Legal expert Star Jones will discuss Roman Polanski's arrest on 'The Insider' tonight. CBS released the following statement:
Jones sounds off on director Roman Polanski, saying, "I have no sympathy for him. He's in jail. Three hots and a cot, that's what you're supposed to get. Something tells me Spike Lee would not have been allowed to chill in France for the last three decades had he admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old."
She goes on to say, "Roman Polanski is very much loved by the Hollywood industry and they are out there putting petitions together... Because he [Polanksi] is white and he is rich, he was privileged."
Jones sounds off on director Roman Polanski, saying, "I have no sympathy for him. He's in jail. Three hots and a cot, that's what you're supposed to get. Something tells me Spike Lee would not have been allowed to chill in France for the last three decades had he admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old."
I call this line of reasoning "if he were black then". I suppose all things being equal Spike Lee would be in a similar situation had he raped a 13 year old. He'd also have the added advantage of using white guilt to deflect any criticism of him.
Joined: 02 May 2006 {Posts: 443 } Location: Île-de-France
Posted: Tue 13 Oct 2009 18:13 Post subject:
Quote:
"Something tells me Spike Lee would not have been allowed to chill in France for the last three decades had he admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old.....Roman Polanski is very much loved by the Hollywood industry and they are out there putting petitions together... Because he [Polanksi] is white and he is rich, he was privileged."
Bad reasoning. Because Polanski is a French citizen he was privileged. France does not extradite its citizens, period. In the most extreme cases, they will try their citizens at home for crimes committed abroad, but they will not extradite. Had Spike Lee--or Stephen Speilberg for that matter--done what Polanski did and fled to France, they would have been arrested at the request of the US and sent back, their skin tone not withstanding.
There are people putting petitions together because he has friends and is rich and can pay lawyers to put petitions together.
Joined: 04 Oct 2006 {Posts: 228 } Location: CT/U.S.A.
Posted: Tue 13 Oct 2009 18:43 Post subject:
Come on, you guys... she wasn't/isn't lying or exaggerating in her assessment IMO. It may have been the "cliff notes" edition but what she said stands IMO. And no famous people would have been protesting in favor of a Spike Lee or any other person with brown skin IMO.
Some of the same "stars" who are protesting in favor of Polanski are the same types who lambasted Kanye West for rudely interupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV awards. But I guess defending a child molestor/rapists is cool?
I do think this is one of those crimes that a non-"White" male wouldn't have been able to escape from no matter what the circumstances. Of course because he is a wealthy, "White" man with considerable fame who has the "chips" to stay out of jail this long, it helps, but damn... a 13 yo?? That's nasty!
Joined: 02 May 2006 {Posts: 443 } Location: Île-de-France
Posted: Tue 13 Oct 2009 19:39 Post subject:
The undisputable fact is that were Polanski a U.S. citizen holding no other citizenship he would have not been able to live conspicuously anywhere. There has been an interpol alert on him since he fled. The LA county DA tried to have him arrested numerous times.
Even in France, those who initially defended him have backed down. Their defense mostly amounted to because he had a hard life, people should leave him alone. Well he did have a hard life: he was born in Paris but shipped to a Ghetto in Poland when the Nazis invaded at age 7. He escaped alone and spent WWII more or less living in the forest running from the Nazis. Then, 6 months before he raped the 13 year old, his pregnant wife was brutally murdered by the Manson family. So I am not surprised people defend him on this ground, even if it is unrelated.
I really can't see this as anything but a nationality issue. Switch Roman Polanski with the late Aimé Césaire, same circumstances, do you think he would be treated differently?
I can say with certainty that France would have protected him, and people would have protested. France likes their artists.
Joined: 07 Feb 2007 {Posts: 1829 } Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva
Posted: Wed 14 Oct 2009 00:28 Post subject:
MisterLawyer wrote:
The undisputable fact is that were Polanski a U.S. citizen holding no other citizenship he would have not been able to live conspicuously anywhere. There has been an interpol alert on him since he fled. The LA county DA tried to have him arrested numerous times.
Even in France, those who initially defended him have backed down. Their defense mostly amounted to because he had a hard life, people should leave him alone. Well he did have a hard life: he was born in Paris but shipped to a Ghetto in Poland when the Nazis invaded at age 7. He escaped alone and spent WWII more or less living in the forest running from the Nazis. Then, 6 months before he raped the 13 year old, his pregnant wife was brutally murdered by the Manson family. So I am not surprised people defend him on this ground, even if it is unrelated.
I really can't see this as anything but a nationality issue. Switch Roman Polanski with the late Aimé Césaire, same circumstances, do you think he would be treated differently?
I can say with certainty that France would have protected him, and people would have protested. France likes their artists.
