[Rage] Rape is not Seduction
Jesus blistering fuck I wish I hadn't read Richard Cohen's blog post on Roman Polanski this morning.
- Polanski had good -- but illegal -- reasons to flee the U.S. After copping to a single count of "unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor," he had grounds to believe that a publicity-crazed judge was about to throw the book at him. Aw shit. You watched that goddamn movie didn't you? Throw the book at him. Tell me, Richard, d'you think a man who raped a child should get a shorter or longer sentence than ninety days? Or do laws just not mean the same thing for people who make movies you like?
- He seduced -- if that can possibly be the word -- the 13-year-old Samantha Geimer with all the power and authority of a 44-year-old movie director who could make her famous. No, shithead, he drugged a child unsemiconscious and raped her. Seduced is nowhere near the fucking word.
- There are two extenuating circumstances in Polanski's case. Oh, I bet.
- The first is time. It has, after all, been over 30 years and Polanski, now 76, has been clean all that time -- no crimes alleged, no crimes convicted. Except for pretty much immediately fucking the then-fifteen-year-old Nastassja Kinski which might seem to imply a pattern to behavior unless you don't give a shit about the welfare of teenaged girls.
- More importantly, his victim pleads his case. Geimer says, more or less, enough is enough. She does not excuse what Polanski did and does not forgive what he has done, but it is time for us all to move on. "He made a terrible mistake, but he’s paid for it," she said some years back. This is not at all important. Criminal trials are not civil trials where the complainant is the victim and the defendant her assailant. In a criminal trial the complainant is the fucking State of California which has a vested interest in punishing those who rape children within its borders and those who flee its lawful justice. The victim may have forgiven his serially child-raping ass as part of her own healing, but that has no relevance to the state's interest in enforcing its laws.
- Time does not minimize the crime, which in its details is creepy, but jail would no longer serve a purpose. It is not creepy. It is appalling. He drugged and raped a child. Jail would serve the exact same purpose it does with anyone else who rapes children and skips out before sentencing and doesn't make movies Richard shiteating Cohen likes.
And here's the fucking awesome part. The money quote. It's out of sequence -- it appears as the lede to his piece -- but I felt it deserved pride of place as a finisher.
- It’s alright with me if Roman Polanski is freed by the Swiss authorities who have detained him at the request of the United States -- if first I get a chance to bust him one in the mouth.
Because the rape of an unconscious child is actually about you, Richard Cohen. If you get to punch him in the mouth all will be made well. Fuck law. Fuck justice. We don't need those; we got Richard Cohen's Fists of Righteousness. I thought Anne Applebaum's blog post from yesterday was awful but dude you have just fuckin' redefined the world standard.
Maybe it won't do anything, but I wrote The Washington Post's ombudsman:
Dear Mr. Alexander,
I'd read Anne Applebaum's PostPartisan essay advocating against the extradition of Roman Polanski and thought it a fairly appalling piece of rape apologia, but it wasn't much more than a rehashing of what's been said about him for years. Today's essay by Richard Cohen, however, is disgusting in the extreme and an offense to anyone who has suffered or been threatened with sexual assault. He states that because Mr. Polanski has managed to evade pursuit for so long -- while living in luxury in France and starting an 'affair' with a young woman only two years older than the girl he raped almost immediately upon his arrival there, leading me to wonder exactly what Mr. Cohen means by 'clean' -- and because the victim has recovered well from his assault, he should be let go.
But not before he, Richard Cohen, gets to punch him in the mouth. Does Mr. Cohen have no respect for the rule of law? Does the State of California have no interest in enforcing its laws and ensuring that those convicted of breaking them serve their sentences? Or do those not apply when the criminal makes movies he likes? Is advocating physical violence part of The Washington Post's style guide?
Mr. Cohen needs to get his facts straight; the documentary, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired was designed entirely to make Mr. Polanski seem a persecuted, innocent victim. A quick Google search would have led him to the victim's testimony at trial as to what happened to her. Not coincidentally, that had been edited from the documentary.
Mr. Cohen, Ms. Applebaum, and The Washington Post owe sexual assault victims everywhere apologies for stating so baldly that they are worth far less than the people who assaulted them.
Sincerely,
Moira Brown
Dallas, Texas
Edited to Add: Gene Robinson, as he so often does, gets it exactly right. And says 'fuck' way less than I do.