neverwhere

The Roman Polanski defenders are out in force. Since his arrest, we’ve already heard pretty much every line that has ever been used to defend him during his decades as a fugitive: that his life has been hard, that he’s suffered (because everyone who has had a sufficiently tough life is, of course, entitled to one free rape, courtesy of the US government), that he’s paid his price (since living in Europe as a rich and acclaimed film director is a fate worse than death) and that the real tragedy is that he will forever be known as a rapist.

Which is not so much a “tragedy” as it is the result of the facts being known. Polanski vaginally and anally assaulted a 13-year-old girl, forced oral sex on her and pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor. He did this as part of a plea bargain. When he began to fear that his sentence would not be as light as he had hoped, he fled the country. And had he not directed movies, our judgment would be unilateral and harsh. It’s generally considered unacceptable, in the US criminal justice system, for a criminal to flee the country because he’s afraid he won’t like his sentence.

Fracking COWARD. OWN UP to what you did. I don’t care how the victim has learned to cope with what you did to her, with your violent violation of her person and her body (I’m glad she has, if that’s true, but come on, what else is she supposed to do? Live with “the rage” every single day?); whether or not she forgives you is completely irrelevant to whether or not you deserve punishment (you do) What you did was indefensible — which you freely admitted, without defense.

Fuck you, Polanski. Go to prison. Stop making a horrid spectacle of this event. Let your victim live in peace.  Maybe you’re still terrified of getting a dose of your own medicine in prison? I hope so.