# Gore Vidal calls Polanski victim "little hooker," claims anti-Semitism got "poor Polanski" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 31, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793 "2009-10-31T00:34:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/61 "2009-11-02T17:08:19Z")
Wow, I’ve just been “ZING’ed” by Mr Moto! How embarrassing - I’ll have to leave this thread in shame, now. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/62 "2009-11-02T17:10:04Z")
Oh, now we won’t have any “Samantha Geimar was a dumb slut who waved her ass at Roman Polanski–what did she think was going to happen?!” diatribes. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/63 "2009-11-02T17:11:09Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Well, she would say that, wouldn’t she? > > As for her age, I’d bet that at least 50% of males on this planet, if they had a physically mature, attractive young lady waving her tush at them, would have done the same thing. Knowing her age might decrease that number, but there still wouldn’t be only Roman Polanski answering the call. And had she then screamed rape, would have been brought up on sexual assault charges, tagged as a child molester and had their lives ruined. If a 13 year old Lolita ever tempts you into sex, its in your own best interest to turn her down flat. And if a “could be 20 - might be older” kid standing outside the liquor store asks you to pick up a case of beer for him, and turns out to be a cop…you’ll get busted, even if “most people would.” ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/64 "2009-11-02T22:23:59Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Well, since he pled guilty to a charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, you can take his testimony as well. Which, of course, accounts for everyone with direct knowledge of the incident. Not Vidal, and most certainly not **Ivan**. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/65 "2009-11-02T23:29:37Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I’d be more inclined to believe Vidal’s account than anyone’s that has posted in this thread. > > Regardless of what the statute books determine rape to be, why is it so difficult to consider that Polanski’s victim might have been a teenage slut? Still working for your “Abhorrent piece of shit” merit badge, I take it? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/66 "2009-11-03T00:17:06Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Pot, meet Kettle: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYymnxoQnf8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYymnxoQnf8) Isn’t it great? We don’t have exchanges like that on tv anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Fuji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/67 "2009-11-03T00:56:20Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Well, the judge believed her testimony. Why are you so determined to paint her as a conniving little slut–because Gore Vidal said so? Probably because, as a self-confessed ex-burglar who blames his victims for making their stuff too easy to steal, he empathizes with other poor souls who have ravenous appetites and poor impulse control. > [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I know _I am_ a honorable man, but I don’t know that about everyone else. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/68 "2009-11-03T01:22:23Z")
> [@Fuji](#): > > Probably because, as a self-confessed ex-burglar who blames his victims for making their stuff too easy to steal, he empathizes with other poor souls who have ravenous appetites and poor impulse control. He’s the ex burglar? Oh, I forgot about that thread. Gross. Okay, so horny movie directors are victims of manipulative thirteen year old girls just as impressionable burglars on their way to Sunday School are victims of evil, thoughtless home owners who have the gall to leave their windows open. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/69 "2009-11-03T01:27:05Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I’d be more inclined to believe Vidal’s account than anyone’s that has posted in this thread. > > Regardless of what the statute books determine rape to be, why is it so difficult to consider that Polanski’s victim might have been a teenage slut? Ah yes, the old, “the girl was asking for it!” :rolleyes: Why don’t you just go fornicate yourself, instead of stinking up this place with your disgustingly misogynistic bullshit? Fucking piece of weasel-shit. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/70 "2009-11-03T01:30:35Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > I didn’t want to let this go by unremarked-upon. Whatever faults **Starving Artist** has, he’s never supported or defended a child rapist. Thanks. I just noticed this and didn’t want to let it go unremarked-upon either. > [@Maeglin](#): > > Give him time. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/71 "2009-11-03T01:39:21Z")
