[Reuters]Roman Polanski arrested in Switzerland 31 years after fleeing trial

You aren't considering some factors:

1) The recentness of the Michael Jackson allegations. People on this board experienced what he went through (for a lot of them) in their adulthood and in a more reasoned time.
2) Michael Jackson's "weirdness." I know since his death the black community has "claimed him" but most people didn't think of Michael Jackson as a black man, they thought of him as a freak. He made that perception worse with some of his antics.
3) The audience. I have already said there is a bias here, just like there was for Michael Jackson. People who find Roman Polanski to be an awesome director and feel sorry that his pregnant wife was brutally murdered are going to argue for him, just like the people who loved Michael Jackson's music argued for him.
4) Crime itself. Polanski is accused of having sex with an underage girl where Michael Jackson was accused of molesting boys. Whenever people argue in defense of someone who commits statutory rape, you always here the "maybe she looked a certain age, maybe she seduced him, I could see that happening" etc. defenses. Nobody can rationalize molesting young boys.

 

Put me in the string-him-up camp. All the arguments that the case is "more complicated than that" have failed to show it. There's no complication in this case our justice system doesn't deal with every freaking day. If our court system can't handle his case, it has no legitimacy at all.

I'm actually quite a bit more upset at the bail-jumping than the rape (which was plenty bad enough). Polanski's been giving the finger to the US for 30 years. He could have come back and gotten his sentence; then appealed it if it was unreasonable. I want them to throw the book at him for evading the law. If I flee the country to avoid prison and finally get caught, no one will be considering clemency for me, so I'll be damned if they do it for Roman Polanski. He's old, so whatever the time is for evading the law should be enough for him to die in prison.

As for the misfortunes of his life -- how many hood-rats rotting in prison right now could tell you similar stories about tough childhoods and loved ones murdered?

 

i can't either since it hasn't happened. no one is saying he didn't do anything wrong.

 

Folx, what about OJ ?

 

thanks for saying exactly what I feel, but better than I can.

He was a MUCH older guy who had sex with a 13 YR OLD..

no question in my mind...jail time must be served....and the 40-odd days he was being evaluated != enough for that crime.

 

1. Allegations <<<<< Admission of Guilt
2. Weirdness - which could be accounted to a bit of a messed up childhood [which is the claim for sympathy for Polanski]
3. The Audience - yes this is all about the audience. People who have one set of rules for one . . .and another for another . . . which is alot of time racially based. they may hem and haa . . .. use euphemisms and contingiential things to cover what they say.
4. Polanski HAD sex with an underage girl . . .MJ was ACCUSED

Rocket River

 

I'm not defending Polanski. I'm saying there were definitely biases at work in the situations of both men, but race isn't the bias that's at work. No one here defends white pedophiles that are normal people, and people here defended the black football player (young man) who got jail in Georgia for stat rape.

People's issues with Michael Jackson were not about his skin color and there defense of Polanski isn't about his.

 

And I didn't say that folks are saying that he "didn't do anything". But they are defending a man who raped a 13-year-old girl.

See: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=4775265&postcount=19

 

I'm not going to comment on this because I wasn't around in 1978 or old enough to have an opinion or remember for that matter. I'm sure you had some people very upset that this guy bounced, but that was the days before talk radio and 24 hor news. Sorry to disagree with you but I remember people being pretty upset with Polanski when won an Oscar.

I do think there is a bias, its called time. Its like Ted Kennedy, this happened so long ago that people that people become desensitized. The MJ case was 4 years ago, before he died.

But I do agree on one thing, OJ and Mike were found innocent, they had their day in court. People should lay off a bit for that alone, or at least get over it.

 

People in this country do not put "consensual" stat rape very high on their list of sins. We are a country that has a long history of dismissing rape accusations, blaming women for violence, allowing marital rape, etc, etc, etc. Be outraged by it all you want (and I am) but this country is not going to be as outraged by a man who gets drunk and sleeps with a 13 year old who is game for it as they are by a man they believe has brutally murdered his wife or a man who has molested young boys.

 

THEY HAD THEIR DAY IN COURT

 

justtxyank

i don't care about how people view thier alleged crimes, they were found innocent. I work with a guy who made a comment when Mike died, saying something about OJ should be next.

what does that tell you, molestation is a lot different from murder. why do you think people link these guys.

and when they are children, I'm not so sure its a difference between boys and girls. like someone else keeps mentioning, its not like the LITTLE GIRL went there to have sex, it was rape, not statutory.

 

So what?

You seem to be misunderstanding my argument. I have said there is bias at work here, it just isn't racist.

 

so that's america right? I guess it doesn't matter in these cases, I wonder why?

you seem to be justifying the more bias againt mike because he allegedly slept with boys instead of girls,

that's ridiculous in this case. we're not talking about some sixteen year, we're talking about a 13 kid he drugged and raped.

 

I agree with you. If you go through the Michael Jackson threads, you'll see I defended him to an extent.

Because general perception is that both of them got away with a crime?

Molestation is a lot different than murder, but it's just as vile in this country. People in this country despise child molesters just as much as murderers.

I agree with this except you misjudge how this country views rape. Stat rape is not considered by many people to be a terrible horrible death penalty should exist crime. Men in this country OFTEN begin explaining why it could happen without the man who had sex with the girl being a disgusting rapist. Rape in general has been a grossly mistreated crime in this country since its inception. It's a terrible reality, but it is reality. Men still blame women for the crime. Look through the Kobe Bryant threads (BLACK MAN!) and read all the defenders of him who trash that woman.

Reality Check:
Murder>Child Molestation>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Stat Rape in Public Perception of the evilness involved.

 

There's no such thing as consentual stat rape. A child can't consent, that's the whole point. Crimes against children generate more outrage than crimes against adults.

 

Its not statutory rape, its pure rape, why do you keep talking about statutory rape. this has been settled in this thread already

 

No, I'm not justifying it I'm explaining it. Read through here. I want Polanski put in jail, I think the original deal he got was a joke and I think it speaks volumes about how disgusting our country's history is when it comes to rape.