“You’d expect the French to do something like this–and they have–but Americans?”

Therein lies the answer. Polanski has a lot going for himself, faux-victimwise – money, fame, the right politics, arty chicness, concentration camps, murdered relatives – all of these things contribute to the support he’s been getting, but it is anti-Americanism that is really driving it, hatred which was expressed point blank by French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand when he said “there is also a scary America that has just shown its face.” Polanski’s American supporters are simply jumping on the bandwagon of Eurotrash contempt for “cowboy” America. Much of what white liberals think and do is driven by an all-consuming desire to separate themselves from the American middle class. It is a secret desire to be royalty, to not be ordinary, to have their innate personal specialness recognized .

Here is an interesting reply about Polanski from, of all places, “The Huffington Post” ( where the bloggers are pro-Polanski while the ordinary members are outraged over this support):

“Go watch the last fifteen minutes of Chinatown ten times and see if it gets through. (Hint: The raped woman who would protect her child from her serial rapist is killed in cold blood and the child she feebly tried to protect is handed over to the rapist to do with as he will. The rest of us are told to shrug it off as … yawn … just the way it is. Nothing to be done. Oh, well. That’s life. Don’t get involved or you’ll get hurt. These Great Men will have their way. They’re too powerful to stop.)”

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Oh George, typical conservative. You and your buddies still lumping the French all together just so you and your ilk can feel better about themselves.

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admin Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 23:19

James,

Ahh…the “ilk-iness” of conservatives.

As someone said, not all liberals support Polanski, but Polanski’s supporters–at least the ones in the news–are liberals.

We salute those liberals like Kate Pollitt, of the Nation, who had this issue pegged dead to rights.

From Katha Pollitt “Roman Polanski Has a Lot of Friends” (The Nation)

The widespread support for Polanski shows the liberal cultural elite at its preening, fatuous worst. They may make great movies, write great books, and design beautiful things, they may have lots of noble humanitarian ideas and care, in the abstract, about all the right principles: equality under the law, for example. But in this case, they’re just the white culture-class counterpart of hip-hop fans who stood by R. Kelly and Chris Brown and of sports fans who automatically support their favorite athletes when they’re accused of beating their wives and raping hotel workers.

No wonder Middle America hates them.

One has to respect a liberal who argues the issue instead of throwing invective at the messenger.

Thanks for taking the time to stop, read and comment.

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James Reply:
December 12th, 2009 at 01:26

Actually, my main issue was the insinuation that the French are child molesting supporters. Never once did I mention support for Roman Polanski, nor was I trying to make an argument as to which political side supports this creep. Are most people who support Polanski liberal? Probably, but that wasn’t the point of my response. I’m simply tired of the anti-french nonsense that comes from ultra right wing conservatives.

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Roman Polanski is guilty of abusing a minor and he really deservers to be in jail.

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