I wrote this song about you.

[samatethecookie]

I know a lot of people on my flist are upset about the Roman Polanski case just as much as I am, and I'm also aware of the people in Hollywood that are actually defending this man. I'm sorry to hear that a lot of people are still stuck in the mindset that we must blame the victim and protecting the rapist instead of condemning him for what he did.

I don't care if it's been thirty years since he ran away. I also don't care how brilliant of an artist he is or used to be. I don't care if the victim wants to put it behind her. Rape is rape. The man deserves to go to jail. For the sake of girls that are my little sister's age, he shouldn't get away with this.

I dare anyone to make any sense out of why it's okay to blame the girl and not the man who raped her, or why it's okay to create a petition to keep him out of jail, because I definitely can't do it without wanting to smash something.

I also dare his defenders to go on ONTD here, read the interview and look at that picture of the girl, from thirty years ago, in the comment thread, and see if you can do that and still defend him because he's an ~artist~.

Ugh.

Just to show a silver lining in this dark cloud, I thought posting a list of those who are condemning Polanski would lift everybody's moods, even just a little bit. A lot of my favorite celebrities -- or those I at least respect -- made it on this list, especially Chris Rock's video, which you can find here.

Randomly, everybody's getting sick. It's also fucking freezing over here. Three days of nonstop rain. I swear to God.

Comments

[cheriestar.livejournal.com]

Seriously, why are some people defending him? What he did was WRONG. Just because he's famous and an artist doesn't make him able to ignore the law.

[samatethecookie.livejournal.com]

Because she apparently didn't look like a thirteen year old. And she just wants to forget about it and move on, so he shouldn't go to jail now. Uh, yeah. How about no. (They're also pulling out the tired "well she probably wanted it" argument, except they ignore the fact that he got her drunk and drugged up before the actual rape occurred.)

And as a writer, it offends me that people are using the "HE'S AN ARTIST" argument. That same argument can be applied to every other serial killer or rapist. Should we give everybody a break if they commit a crime because they've done something somewhat creative? I don't think so and I hope to God the majority doesn't believe this crock of shit.

[evilwildlex.livejournal.com]

The only part where I disagree with you is this: "I don't care if the victim wants to put it behind her."

Because what the survivor wants is important. It's unfair to disempower them even if you disagree with the choices they're making.

[samatethecookie.livejournal.com]

I should rephrase that, because that wasn't my intention at all and ... I definitely wasn't thinking when I wrote that. I didn't mean to disempower the survivor at all, and I'm sorry about that. She shouldn't be forced to do anything if she wishes to put it behind her, especially with a case that's been on hold for thirty years.

However, I don't think it's fair for those who are defending him to use her feelings to their advantage and argue that he shouldn't go to jail at all. I know her opinion is most likely going to affect what happens to him, but he just shouldn't get away with it since he already pleaded guilty to the crime. That's what I meant to convey, it just ... came out the wrong way that I'm not proud of at all. :\

[evilwildlex.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, I wasn't mad at you or anything. I was just pointing out that her feelings on how the situation should be handled do matter.

Personally, I think that a large portion of his assets should be seized and donated to charitable organizations who pay for the medical bills and for counselling for sexual assault survivors. In my opinion, it would still send a message that he wasn't getting away with what he did, while doing a lot more good overall.

[samatethecookie.livejournal.com]

Yeah... I was just a little afraid that other people would be upset about that line. I'm still a little sad about how that came across.

That wouldn't be a bad idea, either, especially since he's ran away for thirty years and avoiding any punishment for this long. I'm just hoping he doesn't get away with it and be able to walk around free from any responsibility. That's really the only fear I have about this case right now. That and right now I'm really disgusted with how Hollywood is treating this case right now and it's been making me rage for awhile now.