4
I agree, but I don't think the initial post or Sunkofa was speaking about France's protection, but more about America's defense (although it did mention that he was "allowed to rape") but also the fact so many in America defend him. I also do not believe Spike Lee would get equal defense out of Hollywood. Now if Spike Lee was a citizen of France, then I agree he likely would have been protected by the French, in a sense "aloud to get away with rape".
So the main premise of the initial post I think is wrong, but as far as his defense in Hollywood, I can't say it is race, per se, it one could chalk it up to the type of art (movies made). I"m not sure Quentin Tarantino would get a lot of support in Hollywood either., he is white.
When R Kelly raped a child (or possibly several children) a few years ago I do not remember how many persons spoke in his defense versus in condemnation of him. I do vaguely remember hearing things, in the media, on both sides. Same goes for Woody Allen when he raped his daughter a few years ago. And in this case of Roman Polanski's raping of a child, it seems that there are persons who condemn him and also persons who support him.
When a poor and unknown person rapes someone there is generally not much public talk of sympathy for the inflicter of the abuse. Celebrities and clergymen, on the other hand, often receive great support when they rape someone. So I have little doubt that some sort of "privilage" is a factor in whether or not society condemns or empowers rapists. It is a difficult for me to imagine an objective means for determining whether or not Roman Polanski's "whiteness" has anything to do with the matter of people supporting him for raping that little girl. Certainly, no such means has been demonstrated in Star Jones' statements nor anywhere else that I have read. All that we have is speculation and feelings.
Joined: 07 Feb 2007 {Posts: 1829 } Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva
Posted: Wed 14 Oct 2009 14:01 Post subject:
erasmusinfinity wrote:
When R Kelly raped a child (or possibly several children) a few years ago I do not remember how many persons spoke in his defense versus in condemnation of him. I do vaguely remember hearing things, in the media, on both sides. Same goes for Woody Allen when he raped his daughter a few years ago. And in this case of Roman Polanski's raping of a child, it seems that there are persons who condemn him and also persons who support him.
When a poor and unknown person rapes someone there is generally not much public talk of sympathy for the inflicter of the abuse. Celebrities and clergymen, on the other hand, often receive great support when they rape someone. So I have little doubt that some sort of "privilage" is a factor in whether or not society condemns or empowers rapists. It is a difficult for me to imagine an objective means for determining whether or not Roman Polanski's "whiteness" has anything to do with the matter of people supporting him for raping that little girl. Certainly, no such means has been demonstrated in Star Jones' statements nor anywhere else that I have read. All that we have is speculation and feelings.
Who supported R. Kelly? Was it specifically blacks or whites as well? Powerful white music media moguls or just other black entertainers?
Joined: 04 Oct 2006 {Posts: 228 } Location: CT/U.S.A.
Posted: Wed 14 Oct 2009 14:16 Post subject:
Quote:
When R Kelly raped a child (or possibly several children) a few years ago I do not remember how many persons spoke in his defense versus in condemnation of him. I do vaguely remember hearing things, in the media, on both sides. Same goes for Woody Allen when he raped his daughter a few years ago.
R Kelly didn't rape a child, admit to it and then flee to another country before prosecution. Polanski did and got/gets support. Woody Allen didn't rape his 22 yo "daughter", admit to it and then flee to another country before prosecution. Polanski did and got/gets support. All three of them need a swift and immediate ass-whippin', but I digress.
Apples to oranges, although I've always called R-Kelly "Chester", as in the child molester, (my wife hates it when I do that because she loooooves R-Kelly's music (me too)... and she thinks he is "fine", whatever! ), because he has always been linked to young girls during his career. He even married the late singer Aaliyah when she was very young, 15, but they had the marraige annulled, and also, her parents knew about it.
Polanski admitted to forcing an underage girl to have sex with him, then fled to another country before being prosecuted. R Kelly/Woody Allen didn't run nor did they admit to doing anything wrong. R Kelly won his case in court and Woody Allen's "daughter" was 22 years old at the time so he didn't rape her either.
There is no excuse for Polanski and the sorry individuals who try to come up with legal reasons as to why he shouldn't be extradited to the US. Hell, we extradite "drug dealers" and people who have done far less heinous crimes back to the US every year and nobody is signing petitions for their release, but Polansky gets a legal pass? Hell no! My daughter is 16 and I'd have to put foot to ass and much worse if a man over twice her age takes away her "innocence" because he suffers from pedophilia. F**k Roman Polanski and his petition supporters! Please excuse my language, but 13?
Who supported R. Kelly? Was it specifically blacks or whites as well? Powerful white music media moguls or just other black entertainers?
I don't recall. I just seem to remember it being something of a controversy.
Dragon Horse wrote:
R Kelly didn't rape a child, admit to it and then flee to another country before prosecution.
No he didn't admit to it and flee to another country to avoid prosecution. You are right.
