French Bred

To a certain extent, we Filipinos share an irritating habit with the people now defending Roman Polanski. The world-famous director, now in custody in Switzerland while awaiting extradition proceedings to the United States for the crime of raping a minor, is now the recipient of bewildering support from other artists and society stalwarts. 

The main source of support, as far as I can gather it, is Polanski's artistic brilliance, and the body of work he will leave behind as his legacy to humanity. Of course, the message I'm getting from his defenders is that somehow, all of these form an invisible prosecution barrier around him, and give him an exemption from the laws normally applicable to the mere mortals like us. Distilled into a tidbit, they're saying because Polanski's so special, he shouldn't have to pay for the crime he committed.

Come to think of it, this is a mindset some of us Filipinos actually share with Polanski's supporters. Every time anyone with the slightest degree of fame gets into trouble, we backpedal. We go easy on the culprit. We soften the blow, or worse, we let them go scot-free with a friendly handshake or a pat on the back. (There are too many examples I could give, and I don't really want to consume my space with self-evident Pinoy behavior.)

Now, not all of these occasions where we bend the rules might be worthy of reproach, but come on, when it comes to slipping a girl with drugs and taking advantage of her, shouldn't that be where the line should be drawn? 

Currently in trouble for defending Polanski is Frederic Mitterand, the nephew of former French President Francois Mitterand. The younger Mitterand, who has been named minister for culture in Nicolas Sarkozy's cabinet, has been quite vocal about his support for Polanski. The unfortunate result is a boomerang. Mitterand now finds himself embroiled in his own controversy, as he himself has been accused of pedophilia.

Apparently, four years ago, Mitterand penned a racy tell-all book, where he recounted his exploits in Thailand. One of the more notable was his alleged admission that he paid for sex "with boys" in Bangkok. (I say 'alleged' because I'm just recounting news reports, and even if I checked out the book for myself, my French is atrocious anyway.)

Seizing the opportunity, his critics have stepped forward and brandished his book (which he probably now regrets having written), and demanded that he resign as culture minister. The argument by his opponents is, how can the highest government potentate in one of the most culturally rich civilizations countenance pedophilia and sex tourism? (And worse, if this were true, how could he embody culture in France, unless the French are telling us pedophilia is their national identity.)

Mitterand has responded by denying the accusations, and said that while he did err in paying for sex, he has only had sexual relations with men his age. (Although at 62, he better not say he was in Thailand 20 years ago paying for the favors of 42-year old sex workers.)

Whatever the truth of the matter, and whether Mitterand did or did not pay for sexual favors with underage persons, there is still the matter of his support for Polanski. Would it make sense for an official of the French Government, the very head of the ministry of culture, to publicly speak out and say Polanski should be spared from criminal prosecution of the rape of a minor?

I'm not sure how the French reacted to the 'revelations' in the book. After all, Mitterand did write those damning passages, and then he still got appointed by Sarkozy, anyway. So perhaps, it was another case of c'est la vie amongst the jaded populace. 

But Polanski? Should the French, and the rest of us, react that way as well? Perhaps, there are some facets of vie that we shouldn't allow to be.