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Strollerderby
Can Adult Forgive Polanski’s Crime Against a Kid?
Let’s get this straight. An adult male sleeps with a thirteen-year-old child, gets convicted, then runs away. And Samantha Geimer says she got over Roman Polanski having sex with her long ago, so we should all get over it and leave him alone?
The court of public opinion has swayed toward Polanski rather quickly since his arrest over the weekend, with entire countries (not just bloggers) calling for his release. Geimer’s declaration that she “got over it a long time ago” has only fueled the fire.
But as Salon’s Kate Harding spells out in an essay on Broadsheet today, there’s one thing you can’t escape: “Roman Polanski raped a child.”
Sure, she’s forty-five now, a mother, a bookeeper. She’s got the power to forgive and forget crimes against herself.
But she wasn’t then. She was a little girl, who was forced to have sex by an adult male. And Polanski wasn’t just accused. He was convicted. And it gets worse – he then decided that he was above paying for his crime and fled the country. Which is yet another crime he’s committed (and one that does not need the word alleged in front of it – despite the fact that he hasn’t been convicted of jumping ship in a court of law, it’s been documented by every major news organization in the world). Being a fugitive in and of itself is evidence of Polanski’s criminal nature – and that’s a crime Geimer doesn’t have the right to “forgive away.” He didn’t commit it against her.
But an even bigger question. Can an adult woman forgive legal crimes against her child self?
Point of fact: the child Geimer could not have forgiven Polanski and recommended the court forgive him as well. Sexual crimes against children are out of kid’s hands chiefly because they are matters kids can’t be expected to tackle on their own. That’s what makes them crimes – including statutory rape, which can (and very often does) include sex with a child who insists that she or he consented. But kids do not legally have the ability to consent. Nor do they legally have the ability to determine a crime against them is anything but.
So Geimer’s feelings on the matter would seem to have very little bearing on the case. Because it wasn’t forty-five-year-old Samantha Geimer who was raped by Roman Polanski. It was thirteen-year-old Geimer who Polanski forced to have sex, who went through a trial only to see her convicted rapist run to the other end of the world and get off seemingly scot free.
Image: Guardian
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[...] the same time – the timing is awful – as one commentor on our post about Roman Polanski (and all the would-be child rape forgivers out there) points out: there’s some major [...]
Poland Says Yes to Castrating Pedophiles | Strollerderby commented on Sep 29 09 at 1:33 pmjenny tries too hard commented on Sep 28 09 at 5:25 pmAt this point, Polanski didn’t just commit a crime against his victim, but against the US legal system. By pleading guilty and then fleeing the country, he made a mockery of our carefully balanced system. His success is also an affront to rape victims both here and abroad. The victim may have forgiven Polanski, but has she forgiven all those here and in Europe who have helped hime get away with what he did?
Ali commented on Sep 28 09 at 5:30 pmThe law is not there to make the victim feel justified. His crime is against society. He has a debt to pay to us, not to her. That is why even when battered spouses refuse to press charges if the act is witnessed by another they are arrested.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Sep 28 09 at 6:53 pmHe needs to pay for his crime. He drugged and sodomized a 13 year old girl, no matter what the circumstances.
Ana Voog commented on Sep 29 09 at 9:16 amwhy can’t you just call it rape?
he didn’t “sleep with” her. they were not “having sex”he raped her.
call it what it is.he drugged and raped a child.
say it.
mumus commented on Sep 29 09 at 9:43 amDoesn’t the law exist to some extent to protect the interests of the victim? Has Geimler had to live for the past thirty years with her name and the details of this crime circulating among the media and public? The statement I read from Geimler suggests that her desire to dismiss the charges is less about forgiveness and more about putting this case to rest.
Laure68 commented on Sep 29 09 at 11:48 amI find it amazing that the Polish Foreign Minister is calling for Polanski to get pardoned at the same time they are enacting this law.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE58O4LE20090925
The only reason people are asking for Polanski to be pardoned is because he is a famous artist. I find it disturbing that they are clearly saying the law should be different for him.
Alison commented on Sep 29 09 at 3:10 pmGeimer probably also wants to protect her mother (and child’s grandmother) from further scrutiny. Public opinion is not terribly kind towards women who send their children to parties because the people throwing it are famous film stars/directors, parties where the presence of drugs and alcohol is expected, parties thrown by men with a reputation for using women sexually.
Thinking Ahead commented on Sep 29 09 at 3:55 pmThank goodness someone is calling this for what it is, rather than Polanski’s well-heeled friends who somehow think because he’s famous he can get away with it. It speaks of the rarefied atmosphere his associates dwell within, one that carries a sometimes not-so-subtle message that the well-to-do among us need not conform to the same rules. Well, Roman, welcome back to America — and long-overdue justice.
appalled in DC commented on Sep 29 09 at 5:09 pmi have to say of all the coverage i’ve read of this the past two days — on nyt, slate and other places — this is one of the few that even acknowledged he committed a crime. i’ve seen a lot of unnecessary “allegeds” and “having sex with” when as many of you have already pointed out, it was rape plain and simple. the smoking gun has the grand jury testimony. i really wish the other outlets would be more accurate in their characterization.
Mary commented on Oct 07 09 at 2:18 pmIt isn’t rape if she gave consent. This the media trying to avoid talking about real problems. He is one man who had sex with a thirteen year old girl decades ago. Let it go already. The victim did. Why are you using so much man power for something that frankly doesn’t matter anymore? Why don’t we go find the real bad guy? Why don’t we go find people having sex with children right now?!
sera commented on Oct 12 09 at 1:11 amReplace “sex” and “sleeps” in this article with “drugged” and “raped”, then I’ll consider taking whatever you wrote seriously…
Not Foolish commented on Mar 10 10 at 2:58 pmPlease Please Please, all U women on here need to keep quiet. U people are the biggest hypocrites I have ever seen in my life.
U hypocrites are NOT driven by a love for the law or that U women resent evil such as “rape” e.t.c..
U hypocrites on here are driven by SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
If the woman says forgive and forget, then U should do just that, but of course U won’t because U love glorifying the word “rape” so that U can feel special. Its always rape this, rape that.
Please for the love of good SHUT UP, just SHUT UP.
While U people are screaming about this man, your women drink sperm on camera, have sex with 10 men on camera, some even have sex with animals. That is evil right there and U hypocrites should focus your attention on people like the freaks I just mentioned or Hugh Hefner(A person U hypocrites celebrate)
Again, I hate your kind because U are not driven by a GENUINE DESIRE TO DO GOOD but instead U are driven byfalse self righteousness.
Shut up with the word “rape” already. Teach your women how to DRESS MODESTLY and obey the word of GOD.
Hypocrites, they really are worst than Hitler.
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