Comments by "Harry Stoddard" (@HarryS77) on "Woody Allen "Feels Sad" for Harvey Weintstein" video.

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  6. Grant Morrison, your point about focus on individuals is well-taken. It's pretty rare that the media turns its attention to systems of power and injustice, at least not the sort that can't be righted by a few reforms or the demotion of certain individuals. Problems are easy to swallow if it's just the work of individuals. They're also impossible to fix.  Perhaps the media's myopia is due in part to 1) the focus on news rather than context and 2) the emphasis on "objective" news without trying to analyze through some theory of how the world works (a theory about social and governmental systems work or ought to work), though of course even the absence of a theory is a theory, that of those in power. I tend to think of JD and Young Turks as news commentary. Young Turks is doing some more reporting, but the bulk of their output is merely commentary and they don't apologize for it. But when people say they get their "news" from YT et al. it sounds to me like when people in the Bush era would get their "news" from Jon Stewart. I mean, it's not really news. It's commentary, it's criticism, it's satire. Which is okay. But the problem with getting news from those sources is that, while media criticism is important, and while it's important to get a different take on the "big" stories, you're kind of dealing with a poisoned well. You're starting from the position that the MSM has already laid out. They've decided the bounds of discourse, which is important to be aware of; but it's a very narrow framework. -
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  10. The point is that he has a pattern, kind of like you do, of apologizing for sexual harassers (usually by smearing others). For an ordinary person that's just a disappointing, ugly trait; but for someone in his position, someone who has a history of suggestive and inappropriate behavior with underaged girls (Soon-Yi, Mariel Hemingway), someone who's made a living off of movies about the appeal of older men to much younger (underage) women, someone who married his adopted daughter, perhaps it says a bit more. The legal situation motivating Geimer's position toward Polanski is a bit more complicated than you're making it out to be. Polanski should have done time for what he did—drugging and raping a 13 year old girl—but the judge reneged on a plea deal and Polanski fled. Yes, one of the reasons people don't like to come forward in high-profile cases is precisely the extreme media scrutiny. All of the unwanted attention, having to relive the abuse, total strangers blaming everyone but the person responsible for what happened. But there has always been one person who could end the "media hysteria" and injustice for Geimer, and that has been Roman Polanski. He doesn't give a shit, except to use her—again—to vindicate himself. She's dealing with what's been happening the best way possible, by trying to move past it. Polanski is never going to trial, and so I imagine she thinks it's better to just let it go. Good for her, that's her prerogative, and it's not anyone else's place to dictate to her how she should feel about the situation or about him, but, especially in light of new accusations, I don't see how he deserves any slack. So I quoted Allen's remark about Polanski because it demonstrates that he has a consistent view of sexual predators: poor them, they're the victims. "Enough is enough." He doesn't understand what the big deal is. After all, if you're an artist, if you're a bigshot like Polanski or Weinstein, the rules are different. He doesn't understand the difference between forcing someone to have sex and winking at someone in the refectory. Sure, he didn't know about the new allegations against Polanski, but how did Allen respond when one woman after another recounted stories of Weinstein approaching them, groping them, raping them? It's sad for Harvey. Gee, must be terrible. Those poor women, but also poor Harvey. It shows where his sympathy lies. There are two people who know for sure whether Allen molested Dylan—Allen and Dylan, and given Dylan's age at the time, it's possible Allen is the only one who knows for sure. Mia Farrow isn't the most credible person, children are impressionable; but Allen has many times tried to push the boundaries with minors. My instinct is to trust Dylan. Children can be fed lies, they can make up stories, but they can't fake trauma. If nothing else, this case demonstrates why it's important to prosecute people at the time of the offense.
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