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My two cents' worth on Assange
Dec. 20th, 2010 07:31 pmSince everybody seems to be stating their positions on this:
1. On the whole, I think Wikileaks is probably a good thing. I won't go into detail or spell out my reservations just now, because this post isn't about Wikileaks; I only mention it for its relevance to what follows.
2. Some people who do good things are also lovely people in their private life. Some are not. Sorry, but human nature is tricky that way. It doesn't really matter whether Wikileaks is the best thing ever to happen to humanity, or the worst, or something in between; it tells you very little either way about Julian Assange's sexual ethics.
3. As a consequence of the above, I have no idea whether Assange is innocent or guilty. Unless you know at least one of the three people involved in the allegations personally, you probably don't have much idea either. I don't envy the jury who have to come to a decision on that questions, but I fervently hope they'll do it on the basis of something more than a couple of newspaper articles.
4. If you're concerned about the legal process involved, and the possibility of political influence (FWIW, those things do concern me), by all means protest that. Assange is entitled to due process and the legal presumption of innocence.
BUT, it is possible to hold that position without having to adopt the assumption that his accusers are lying CIA floozies. Really, it is. You can uphold somebody's rights without having to be certain of their innocence or denigrating their accusers.
5. AFAIK, some of the alleged acts for which Assange has been charged wouldn't legally be considered 'rape' in many countries. But as far as my personal ethics are concerned, sex outside the conditions under which consent was agreed is nonconsensual sex, so don't expect me to be impressed by this line of argument.
1. On the whole, I think Wikileaks is probably a good thing. I won't go into detail or spell out my reservations just now, because this post isn't about Wikileaks; I only mention it for its relevance to what follows.
2. Some people who do good things are also lovely people in their private life. Some are not. Sorry, but human nature is tricky that way. It doesn't really matter whether Wikileaks is the best thing ever to happen to humanity, or the worst, or something in between; it tells you very little either way about Julian Assange's sexual ethics.
3. As a consequence of the above, I have no idea whether Assange is innocent or guilty. Unless you know at least one of the three people involved in the allegations personally, you probably don't have much idea either. I don't envy the jury who have to come to a decision on that questions, but I fervently hope they'll do it on the basis of something more than a couple of newspaper articles.
4. If you're concerned about the legal process involved, and the possibility of political influence (FWIW, those things do concern me), by all means protest that. Assange is entitled to due process and the legal presumption of innocence.
BUT, it is possible to hold that position without having to adopt the assumption that his accusers are lying CIA floozies. Really, it is. You can uphold somebody's rights without having to be certain of their innocence or denigrating their accusers.
5. AFAIK, some of the alleged acts for which Assange has been charged wouldn't legally be considered 'rape' in many countries. But as far as my personal ethics are concerned, sex outside the conditions under which consent was agreed is nonconsensual sex, so don't expect me to be impressed by this line of argument.
