Out on their own

This was going to be another one of those sophisticated cultured people (on the left, naturally enough, or in Europe) versus red-neck hicks and general right-wingers but it did not work out that way. I am talking about the story of Roman Polanski's arrest in Switzerland and the discussion about whether he should be extradited to the United States whence he fled some thirty-odd years ago, to avoid punishment for his crime.

Let me remind readers of this blog, though they probably know, that his crime was the drugging and repeated rape of a 13 year old girl. He subsequently justified it by explaining that everyone really wanted to have sex with little girls. (He used a different expression.) Given that he also had an affair with the 15-year old Nastassia Kinski when he was about 50, one can assume that his tastes run in that direction.

Normally, the people who are defending him would demand that he be imprisoned, the key thrown away and, probably, castrated. But hey, Mr Polanski is an auteur, a fashionable film director so the usual suspects sprang to his defence, pleading greater sophistication than his detractors.

Well, actually, some pleaded that it was all the girl's fault anyway. It seems that in certain cases, namely when the perpetrator is a well-known film-maker, rape is the victim's fault. Especially, when the victim is a child.

Among those who are defending him are the French Minister of Culture, the Polish Foreign Minister, his wife, the well-known Washington Post journalist, most of Hollywood (though John Nolte on Big Hollywood does not think this has anything to do with Polanski's talent or achievements) and writers on Huffington Post. Anne Applebaum, the aforementioned journalist and Mrs Radek Sikorski in private life, managed to forget to mention the relationship when she wrote her article and subsequently expressed the view that clearly the 13 year old girl knew what was going on and kept saying no just to tease.

However, even on HuffPo almost all readers then some of the writers expressed their disgust with the whole saga and insisted that the law is the law for everyone. And the good news is that the French are not as "sophisticated" as the Hollywood fruitcakes think. In fact, judging by their response to the French Culture Minister's blather, they are just ordinary human beings who are also appalled by Roman Polanski's behaviour. So the politicians are backing off. Well, you would expect that, wouldn't you.

Whom can you trust to display sophistication these days? Mind you, there has been a deafening silence from the left-wing feminist organizations. Well, why would they say anything? We are not talking of the heinous crime of not aborting your Down's Syndrome child here. And, anyway, have I mentioned that he is an auteur?