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ysobelleI read this this morning:
salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/09/28/polanski_arrest/index.htm
I posted: "So let me see if I get this straight: if you drug and rape a 13-year-old, orally, vaginally, and anally, all you have to do is live it up for 30 years in Europe, and you shouldn't be prosecuted? Golly, that's great! What a deal!"
And someone said, "The victim wants the case dropped. We should honour her wishes."
And I didn't see this coming til I'd written it.
If the victim doesn't want to pursue the case, I respect that. She doesn't want it all dredged back up. I'm very, very glad she found peace. But as the Salon piece I posted says so well, this isn't just about her. He. Raped. A. Child. No matter what has happened since, he raped a child, and fled. He did something absolutely heinous, and ran like a coward. I am all for protecting the victim at all costs. Keep her out of the courts. Never show her name. Whatever it takes. But he committed a vile, disgusting act. He needs to face the music.
Not only that, but what about all of your friends and my friends who've been raped? What about our daughters and our nieces? What about all the women-- and yes, the men-- who might someday find themselves victims of rape? What on earth is the message that we're sending every time we say, "Oh, it was so long ago. Just drop it already"? What about all the women I know who are right now throwing up in their bathrooms because they know the man who raped them will never be caught, never be tried, never be prosecuted, and who is right now somewhere thinking, "See? He got away with it, so can I. Wait long enough, and no one cares."
And that cannot, cannot be true. We cannot let anyone who rapes think they're safe. We cannot let them think they can escape the consequences. We cannot turn a blind eye, and let our friends and our kids and our sisters and our neighbours and women we don't even know be raped once by a monster, and once again by a monstrous injustice.
salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/09/28/polanski_arrest/index.htm
I posted: "So let me see if I get this straight: if you drug and rape a 13-year-old, orally, vaginally, and anally, all you have to do is live it up for 30 years in Europe, and you shouldn't be prosecuted? Golly, that's great! What a deal!"
And someone said, "The victim wants the case dropped. We should honour her wishes."
And I didn't see this coming til I'd written it.
If the victim doesn't want to pursue the case, I respect that. She doesn't want it all dredged back up. I'm very, very glad she found peace. But as the Salon piece I posted says so well, this isn't just about her. He. Raped. A. Child. No matter what has happened since, he raped a child, and fled. He did something absolutely heinous, and ran like a coward. I am all for protecting the victim at all costs. Keep her out of the courts. Never show her name. Whatever it takes. But he committed a vile, disgusting act. He needs to face the music.
Not only that, but what about all of your friends and my friends who've been raped? What about our daughters and our nieces? What about all the women-- and yes, the men-- who might someday find themselves victims of rape? What on earth is the message that we're sending every time we say, "Oh, it was so long ago. Just drop it already"? What about all the women I know who are right now throwing up in their bathrooms because they know the man who raped them will never be caught, never be tried, never be prosecuted, and who is right now somewhere thinking, "See? He got away with it, so can I. Wait long enough, and no one cares."
And that cannot, cannot be true. We cannot let anyone who rapes think they're safe. We cannot let them think they can escape the consequences. We cannot turn a blind eye, and let our friends and our kids and our sisters and our neighbours and women we don't even know be raped once by a monster, and once again by a monstrous injustice.
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 11:30 pm (UTC)I agree fully with your statement... if you commit a crime, you need to do the time. In a jail, not in Europe.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-30 12:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-30 01:35 pm (UTC)There will be no blind eye.
The Rape and the Plea Bargain will be the big issues.
If it is on the record, it will probably be thrown out since he fled but then they will also look at the circumstances of why he fled.
People do not put up with this because he is who he is.
He did do some time though... that will be taken into consideration too.
It will be interesting to watch this play out.
I know the legal site are all chatting about it.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-30 05:39 pm (UTC)But that is also why I find these posts incredibly traumatic and triggering. Are you going to go wage justice on behalf of me, too?
no subject
Date: 2009-10-01 05:30 pm (UTC)I say throw him in jail for the rape, then if he's still alive when that time is done keep him in jail for running away... He should never again see the light of day outside a jail cell...
Send the message that if you flee you will not only serve time for the original crime but also for fleeing...
no subject
Date: 2009-10-06 10:55 pm (UTC)