I wasn't meaning to discuss the specifics of the R Kelly case. I was just trying to come up with a analogy that might provide some insight as to whether or not the Roman Polanski situation is a matter of some sort of "white privilage."
I'm also not saying that it is or isn't. Just that I'm not sure how we could tell.
Joined: 02 May 2006 {Posts: 443 } Location: Île-de-France
Posted: Wed 14 Oct 2009 16:22 Post subject:
Quote:
There is no excuse for Polanski and the sorry individuals who try to come up with legal reasons as to why he shouldn't be extradited to the US. Hell, we extradite "drug dealers" and people who have done far less heinous crimes back to the US every year and nobody is signing petitions for their release, but Polansky gets a legal pass?
Not to beat a dead horse, but the reason Polanski was not arrested and extradited by France for over 30 years is because he is a French citizen, and France, a sovereign, nuclearly armed nation with one of the worlds top 5 millitaries, categorically refuses to extradite its citizens, anywhere. I suppose the US could have gone to war with France to get Polanski, and even though the US probably would have won, in my opinion the justice of arresting Polanski would have been outweighed by the risks created by nuclear war.
We extradite drug dealers from Colombia and elsewhere for prosecution because Colombia chooses to cooperate with our extradition requests. The extraditions are not without controversy in Colombia, many Colombians think extraditing their citizens to the US for prosecution is a violation of their sovereignty.
I was just trying to come up with a analogy that might provide some insight as to whether or not the Roman Polanski situation is a matter of some sort of "white privilage." I'm also not saying that it is or isn't. Just that I'm not sure how we could tell.
Forget the French for a moment, since they predictably want to defend their own criminals against foreign (U.S.) prosecution. "He may be a scumbag pedophile, but he is OUR scumbag pedophile."
As far as I can tell, the only USAmericans who defend Polanski and want him to escape punishment are Hollywood entertainers. As Whoppi Goldberg said, "What he did was not rape-rape." So I think it fair to ask whether anyone has any data on the relative breakdown by "race" of Hollywood entertainers. Is the fraction of non-Black celebrities who support the child molestor (like Tilda Swinton, say) greater, lesser, or about the same as the fraction of Black celebrities who support the child molestor (like Whoopi Goldberg)? I realize that the rules against unsubstantiated claims are relaxed a bit in this forum, but come on! Be reasonable! Does anyone have even a shred of fact one way or the other? If not, I suggest that we tone down the speculations.
What RP did was sick,crazy,wrong...I do not support RP.I do not agree with anyone who think she is different because of his career,or should be excused.
I'll get the link of the directors/actors who support him. I remember Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese being on this list.
As I said,RP,is guilty of a terrible crime.
I saw the show that day with Whoppi G.I think Whoopi was trying to stay "legal" on the show. She did say that they (producers) were telling her something in her ear.I l will assume when she said it was rape-rape,she was referring to other things about the case they did not say on the show . Sherri and Joy did not bring out. For this reason,if you speak on something like that,you need a a whole show. Say it all.
I am trying to give Whoopi a pass here. I do not what she said and really don't know what she garbage she was saying. She really did not explain herself. She did go back the next day and clear some things up. I did not see that show.
A few facts about the case...
The adult now wants to and has moved on. I'll pull up her name.
She was on Larry King a few years ago.
She and her mom, good ol pim, I mean mom, recieved a settlement from RP.
I do not think big cash makes it all ok. I do not think length of time, decades since this awful thing happened to an innocent, makes it ok. I do not think that because she was 13 and had sex before with her teen boyfriend made it ok for RP.
The mother and RP knew each other socially. She wanted modeling lpics for the girl's acting career . RP had staff on location. After,RP took her to Jjjack Nicholosn's house...gave her quadludes,drinks,you know the rest.
Where was the mother?
You know about the"in seen"andwho they are and what they do and you let your kid go off with Roman.Hanging out at Jjjjack's was not Disneyland.
If RP needs to be punished more for this crime, so does the pimp,I mean, the mother.
Did Anjelica Houston see RP and the girl?
Staff?
Jjjjack was not home.
All of that came out during the case,but reopen it all and have all guilty parties face the law. Understand ,I am not in favor of RP.
It was satutory rape. Period.
Also, Star Jones is a racist. Anybody Black in entertainment ,she is all behind no matter what they do. I used to watch her on The View and she would sit mum or take up for anybody Black,case Black,be it right or wrong,esp.,Black celebs.
It is only the White liberal elite in Hollywood who are standing up for Roman Polanski. I know the White conservatives on The Fox News Channel like Bill O'Reilly for example said he thinks they should lock him up and throw away the keys.
Bill O'Reilly hates pedophiles, which is why he is trying to get Jessica's Law passed in all of the 50 states.
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), because he has always been linked to young girls during his career. He even married the late singer Aaliyah when she was very young, 15, but they had the marraige annulled, and also, her parents knew about it.
