you said i was your blue blue baby

[maudgonne]

Yesterday I read this comment on Gawker about the victim in the Roman Polanski situation (bolding mine):

is it NORMAL or typical of a girl to have lost her virginity, taken quaaludes, and drank alcohol all on/before the age of 13 in the 1970s? she admitted to all three in the testimony. i know hollywood standards are not standard, but this girl

Comments

[mel39]

I've been slightly puzzled by the furore about his arrest. He committed a crime and has been evading justice ever since, right? I can't see that time passed should mean any allowances should be made. It was wrong then, it's still wrong now.

[maudgonne]

Yes, exactly. He's a talented director who has made some great films and had a lot of spectacularly bad things happen to him, but none of that excuses what he did. He raped a child.

[overnighter]

You are a one-stop shop of awesome today.

I am faintly confused by how many people seem to think that what happened was okay because she was 13, and also because it was the Seventies. Like, if she'd been 12, maybe then it would have been wrong, but she was just a horny teenage seductress? I feel like that's one of the best pieces I've seen that refutes that line of thinking.

I'm really curious to hear more about what you thought about, well, Moore. :) I've been looking forward to reading her new book (Oh, woe, Oakland public library list of waiting), and have heard mostly good things about it.

[maudgonne]

Every day!

Seriously. Have you read the transcripts of her testimony? It made me sick.

I would suggest reading it first--I'm always afraid to spoil it. Another friend has my copy right now, but you're welcome to borrow it--as long as I get it back when you're done!

[60schic]

Kate Harding wrote an excellent position piece. Lays it out cold for any sympathizers. I had read that Polanski skipped b/c he may have been about to be sentenced to longer than he bargained for---yeah, well the 13 year old was sentenced to a lifetime of memories, asshole!

[maudgonne]

And as much as I hope the victim is left alone and her suffering minimized, I don't think he should be freed. What a mess.

[muchtvs]

I feel the exact same way about Roman P.

He was in his 40's for god's sake, I believe 44.

There is no question the act happened, so I feel comfortable saying, shame on anyone or any country that defends him as a victim.

The little girl was my son's age....and that by any standard is too young. I don't care what the decade.

[maudgonne]

I cannot believe your son is that old now. Wow.

And yes, he admitted it. He entered a guilty plea. Then he fled. He is not the victim here.

[muchtvs]

I'll send you a picture.

WARNING...PARENTAL BRAGGING:

He's taller than me now. And cute, lol. He had a high school girl ask him out a few weeks ago. He is currently playing the electric guitar, trumpet and French horn. Straight A's. Scored within the 99th percentile in communication arts on the Terra Nova and has been invited to participate in a program hosted by Duke University. We get a free SAT out of it. He also got an invite to the Baldwin Academy...which is a nerd summer camp. He plays hockey...although um..we ain't getting a scholarship out of that, and football. The Gameboy had morphed into an iPod.

And he's still sweet, Maud. And he's healthy. I'm so fucking lucky.

[ctoan]

Look at you, with all the links.

I find the moon speech fascinating. I think it would be really creepy if they'd been left up there on the moon. Looking up, and knowing the bodies were still up there? *shudders*

[maudgonne]

I know. It's like I'm a blogger or something.

I found it fascinating, too! Totally sci-fi. And yeah. Creepy.