Shit, I forgot all about him being an ex-burglar. ETA: Never mind ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/72 "2009-11-03T01:41:24Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Over the last few years, though, he has really lost me. He’s always been willing to speak his mind, and has never really cared who he offended, but recently he seems to be a little unhinged. Watching interviews with him now is painful, and it constantly appears as if he’s a sad combination of his own sarcastic and brilliant self, on the one hand, and Grandpa Simpson, on the other. > > He has made a great contribution to the world of letters, but i think it would probably have been best if he faded gracefully from view. Too late for that now, unfortunately. The moment Gore Vidal lost me for good was when he wrote an article about Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing in Vanity Fair claiming that McVeigh was really a left-wing populist who had been framed by the government and smeared by the complicit media as a dangerous right-wing kook. I couldn’t believe about how much of the paranoid crackpot “black helicopter” nonsense he fell for. It sadly indicated how much he had slipped mentally. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/73 "2009-11-03T02:46:43Z")
I’m above (read: too lazy) to remember or track down this “ex-burglar” thing regarding anybody posting here, or posted about, so I will take one for the newbies and ask, “Whatchoo talkin’ about, Willis?” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/74 "2009-11-03T02:51:58Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I’m above (read: too lazy) to remember or track down this “ex-burglar” thing regarding anybody posting here, or posted about, so I will take one for the newbies and ask, “Whatchoo talkin’ about, Willis?” I don’t know how I’d go about searching for it, but basically there was a thread about the amount of force a home owner could use in a burglary or home invasion. A lot of people said they’d shoot because if you see someone in your house, you don’t know why they’re there. Others pointed out that they’d retreat and call the cops from a safe room/area. But **ivan** said that anyone who would shoot was a bad person, also that people would be better off locking their doors and securing their windows because otherwise they’re tempting poor innocent burglars into doing stuff they ordinarily wouldn’t have taken. He himself admitted to breaking into people’s houses as a teen. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/75 "2009-11-03T02:56:44Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I’m above (read: too lazy) to remember or track down this “ex-burglar” thing regarding anybody posting here, or posted about, so I will take one for the newbies and ask, “Whatchoo talkin’ about, Willis?” Here you go. Start with this post, and read on: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10720889#post10720889](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10720889#post10720889) **NDP** , i hadn’t heard about that Vidal piece. I’ll track it down and check out the crazy. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/76 "2009-11-03T03:17:35Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I don’t know how I’d go about searching for it, but basically there was a thread about the amount of force a home owner could use in a burglary or home invasion. Had a customer whom I could not talk out of having a fatal alternative when the home invaders had trapped themselves in a hallway between their last chance to not go further and the capsule protecting the homeowners and their children. Walls and door armored ballistically and more. The interlopers were going nowhere and to release Halon was irresponsible in a civilized society, but I provided a soundtrack for it, hoping it would never be needed because that’s the default expectation. ---
**Author:** ![Anomie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4491bb/32.png) [@Anomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anomie)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/77 "2009-11-03T03:52:31Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Over the last few years, though, he has really lost me. He’s always been willing to speak his mind, and has never really cared who he offended, but recently he seems to be a little unhinged. Watching interviews with him now is painful, and it constantly appears as if he’s a sad combination of his own sarcastic and brilliant self, on the one hand, and Grandpa Simpson, on the other. His partner of 50 years, Howard Austen, died in 2003. I think that’s when he lost it. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/78 "2009-11-03T03:59:39Z")
> [@Anomie](#): > > His partner of 50 years, Howard Austen, died in 2003. I think that’s when he lost it. Girls, **Anomie** , boys kiss GIRLS. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/79 "2009-11-03T05:52:29Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > **NDP** , i hadn’t heard about that Vidal piece. I’ll track it down and check out the crazy. You don’t have to. I found it [at the Vanity Fair archives](http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2001/09/mcveigh200109). (I just realized it was in the September 2001 issue. Talk about timing.) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793/80 "2009-11-03T06:34:20Z")
I just want to chime with some solace for people who hate Gore Vidal. He has already picked out his grave and it has a headstone. It is literally a block from my house in DC and I will make sure my dog takes a shit on him at least once a month once he’s dead and I’m back in DC. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gore-vidal-calls-polanski-victim-little-hooker-claims-anti-semitism-got-poor-polanski/515793.md?page=5)