Roman Polanski

Well well well. I'm just going to get right into this. What the hell is the deal with all of these entertainers treating Roman Polanski like a helpless victim? So many people have been like "poor Roman". I'm sorry are you fucking kidding me? Seriously? I am not going to even write the words that Polanski is guilty of. All we need to know is that there is not a single person I've read (including Roman himself) that denies he did it. So what pray tell is the reason why he is being treated like a fucking victim? I find it mind boggling. Sorry y'all I usually try not to swear but what the fuck?

It does bring up several important questions for me. As most of you know I do not believe in prisons. And simultaneously I believe in accountability. What I truly believe in is restorative justice. In the case of Roman Polanski, his victim wants him to be left alone. She is removed enough from the situation to make a rational decision. I certainly respect that. It doesn't make Polanski a victim but maybe in the end he shouldn't be locked up. That doesn't mean we have to act outraged by his current treatment. But the point is what can we do in these kinds of situations? To be honest I don't know and don't feel qualified to respond. I believe people like Polanski must be held accountable and at the same time I don't think we have a justice system that can hand out justice in a just manner. In the meantime, victims don't have many choices. And this brings up one of the most important questions we as radicals and revolutionaries need to answer. What kind of justice system would we like to see?

I mentioned a while back, before Polanski was arrested, that he and Michael Vick were treated quite differently. I surmised that if Polanski was black he would be seen as much more evil. I still believe that. But I don't want to lose sight of the primary issue at hand in this situation. As Leslie Morgan Steiner writes in her article published on CNN.com, the only important question is: "How do we as a society prevent violence against women, and minimize suffering of women who've already been victimized?"

I do not claim to have the answer, but we as men have a very obvious starting point: confronting the sexism that exists within ourselves. I know I have a lot of work to do. Or as my mother(RIP) would probably say: "You've got a long way to go kid". That's very true. Today is a great day to keep working...