Explorations in Policing, Faith and Life (With a hint of humor, product reviews, news and whatever catches my attention)
Showing posts with label Roman Polanski. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roman Polanski. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Rigid Morality



One of the constant knocks against Christians in the media and in our society in general is our perceived rigid morality.  Since the standard is a sinless Christ and our guidebook is the Bible, rather than a standard we make up ourselves, our morality and thus, ideally (we all are still sinful creatures and fall down a lot), our ethical behavior by necessity is rigid.  The world can not understand how a Christian can condemn the action but still love and support the actor.  The goal is salvation not condemnation, that is the role of a righteous God at the end of time.  Christian moral absolutes force any Christian to abstain from and prevent violence against another regardless of their proclivities, politics and belief systems.  Evil is still evil if an action is carried out against another and creates a victim.  If the action is evil and the attempt to justify is a bastardization of the Bible's verses, that person is not a Christian but rather evil trying to hide behind a cheap justification.  The New Testament is the blueprint for a Christians proper moral conduct, set in time and place and without regard to the whims of society.


The world wants a sliding ethical system without judgement or the impediment of action of others.  The best current example of this is the reaction to the recent Roman Polanski arrest.  Here are some quotes "As a Swiss filmmaker, I feel deeply ashamed," Christian Frei said.  "He's a brilliant guy, and he made a little mistake 32 years ago. What a shame for Switzerland," said photographer Otto Weisser, a friend of Polanski.  "The list of supporters giving Polanski their impassioned support read like a Who's Who of the cream of the movie-making world. It included, among many others, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Harvey Weinstein, Pedro Almodóvar and Ethan Coen".  The cream of the movie world throwing their support to a self admitted child rapist.  


Here is a brief description of what happened from wikipedia.




Sex crime conviction



In 1977, Polanski, then aged 44, became embroiled in a scandal involving 13-year-old Samantha Gailey (now Samantha Geimer). It ultimately led to Polanski's guilty plea to the charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
According to Geimer, Polanski asked Geimer's mother if he could photograph the girl for the French edition of Vogue, which Polanski had been invited to guest-edit. Her mother allowed a private photo shoot. According to Geimer in a 2003 interview, "Everything was going fine; then he asked me to change, well, in front of him." She added, "It didn't feel right, and I didn't want to go back to the second shoot."
Geimer later agreed to a second session, which took place on March 10, 1977 at the home of actor Jack Nicholson in the Mulholland area of Los Angeles. "We did photos with me drinking champagne," Geimer says. "Toward the end it got a little scary, and I realized he had other intentions and I knew I was not where I should be. I just didn't quite know how to get myself out of there." She recalled in a 2003 interview that she began to feel uncomfortable after he asked her to lie down on a bed, and how she attempted to resist. "I said, 'No, no. I don't want to go in there. No, I don't want to do this. No!', and then I didn't know what else to do," she stated, adding: "We were alone and I didn’t know what else would happen if I made a scene. So I was just scared, and after giving some resistance, I figured well, I guess I’ll get to come home after this".
Geimer testified that Polanski gave her a combination of champagne and quaaludes, sedative drug, and "despite her protests, he performed oral sex, intercourse and sodomy on her", each time after being told 'no' and being asked to stop.

Charges and guilty plea

Polanski was initially charged with rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and furnishing a controlled substance (methaqualone) to a minor. These charges were dismissed under the terms of his plea bargain, and he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, according to the documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, the court ordered Polanski to report to a state prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation, but granted a stay of ninety days to allow him to complete his current project. Under the terms set by the court, he was permitted to travel abroad. Polanski returned to California and reported to Chino State Prison for the evaluation period, and was released after 42 days. All parties expected Polanski to get only probation at the subsequent sentencing hearing, but after an alleged conversation with LA Deputy District Attorney David Wells, the judge "suggested to Polanski's attorneys that he would send the director to prison and order him deported". In response to the threat of imprisonment, Polanski fled the United States.


Bottom line-some of reasoning I have heard to support him are: the victim does not want him jailed (she now admits he paid her), the crime was a long time ago, there were procedural errors in the case (did not keep him from seeking a plea agreement and then fleeing) and he is great artist and director.


This is what situational ethics gives you.  Christian-child rape is always wrong-whether it is done by the dirty homeless man under the bridge or the greatest man who ever lived (not to soil the reputation of that Dos Equis man).  Situational ethics-well it was a long time ago and he is a great artist lets look the other way.

The reason that Polanski's victim can not call off the case is all victims are represented by either the state of the federal government.  The thought behind this is once a victim is created all of us in society are likewise victimized.

Christian's want justice done, the world wants Roman to escape justice because its not that bad and it wasn't my daughter.  The world does not get sick to their stomach like they should when they consider his actions.




Rigidity looks a lot better doesn't it.

James 1:21


Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.