being a great artist AND a scumbag. Why not? The two aren't mutually exclusive.
Just as you can have the reverse: A person who is wonderful,... and talentless.
Artists don't have to be fabulous people. And creativity doesnt mean someone should get a free pass when it comes to acountability.

As for forgiveness. Well, criminal law is not dependent on whether the victim forgives the perpetrator. It can't be. You would then have a situation where you never/rarely prosecuted parents who abused children - (children often love their parents, no mater what)or victims of domestic violence (who often stay with/keep going back to the abuser).I could go on, but you get my drift..

And as for Whoopi 'it wasnt rape-rape' Goldberg on The View. Trying to deal with it legalistically...well all I can say is (wearing my lawyer hat) Shut.The *@! Up!.
A very interesting, insightful analysis has appeared, done by Brendan O'Meill at 'Spiked'.
here: http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7464/

My take on it - commenting both on O'Neill's article and on the situation is as follows:-

This... is brilliant, measured, insightful.
As a lawyer- I agree that it would have been helpful to have a debate about arrest warrants for long ago crimes (e.g Nazi war criminals).

I happen to think that with certain crimes, there should be no time barring as regards prosecution.

As a 'liberal' I don't see how this type of case is a positive example of 'pushing back the boundaries of..' anything.

As a mother- I do think Britain is in the grip of hysteria about paedophilia, but I dont think raping and sodomizing children-however eminent the perpetrator- is something that should be a matter of artistic licence due to a)the passage of time and b) the forgiveness of the victim.

The factors the pro-Polanski side want taken into consideration are perhaps relevant when it comes to sentencing. Not whether the man should be held culpable. Ultimately, the furore about this boils down to that current obsession, celebrity. If Polanski had been a Mexican-American, senior citizen who worked as a labourer, found in Central or South America after 3 decades as a fugitive, no one would be defending him.
.

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