My post was all about promoting responsibility. I give the anti mentality the finger here as much as anyone else, but we have to hold the people in this community to a VERY high standard of behavior because any little thing is held against us. We have to work extra hard not to screw up. And though I WANT to support Polanski, as my previous posts prior to this thread make clear, I want to make sure that he didn't mess up terribly before doing so (and rape is NOT a "small" thing; it's an extreme assault on someone's right to the sanctity of their own body). Anything can be forgiven, and everyone will make mistakes in life, but if he committed an act of real rape then it's no trivial matter. I don't want to come off as a "self-righteous reactionary" (as Henny seems to think that I have become), but I won't defend someone who did something that I consider to be VERY wrong in my eyes. I agree with Henny that too many girls and women are motivated to lie due to the goal of "saving face," but I'm not going to assume that Polanski is innocent simply because he is a member of a persecuted minority group. His fame makes him a role model to our community, and any disreputable act committed by an MAA tarnishes the whole group.

And yes, I understand that Polanski has already gone through some punishment as a result of his exile from any nation that has an extradition treaty with the U.S. And if Samantha wants the whole thing dropped, then I will consider it dropped. But I am NOT going to support him simply because he is a celebrity hebephile.

I am trying to do the right thing here, and if I fail in doing so, then it won't be because I didn't try.