I agree, but I would add that both types of misconduct are so hated and reviled, particularly where the victim is pre-pubescent, that the difference is not all that significant.
I believe there is a double standard, but it does not relate to sexual orientation.
The arguments of Roman Polanski’s defenders always ring hollow, because in the end they boil down to “someone who makes such great films can’t be all bad”. These are the same arguments made for Woody Allen’s actions with his unofficially adopted children.
Jackson, on the other hand, has squandered his considerable talent, becoming a shadow of his former self artistically, and a frightening caricature of a human being to boot. The jester no longer amuses us, so we are willing to throw him out of the royal court.
Which leads me to question: Would the DC sniper have gotten off had he simply been able to play an instrument?
silly me, posting to GD sans cites.
Polanski was not treated fairly. There was scant evidence of a rape - certainly criminal evidence gathering was primitive back then. Yet he was ready to plea to some lesser charge that was rescinded by the judge. That was wrong.
The DA of Santa Barbara started with the same case - a victim giving a statement as to what happened. The DA had also been castigated (word of the day) in a MJ song from like ten years ago. Anyways, he came off as an arse in his press conference. I doubt they have anything that amounts to incriminating evidence in any videos/DVDs they found. Of course, one underage boy or girl in a video is a felony. Let that be a lesson to any of you who have early Traci Lords videos - or even the Penthouse with Vanessa Williams (16 y/o Traci Lords is in that issue)
An excerpt from The Smoking Gun, where you can read the victim’s testimony.
While I definitely think the gender of a rape/molestation victim plays a part, unfairly, in how the case is treated, I don’t think it really plays a significant role in these two cases.
Sorry, I just had to add that at one point, while on the stand, the victim explains how Polanski orally raped her by saying he “started performing cuddliness.” Oh yeah, she’s a regular 13-going-on-30 vixen (unless, of course, there was some sort of error made while recording her testimony)
Both of them are scum, if you ask me. Talented, but scum.
I didn’t mean to suggest the girl was “13 going on 30,” but hazarding a guess as to why Hollywood has forgiven Polanski. Personally, I think he’s a pig.
Well, she did say that she had had sexual intercourse with another male before that incident. She may not have been a vixen, but she wasn’t completely pure either.
So WHAT? I don’t care if she was the Whore of Babylon-NO MEANS NO!!!
Any prior intercourse was also legally rape since she could not have consented by law. That fact that she had been raped before did not render her “impure.”
BTW, this argument would seem completely ridiculous if Michael Jackson tried it (the boy’s been molested before so he’s not “pure”) which (IMO) lends credence to my case about a double standard with regards to the sex of the victim.
What we need are special prisons for artists where they make movies instead of license plates. Maybe an in-prison major sparts franchise or two. That way we wouldn’t feel so bad about locking them up and losing the entertainment value. For lesser offenses, you could even sentence them by films/seasons.
Polanski was never tried in absentia or in person. Above it says he was in a secure psych unit-he was? I don’t think so- AFAIK, he was never seen by a court psych, which he would have had to for sex crimes per the MDSO law (mentally disordered sex offender ),6300 WIC, since repealed. MY memory is that the late Santa Monica judge Lawrence Rittenband was thinking of sending Roman for a 90 day "diagnostic study’ at Chino St prison- nobody was talking about 50 + years then.
The “in absentia” confusion is likely a conflation of Polanski’s case with that of Ira Einhorn, who was convicted of murder in absentia by an American court and who also spent decades hiding out in France, only to be extradited in 2001.
How is this unfair? In all cases, the trial judge has the authority to reject plea bargains.
Cite:http://dictionary.law.com/definition2.asp?selected=1541&bold=||||
That may be true, but it doesn’t make it right if all the other parties, especially the victim, have agreed to the plea bargain. I think this was a case where Polanski was treated more harshly because he was a celebrity.
This is an exchange between Lawrence Silver, Samantha Geimer’s lawyer (at the time of the rape), and Larry King, when Silver and Geimer appeared on King’s CNN show prior to the Oscars (it aired February 24, 2003):
The entire interview is here.
In that case, I wonder if the perception Polanski was treated unfairly by the court might have to do with the way people perceive this. Polanski did something terrible and was willing to pay for it (plead guilty, do some time) and then the judge seems to have gone rogue. Michael Jackson was charged with a crime and bought his way out when he appeared to be guilty. Now he’s accused of the same crime again.
I can’t find it online right now, but today or yesterday Liz Taylor issued a statement saying she supported Michael. So I guess she hasn’t abandoned him totally.
I worked with molesters at a residential treatment center for the christless monsters. Jackson and Polanski both remind me of the pus-bags I used to supervise. One thing that I’ve never seen from a pedophile is genuine contrition. The only thing they’re ever sorry about is getting caught. If they’re guilty, Jackson and Polanski (and every other pedophile) should be put away forever. No double standards.
Maybe because MJ is more popular there is more bad feeling toward him.
I think even Uri Geller’s support has been stretched to the limit. I read an article recently where he repeatedly said that “Michael has crossed the line” by saying that he enjoyed sleeping with kids.
RP is vermin.
He never did his time. I couldn’t care less if he’s been apologetic, apologies don’t cost a thing.
The government should put a cash bounty on his head, so a bounty hunter will grab him and drag him out of France (where all is forgiven apparently) and bring him back to justice.
Remember someone tried to grab Ron Biggs (Great Train Robber) out of Brazil for the money. Though that attempt failed, he ultimately returned to the UK to serve his sentence.
Show MJ no leniency either; as a parent, I feel the actions of these two creeps deserves none.