The C is for Crank
Ask Maddow to Grill Michael Moore Tonight
One week ago, NYC blogger Sady Doyle started a campaign to pressure Michael Moore and Keith Olbermann to stop spreading lies about two women who pressed rape charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, to correct their inaccurate statements, and to apologize for publicizing the names of his accusers, who have since been subjected to threats of death and rape.
Moore, who has so far completely ignored the campaign, is going on Rachel Maddow's show on MSNBC tonight. If you only have two minutes, and if you agree with me and all the hundreds of others (many of them Moore fans from the days of Roger and Me) who are participating in this campaign that it's possible to both believe Assange is doing important work, and to believe that all rape allegations should be taken seriously, go to Twitter and ask Rachel Maddow (@maddow) to bring up #mooreandme during tonight's show (and watch it, on MSNBC at 9).
(If you have 10 minutes, go read Sady's post from three days ago and try not to cry).
Back story: The basic facts of the case are well-known and have been widely publicized. Contrary to early claims, initially spread by Assange's lawyer, that the charges involved "sex by surprise," a charge that has never been fully defined and which does not actually exist in Swedish law, they are actually this: Two Swedish women accused Assange of rape and sexual molestation last August. One accused him of ripping her clothes and jewelry, then holding her down and having sex with her without a condom after she said no. The other accused him of having sex with her while she was asleep, and continuing, again without a condom, after she woke up and told him to stop.
Assange was charged with rape and molestation on August 20. Shortly afterward, the rape charges were dropped, but the molestation investigation continued. Swedish police investigated Assange about the charges on August 30 and eventually reopened the rape case. In response, Assange left the country and refused to return for questioning.
On November 18, a Swedish court issued a warrant for Assange's arrest, and two days later Interpol issued an international alert that led to his arrest in London. He was released on bail last week.
Despite the clear-cut nature of the allegations, Moore and Olbermann have continued to portray the charges as a case of a "broken condom," claim that sex without a condom constitutes rape in Sweden (the fact that millions of Swedish fathers walk free today notwithstanding), and accuse the women of fabricating the charges as part of a CIA plot against Assange.
They have taken the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" and rewritten it as "innocent if you're a liberal guy who's doing something I approve of, no matter what." They have published the two accusers' names, endangering their safety. They have refused to apologize for doing any of this, despite the fact that they, two self-proclaimed journalists, got their stories wrong. And they have ignored pleas by thousands of anti-rape advocates that they address any of this, instead blocking followers on Twitter who ask them to be accountable (Olbermann) and ignoring the entire campaign, hoping it will go away (Moore).
If you wonder why most rapes go unreported, this is why. Guys like Olbermann and Moore who use their power to show women, including progressive women who are their fans, that they only care about the "little guy" when the little guy isn't a woman.
Yes, it's entirely possible---even likely---that the Swedish government is pursuing Assange with extra zeal because of Wikileaks. The fact that so few rape cases are prosecuted is an indictment of a system where rape allegations are generally not taken seriously, not proof that he is innocent and should be exempt from standing trial.
Moore, who has so far completely ignored the campaign, is going on Rachel Maddow's show on MSNBC tonight. If you only have two minutes, and if you agree with me and all the hundreds of others (many of them Moore fans from the days of Roger and Me) who are participating in this campaign that it's possible to both believe Assange is doing important work, and to believe that all rape allegations should be taken seriously, go to Twitter and ask Rachel Maddow (@maddow) to bring up #mooreandme during tonight's show (and watch it, on MSNBC at 9).
(If you have 10 minutes, go read Sady's post from three days ago and try not to cry).
Back story: The basic facts of the case are well-known and have been widely publicized. Contrary to early claims, initially spread by Assange's lawyer, that the charges involved "sex by surprise," a charge that has never been fully defined and which does not actually exist in Swedish law, they are actually this: Two Swedish women accused Assange of rape and sexual molestation last August. One accused him of ripping her clothes and jewelry, then holding her down and having sex with her without a condom after she said no. The other accused him of having sex with her while she was asleep, and continuing, again without a condom, after she woke up and told him to stop.
Assange was charged with rape and molestation on August 20. Shortly afterward, the rape charges were dropped, but the molestation investigation continued. Swedish police investigated Assange about the charges on August 30 and eventually reopened the rape case. In response, Assange left the country and refused to return for questioning.
On November 18, a Swedish court issued a warrant for Assange's arrest, and two days later Interpol issued an international alert that led to his arrest in London. He was released on bail last week.
Despite the clear-cut nature of the allegations, Moore and Olbermann have continued to portray the charges as a case of a "broken condom," claim that sex without a condom constitutes rape in Sweden (the fact that millions of Swedish fathers walk free today notwithstanding), and accuse the women of fabricating the charges as part of a CIA plot against Assange.
They have taken the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" and rewritten it as "innocent if you're a liberal guy who's doing something I approve of, no matter what." They have published the two accusers' names, endangering their safety. They have refused to apologize for doing any of this, despite the fact that they, two self-proclaimed journalists, got their stories wrong. And they have ignored pleas by thousands of anti-rape advocates that they address any of this, instead blocking followers on Twitter who ask them to be accountable (Olbermann) and ignoring the entire campaign, hoping it will go away (Moore).
If you wonder why most rapes go unreported, this is why. Guys like Olbermann and Moore who use their power to show women, including progressive women who are their fans, that they only care about the "little guy" when the little guy isn't a woman.
Yes, it's entirely possible---even likely---that the Swedish government is pursuing Assange with extra zeal because of Wikileaks. The fact that so few rape cases are prosecuted is an indictment of a system where rape allegations are generally not taken seriously, not proof that he is innocent and should be exempt from standing trial.
