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assange, assange rape charges, hypocrisy, jemima khan, john pilger, julian assange, ken loach, michael moore, misogyny, rape, sady doyle, sexual molestation, sexual violence, wikileaks
Why do I support transparency, the purported goal of Wikileaks and Openleaks and projects like them? Because information means you can hold powerful people responsible for their actions. When I mentioned that people like John Pilger, Ken Loach, and Jemima Khan were supporting Julian Assange and dismissing the claims against him, I hadn’t learned that Michael Moore was doing the same thing. And now, as Sady Doyle writes, it’s time for him to take responsibility for that.
Filmmaker/rabble-rouser/all-around champion of the Truth and the Little Guy, Michael Moore. He’s put $20,000 hard, cashy dollars on the line, so that Julian Assange, white male left-wing darling, will be able to get out on bail despite posing a substantial and acknowledged flight risk, and despite the fact that he evidently is working to avoid facing the charges of his accusers…
Hey, Michael, you know what exposes a Big Lie, a lot of the time? Rape allegations. You know who knows all about big lies? Women who have been raped. Raped, sometimes, by powerful men within our communities; raped by men who were beloved and supported by those communities; raped by our fellow progressives. And we didn’t report, because we knew no-one would believe us; because we knew we’d be shamed and smeared and lied about and harassed until we agreed to go away and let the Big Lie continue to exist. You want to employ the phrase “secrets killed them?” Women who have been raped know all about how secrets can kill people. And how, often, it’s telling the secret that gets you killed. Ask the women who are pressing these charges — their names have been so widely leaked, in one case by your fellow “progressive” media dudebro, Keith Olbermann, that it is possible to find their home addresses, their personal blogs and social media accounts, and to track their activities and personal lives. I’d imagine that they are very much in fear for their lives, due in large part to people like you, Michael Moore, who are insisting that they should not be believed.
That’s right! “Progressives” are now going after the victims. Perhaps this appalling cowardice is why Jezebel reports one of the accusers has fled Sweden and is no longer cooperating with the prosecutors (I’m not linking to the piece because it gives her name; if you really want to verify it you can search for it yourself).
So thank God he’s on Twitter. He is @MMFlint, in fact! And here’s what we’re going to do: We’re going to use the #Mooreandme hashtag to tell him why what he has done and said is wrong. We’re going to talk to the man. We’re going to stand outside his window with a megaphone until he comes down and talks to us.
It’s worth noting that Jemima Khan is also on twitter, as @jemkhan. Fans of Wikileaks – Assange, Moore, Pilger, Loach, Khan – believe that bringing information out into the open forces powerful people to take responsibility for their irresponsible actions. Guess what y’all? Don’t dish it if you can’t take it.
Do you feel, like the article you quote, that Assange shouldn’t get bail?
I think that there are two key parts of the statement I’ve seen that was signed by Loach, Pilger et al. The first is the belief that given the (pretty much irrefutable) fact that various states are out to get him at the moment, it is probably fairly dangerous and problematic for Assange to be locked up without having been convicted of anything. The second is that “the charges should be dropped”. To me, it’s the second part that is ridiculous, not the first.
I.E. Believing that charges of rape should be taken seriously and investigated doesn’t necessarily mean you should think that Assange should be held in prison without having been convicted. it’s unfortunate that some of the people putting up his bail money can’t hold the two thoughts in their head at the same time.
Matt
I think that Assange should be treated like everyone else – and under normal circumstances, someone who poses that much of a flight risk wouldn’t be given bail. Moreover, plenty of people are held without being convicted of anything – that’s standard practice. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but again I don’t think Assange should get special treatment.
We know that political pressure was involved in the processing of the charges, because most rape and sexual assault charges are never ever investigated or prosecuted. That’s not in doubt. But, like anyone accused of rape, he should be brought before a court to face charges. To be perfectly honest, I doubt he ever will, because the two women accusing him of a crime are being so vilified by Assange’s supporters I doubt they will continue to cooperate with the prosecution. They didn’t want to press the case anyway, they just really wanted him to get an STD test because he forced them to have sex without a condom.
The problem is that rape and other cases of sexual violence are routinely dismissed in court, they’re routinely dismissed by people more generally, and this is why rape is so common and rapists usually get away with it.
I agree entirely with your last paragraph, but given the fact that this *isn’t* an ordinary case (lots of governments would like Assange to go away or stop doing what he is doing) I do think that getting him out of jail until he has been convicted of something is wise. I really wouldn’t be surprised if he had “an accident” if he remains locked up -you know how stupid some British police are….
Anyway, I think we agree on 85% of this, and Michael Moore is an idiot.
Matt
P.S. So is Keith olberman, but that isn’t news.