A Letter to Rape Apologists

Posted by Lou. The time is 4.40pm here in London.


Dear Pedro Almodovar, Tilda Swinton, Woody Allen, Terry Gilliam, Monica Belluci, Alfonso Cuaron, Stephen Frears, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Darren Aranofsky, and others,

Drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl - orally, vaginally and anally - isn't merely a "case of morals". It is not cancelled out by him being "one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers". And quite frankly, the right of filmmakers to present their films "freely and safely" is light-years behind the importance of 13-year-old girls being able to live their lives "freely and safely" from the threat of rape.

You say "The arrest of Roman Polanski in a neutral country, where he assumed he could travel without hindrance, undermines this tradition: it opens the way for actions of which no-one [sic] can know the effects." You know what for me opens the way for actions of which nobody can know the effects? A 44-year-old man raping a 13-year-old girl and effectively getting away with it. No, not just getting away with it, but having people defend his getting away with it and position him as the victim.

You have completely lost my respect.

Yours sincerely,
Lou


Petition for Polanski's release
Polanski defenders lose sight of true victim