I was catching up with a bunch of my blogs last night and realized that an all-out war is being waged in the blogosphere...about Wikileaks, Julian Assange, Michael Moore and Keith Olbermann, famous feminists such as Naomi Wolf, and rape.
If you, like me, have been out of the loop, this article gives an excellent summary of what's been going on.
I'm on the fence regarding Wikileaks. I do believe that the shameful activities conducted, funded, or endorsed by our government need to be out in the open. However, I also believe that many activities need to be kept confidential for the sake of state security. For example, what good could come out of sharing insults by diplomats from one country about another country? And just because the documents are released does not mean they are accurate (for example, Rachel Maddow brought up the example of Wikileaks reporting that Michael Moore's documentary, Sicko, was banned in Cuba, when it was not). Julian Assange appears to be an egotistical rogue, and although I do believe in freedom of speech, I think he stepped over the line.
The blogosphere is buzzing about the charges of rape against Assange. I find it troubling to see how feminists and liberals are fighting each other about this issue. Keith Olbermann claims to be one of the most liberal male news commentators out there, and he is highly offended that women think he's forsaking rape victims. Michael Moore posted Assange's bail on the basis of defending freedom of speech, even though he doesn't know whether Assange is guilty. Assange's defenders believe that the rape charges are trumped up by the government, even though he was wanted for rape before all of this recent stuff came out. (The charges of rape are fuzzy--apparently one victim insisted he put a condom on, and he refused, and he had sex with the other victim while she was asleep...?) Naomi Wolf is stridently claiming that the charges are false, even though she does not have any clear knowledge of the issue. I do not know whether the charges are true or false, but it's not my place to know this. What bothers me is the way people are so sure they are right about this. (I remember feeling the same way during other highly public trials or reports of crimes. How can we, who are not sitting on the jury hearing all the evidence, know with such certainty the facts of the case?)
One feminist blogger I follow used quite provocative and profane language on this subject about another feminist blogger. If you want to know more, follow some of the links or google the topic.
My point is that it saddens me that progressives are fighting each other so vehemently on these issues. The fact that Assange diminishes his accusers' claims by saying that they are "in a tizzy" says something about him right there. Do you have any thoughts on this issue?
If you, like me, have been out of the loop, this article gives an excellent summary of what's been going on.
I'm on the fence regarding Wikileaks. I do believe that the shameful activities conducted, funded, or endorsed by our government need to be out in the open. However, I also believe that many activities need to be kept confidential for the sake of state security. For example, what good could come out of sharing insults by diplomats from one country about another country? And just because the documents are released does not mean they are accurate (for example, Rachel Maddow brought up the example of Wikileaks reporting that Michael Moore's documentary, Sicko, was banned in Cuba, when it was not). Julian Assange appears to be an egotistical rogue, and although I do believe in freedom of speech, I think he stepped over the line.
The blogosphere is buzzing about the charges of rape against Assange. I find it troubling to see how feminists and liberals are fighting each other about this issue. Keith Olbermann claims to be one of the most liberal male news commentators out there, and he is highly offended that women think he's forsaking rape victims. Michael Moore posted Assange's bail on the basis of defending freedom of speech, even though he doesn't know whether Assange is guilty. Assange's defenders believe that the rape charges are trumped up by the government, even though he was wanted for rape before all of this recent stuff came out. (The charges of rape are fuzzy--apparently one victim insisted he put a condom on, and he refused, and he had sex with the other victim while she was asleep...?) Naomi Wolf is stridently claiming that the charges are false, even though she does not have any clear knowledge of the issue. I do not know whether the charges are true or false, but it's not my place to know this. What bothers me is the way people are so sure they are right about this. (I remember feeling the same way during other highly public trials or reports of crimes. How can we, who are not sitting on the jury hearing all the evidence, know with such certainty the facts of the case?)
One feminist blogger I follow used quite provocative and profane language on this subject about another feminist blogger. If you want to know more, follow some of the links or google the topic.
My point is that it saddens me that progressives are fighting each other so vehemently on these issues. The fact that Assange diminishes his accusers' claims by saying that they are "in a tizzy" says something about him right there. Do you have any thoughts on this issue?
I too am out of the loop.
ReplyDeleteI know the news story from listening to NPR during my commute but I didn't realize the extent of the "warring" behind the scenes so to speak. I obviously have some reading and catching up to do.
I know--I was surprised too!
ReplyDelete