To be fair to their point, I'm not sure that you and other full-on defenders (or "appologists," if you prefer) for Polanski aren't engaged in a mirror-land version of the same thing. You didn't defend Jacko, I don't imagine you'd be AS jazzed to defend Michael Bay of a similar charge.

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You're right -- I wouldn't feel as strongly about this if Michael Bay was the transgressor. Or OJ Simpson. And there's no question that I felt zero sympathy for the young-boy-coddling Frankenstein freak that Michael Jackson turned into. Polanski is a master filmmaker and therefore a kind of Art God, and yes, in my heart of hearts I feel that he occupies a special place in the ongoing creation-and-destruction process and should be, at the very least, afforded the respect that he has more than earned. He's not just some corner-grocery schlemiel. He's Roman Polanski -- a self-torturing artist and seer and a candle-lighter in the depths of the human condition. And an artist who hasn't, to my knowledge, been chronically and repeatedly buggering young girls. Yes, he acted like a slovenly unthinking beast with Samantha Geimer, but once and only once (as far as the law and known recorded fact is concerned). Once! And she's past it. And so is everyone else except for the ranting online moralists.

So on top of everything else, genuine Art Gods...yeah, you're kinda right...deserve, I feel, a certain kind of consideration that could also, perhaps, be extended to Joe the Plumber types from time to time, depending on their particulars. We need to show compassion and understanding all around when and where appropriate. I'm not saying that Art Gods are exempt from honoring the laws of decency and compassion that we all must follow, but they are, I feel, very high on the general totem pole. Because Art Gods bring a certain understanding and clarity about common woes and miseries to humanity, and in a way are (I feel) the Chosen Messengers because their work clarifies our situation, refreshens our spirit and lightens our load.
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