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Some idiot at my school wrote an article in the paper claiming that Roman Polanski "deserves his freedom" because he's made "some of the most timeless, iconic, formative, innovative, and even moral movies in all of cinema." (Article can be found in its entirety here.) After dying a little inside, I sent the following letter to the editor:
The defense of Roman Polanski by Hollywood and fellow students of mine really horrifies me.
In Zak Jason’s appalling article, “Relax, Roman, It’s Jail,” Jason states that Roman Polanski—a man who pleaded guilty to unlawful intercourse with a minor and then fled the country before he could be sentenced—“deserves his freedom” because a) the victim forgives him and b) he’s… won a few Oscars? I can only hope that Jason was writing a satirical article whose humor went over my head, because otherwise I’m stunned that someone who got into Boston College is capable of such ignorance. Does the fact that Roman Polanski gave a thirteen-year-old girl drugs, performed oral sex on her while she repeatedly told him “no,” then raped her and sodomized her, mean anything to you, Zak? Are you seriously suggesting that a man who commits such atrocities upon a child should be excused for his crimes because he’s made a few movies? It doesn’t matter if they’re “the most timeless, iconic, formative, innovative, and even moral movies in all of cinema.” Roman Polanski raped a child—what part of that are you not getting? Although the victim has graciously forgiven Polanski, society cannot: Holocaust survivor though he is, Polanski’s also a rapist and deserves punishment. He’s had enough freedom.
The defense of Roman Polanski by Hollywood and fellow students of mine really horrifies me.
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