And we wonder why we have pathetic little boys who think that kind of behavior is ok.

And people wonder why I think humans suck.

At the same time Polanski was taking a bath with the under age actress, guys named Bubba and Jetter and Joe the Plumber were taking a bath with their under age female neighbors and kinfolk all across the country and not getting in any trouble.

The reason this needs to be pointed out is that this entire conversation (now and the last time we had it … http://tinyurl.com/24bq5rn and http://tinyurl.com/27o6kmh ) does (inadvertently) sometimes ignore the fact that rape, now and especially then, passes as normal, is unreported, or is …. just part of growing up ( http://tinyurl.com/nfv6fo )

Yes, yes, the specific details of he HE got away with this in HIS universe involved his privilege. If your only tool is a hammer, and all that. But getting away with rape, especially this sort of socially managed event, was pretty run of the mill for everybody named Roman, everybody named Bubba, everybody named Jeeter, and everybody named Joe the Plumber.

And here we are reminded of how much progress Western societies made in the last 30 years: rape and sex with minors are not seen as misdemeanors any more but serious crimes. (On the other hand, sodomy is not a crime any more. It’s consent that counts, not whether sex was “natural” or “unnatural”.) The dissonance comes when the details of a 30-year-old trial come to light. The whole legal defense of Polanski is, well, perfectly legal, but we don’t have the same sensitivities any more.

“Now I’m not sure whether to blame the Swiss or US authorities or both. But someone screwed up badly and Polanski should be headed back to the US to serve his 90 day sentence (as well as standing trial for that little fugitive-of-justice thing), and instead he’s walking away a (mostly) free man.”

Blame both, by all means. But it’s debatable whether the Swiss screwed up first when they let him come and go from their country several times before last year, or when they arrested him this time; or when they decided that finally, handing over to justice rich and famous people who happen to be on their soil was bad for the country’s business. Duh. As for the US authority, they tipped their hand when they failed to provide the tape that would have confirmed Polanski’s lawyers contentions. In other words, they knew that what they were doing was not perfectly kosher, but they did it any way. Not a good strategy when you are against someone with high-powered legal advice.

Thanks, I guess this case has been lingering so long my memory became hazy.

@prelevent #7

You’re right, it is frustrating. As I have commented before [Rape / Category: Behavioral Biology â?¢ Rape / Posted on: June 30, 2010 5:32 PM, by Greg Laden]; victims are treated terribly by many components of the criminal justice system. Reforming the court system (without denying the rights of the accused) would help make a victim of rape more likely to voluntarily participate in the criminal process.

Now I’m not sure whether to blame the Swiss or US authorities or both. But someone screwed up badly and Polanski should be headed back to the US to serve his 90 day sentence (as well as standing trial for that little fugitive-of-justice thing), and instead he’s walking away a (mostly) free man.

The thing that bothers me the most about the case is all the people coming out in support tend to be Hollywood types (hm, entitled much?) and, embarrassingly, lots of political liberals. If you consider yourself progressive but support Polanski going free, you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself — liberals aren’t supposed to sympathize with fucking rapists.

I think that this is the double edged sword of a rape trial. Unlike so many, if not most, other crimes the word of the defendant is foremost the lynch-pin of the case. If the person is not able to present their case, then what does the prosecution have to go on. This case, and all other statutory cases, is different because it involves a minor, and so the state has cause to prosecute despite the participation of the victim. So in order to pursue justice the victim has to make a statement and be questioned. It is a pretty unfortunate system, but one that is not so easily remedied.