Since the arrest of film director Roman Polanski on a 30-year warrant for child sexual abuse, many supporters have circled the wagons. First, beginning with the news media â which many have long relied on for their daily dose of news, but which many now increasingly associate with biased, unethical reporting (not journalism).
Consider the case of Michael Jackson. When the King of Pop was under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting children the media persecuted him, and even continued to do so after his death. Let me state clearly from the outset, that if Michael Jackson was indeed guilty, he got what he deserved. However, thatâs the very point, isnât it? Michael Jackson was never proven guilty and stayed to face his accusers and a derisive public.
Yet, a grown man, Roman Polanski, admits to having sex with a 13-year-old girl when he was 43 at the time, pays off the girl, flees the country and remains at large for over three decades just so he could avoid facing the crime he committed. And many in the media and entertainment industry rally around him as if heâs the victim.
But the support for Polanski doesnât end there. French ministers have denounced the actions taken by Switzerland and the U.S. government. The French government, duly elected by the people â many of them parents with children â comes out in defence of one of the most heinous crimes of the day â child sexual abuse. Do not be mistaken: You cannot defend Polanskiâs crime and his subsequent actions without simultaneously belittling child sexual abuse.
The media and other Polanski supporters reason that the acclaimed director should be released for several reasons: They cite that heâs been through so much as a holocaust survivor, and he suffered through the vicious death of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson clan.
First, one can only imagine if holocaust survivors and their offspring everywhere are somewhat perturbed by the suggestion that surviving Nazi terror and violence is an excuse to commit a crime, especially the rape of a child. Iâd hazard a guess that many are insulted by the very suggestion.
Similarly, the idea that the tragic death of his wife should explain away Polanski raping a 13-year-old girl leaves many of us wondering if weâre in the Twilight Zone. But, no, itâs just the media, very easily confused with the Rod Sterling series these days. An institution that has profoundly lost its purpose, as the late, great journalist Walter Cronkite acknowledged.
Hereâs just a taste of what many in the news media, French government officials, and peers of Polanski are defending by the way, as indicated from released court documents published on Smoking Gun, http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/polanskicover1.html.:
⢠At the time Polanski was photographing the 13-year-old girl â topless â apparently for the French edition of Vogue.
⢠He gave her alcohol and Quaaludes, which are sedating, relax muscles, and increase sexual arousal.
⢠The young girl reported that Polanski performed oral sex, vaginal intercourse and sodomy on her. Throughout this horrific ordeal for the young teenage girl she continued to protest, but Polanski did not stop. At the time the age of consent was 14; Polanski was 43 years old.
The details of the case can be found at
According to reports, Polanski paid a settlement to the young girl (who has now forgiven him) and also spent 45 days in prison. When he thought heâd have to spend more time in jail he fled the country.
Polanski supporters want us to believe that because itâs been more than 30 years the case should be dropped. But, we all know that they wouldnât be so quick to make such a suggestion if Polanski was Jo Schmo, a local ânobodyâ â particularly a local ââethnic minorityâ nobody.â
However, itâs not just the continuing elitist ideas that pervade the news media that are sickening. Itâs the seeming collusion in a crime thatâs growing every year, child sexual abuse by grown men â in which child trafficking and the child pornography industry play major roles.
Interestingly, at the same time when the media was jumping to the defence of Polanski they gave sparse attention to the protests against child trafficking that were occurring at various places around the world.
And the hypocrisy goes even further. This is the same news media that on the one hand wants âto catch a predator,â while supporting the notion that a man who admits to raping a child shouldnât have to answer for his crime â regardless of whether it took 30 years or more for law enforcers to get their hands on him.
Also, where are the organizations against child abuse in all this? Why have they been silent so far? If ever there was an opportunity to shake people awake about these atrocities being committed in every corner of the globe â this is it.
French Government Response a Dilemma for Many
Getting back to the French government, you have to wonder what the law enforcement officers investigating child sexual abuse and child trafficking crimes are supposed to think when their French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand issued this statement:
âTo see [Polanski] like that, thrown to the lions because of ancient history, really doesnât make any senseâ¦.In the same way that there is a generous America that we like, there is also a scary America that has just shown its face.â
How do the French parents of children who have been sexually abused feel? What do the children feel? Is that government committed to battling the increasing problem of child trafficking and child pornography, or will they ignore it if itâs socially and economically expedient to do so? If youâre a tourist, should you leave your underage children at home?
More importantly, why am I asking these questions? Why are so few of the news media in North America rallying against Polanski? Is it any wonder that these organizations are becoming increasingly irrelevant in a world where gatekeepers no longer rule access to information?
Itâs not surprising that the news media becomes less valued every day in a world where many people still consider values to be important, yet they continue to treat the viewing public as if their values arenât?
Cronkite had it right. Journalistic quality and responsibility has fallen by the wayside. Instead of treating the Polanski arrest as a crime story while referencing his creative accomplishments, they treat it as a dumbed-down entertainment story while giving the spotlight to those who criticize Polanskiâs arrest. Many have yet to mention the details of the crime, preferring instead to harp on about Polanskiâs illustrious career.
But, thereâs another insight Cronkite makes that helps us to understand the mediaâs apparent softness on child sexual abuse in this case, but not Michael Jacksonâs: Mergers. As these continue to occur, diversity of views diminish, which means you will be increasingly exposed to a homogeneity of story angles on the TV news and their websites.
Media Coverage Could Get Worse
If youâre not disgusted by the coverage yet, hang on to your seat because it could get worse. Some bloggers are already trying to blame the victim. âShocking,â you say â after all itâs such a novel action to blame the victim in a rape case. But, why is this important?
Because the traditional media are increasingly relying on blogs and Internet news sites to create their own news and agenda. So, donât be surprised if you hear some moron low on the morality scale saying that the child victim âlooked older for her age.â Or, that the mother forced the child on to Polanski.
A 13-year-old child being blamed for her own rape. What next? Polanski should be given a Nobel prize?
Somewhere, Michael Jackson is rolling over in his grave.
Learn More About Child Sexual Abuse
If you want to find out more about preventing child sexual abuse, visit sites such as Dark To Light, Little Warriors, or:
⢠Stop It Now http://www.stopitnow.com/
⢠International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, http://www.ispcan.org/about/index.html
Cara Dermot-Wilton is a writer passionate about preventing child sexual abuse and protecting children everywhere.
