Yes, but really not a great many people are trivialising what Polanski did. Think about it, if you compared the number of people whom call Polanski the Antichrist to those whom think that he should be granted clemency, you'll find that the former category are in significantly greater supply. He raped a girl and left the US before his final sentencing. Even his supporters acknowledge these things. Polanski is an incredibly vilified figure and I fail to see how 'people (which implies a majority in the sense that you used it)' are trying to excuse him.
You see, this is what really irritates me. People treat the viewing and production of a Polanski film to be akin to funding the Khmer Rouge while functioning under the delusion that they are being heard by only a small minority. Polanski is not some malevolent criminal overlord whom has committed large-scale acts of terrorism, he's a man who is living with a stupid mistake and the stigma of pedophilia (which technically is one that is not warranted, as he did not rape a child under the age of twelve), but people have been indoctrinated to see all crimes under a sexual banner as the worst kinds of transgressions imaginable and think that they are justified in their bilious rants because Polanski is a big man whom is bullying the little people. The only reason that Polanski was not extradited to the US was because he was a French citizen. Not because he was a director, or an artist, or some type of weird martyr, but because the French are just very stubborn people. If Polanski had just been some average schmuck, the result would have inevitably been the same: 'Up Yours, America'.
And really, that's why people are angry at Polanski. They just don't like the fact that he escaped the extra wrath of the American judiciary. I mean, if you were given an opportunity to escape prosecution and get on with your life, would you refuse it just because of mistakes past? Unless you were a pillar of virtue, then no, you wouldn't. Polanski was cowardly in his actions, but cowardice is only despised because the people whom allegedly made the more honourable decisions are now living awful lives and are jealous of the 'cowards' for being clever enough to dodge the consequences of their actions. That's it; and that is really why people hate Polanski... and I just find that pointless. Besides, it's not as though Polanski has escaped the consequences of his crime. Half the Internet community wants to kill him, for starters.
Polanski should not be pardoned, but he should be forgiven (especially as he has said sorry). His prosecution is justified, but the vindictive comments that people have made about him and the people whom work with him are COMPLETELY uncalled for.
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