I'm not "pro" or "anti" Assange, nor to be honest do I have strong feelings on Wikileaks. I attempted yesterday evening to write a blog clarifying the situation without too much by the way of commentary. I'd seen lots of information being banded about that I knew to be wrong and wanted to set out my understanding of the facts.
Conspiracy Theories
As a result I've come face to face with what many describe as the "cultism" around Julian Assange. I have been told for example:
- that the "rape" is all a CIA set up
- that the "feminist dialectic is really a smoke screen. The truth of the matter is: xxxx [the alleged rape victim] is a CIA collaborator"
- that Sweden is a vassal state of the USA and that it collaborates in illegal activities for the US Empire
- that a secret grand jury has already been convened to sentence Assange to death
- that there have been repeated calls from the US government for Assange's death. This was backed up by an interview with his Mum as "evidence"
Above is a nice example. He has "talked to [sic] much.. and now has to pay the bill". There then follows the glib dismissal of allegations of a rape by shoving the term in inverted commas. Time and time again people downgrade the seriousness of sexual offences in a similar way. Owen Jones' excellent, balanced article on Assange today in the Independent had the alleged victims described as "two easy lays" and "hairy lipped feminists". Welcome to "Misogyny R Us".
There is little point trying to argue against these wild assertions. Why would the CIA set up the rape allegations to get Assange to Sweden, then ask for his extradition? Why choose rape, which is notoriously hard to prove (his word against hers, etc) if this is a CIA "set up"? Why didn't the US try to extradite him from the UK? Why demand an assurance from Sweden not to extradite, believing it to be a corrupt US poodle, when such assurance could then be broken? Why convene a secret jury to sentence him to death? Why not just "take him out" (in a car crash for example whilst he was hiding in isolated rural Suffolk) - isn't that more fitting to the Bond movies that clearly inform these minds? You can ask questions, there's an answer for all of it.
One woman told me the rape allegations had been dropped by the complainants. When I asked for a link on this she said she had "heard it a while ago on Twitter". Yep, that means it MUST be true, just like Prince Philip's recent death. Even people as reputable as Stephanie Flanders get things wrong, such as that completely misleading BMW Olympics sexism story which I also blogged on recently. My dog Oscar "tweets". Guess what, you shouldn't believe everything he says either. I *do* feed him enough biscuits.
If you're going to say "the truth is.." back it up with some facts, please.
The Personal Stuff
Then there are the personal attacks. I wrote what I hoped was a balanced, neutral, informative piece. I was accused of lying about being a lawyer. I was told it was an incredibly biased piece and complete rubbish. I'm a "moron to the highest degree", "I am a gullible idiot" etc.
[Update]: I particularly liked this one, which actually came in in relation to this post. For having pointed out that reactions can be a bit extreme I am labelled "an enemy of humanity":
[Update 2]: This rather special one received 24/8/12 rather proves the thesis in Tweet A by the response in Tweet B:
Most of the tweets I have received have come from accounts without the people's actual faces on them. Most seem to have few followers and can't spell properly or use proper grammar. The language is fantastical and dramatic: "the US Empire", "enemies", "conspiracy", "in secret", "witch hunt", "war", "shining a light into the dark world of" etc. They represent the little man, just as Assange does. They hold the truth and use that word, and the word "actually", to back up their assertions. These people have read their books, seen their movies and they know there are state agents lurking round every corner to deal with them. This presumably is why they don't reveal their identity on Twitter. It's just not safe! Their timelines are full of the same repetitive subject: #Assange, #Assange, #Assange
They have researched the details of the Swedish criminal allegations in depth: they know better than any police or judicial investigator, jury or judge what happened. We, of course, have experience in this closer to home from the way Twitter weighs in to any high profile investigation (Jo Yeates/ Chris Jeffries, Tia Sharpe etc) and people set themselves up as experts and arbitrators. I keep out of any trial by media or Twitter: how the hell can I judge (and why would I want to?) without the proper full range of evidence before me and the correct rules of court to govern their use. I personally really don't have much interest in sharing unsubstantiated tittle-tattle.
The full extent of how bat-shit crazy some of these people are can be seen by allegations made towards Owen Jones. He was accused of being a "racist idiot" (huh?), was told his position on Assange had left a huge question mark over his integrity, and was accused of being a state agent (anyone who knows Owen is no doubt rolling on the floor at this suggestion). I know David Allen Green has been the subject of this kind of thing for months and apparently Louise Mensch has been treated to similar today. Left, Centre and Right unite in being subject to this idiocy.
Radiator Fluid
Where does all this leave us? Well, I genuinely had no knowledge and no expectation of any of this. I'd heard of Assange Cultism, but this was my first experience of it. What I was trying to do was set out some facts, neutrally. There seem to be a few people who just attract this level of blind, fanatical devotion: Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Julian Assange. I did tweet a question as to whether Beliebers would grow up to become Assangists. A follower suggested it might be the other way round. Hmm!
I have nothing against Bieber, but I do find the hero worship unbalanced and at times frightening. Similarly, I really am not in position to say whether Assange is a knob or a saint. I've never met him and don't know him personally. What I can judge is the way many of his supporters appear unwilling to engage in any form of rational thought and spout every piece of utter nonsense they can in his defence. The world, the state, the CIA, the USA are all conspiring against him and them. Their behaviour changes nothing about what I think of Assange, but it has definitely opened my eyes about them.
Okay, I'm being a tad flippant now (permit me, I've been trolled quite a lot of late), but I do wonder if he told them to drink radiator fluid there would be a lot of fresh corpses dotted round the world.
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