A humongous misjudgement of character
So, I used to, until today, be a big fan of this particular comic artist and a particular strip of hers. But today, after being exhausted from exams and ready to just relax and enjoy myself, I went to her website to see if it updated, and got a nasty surprise: Essentially, a comic defending Wikileaks founder Julian Assange by having characters in the comic imply that the two alleged victims made up their rape stories entirely, just so that the U.S and Sweden would not get into any deeper trouble for what Wikileaks had done.
I'm not going to comment on Assange's guilt or innocence. That is for the Swedish courts to decide. But I am going to say that by partaking in the rape myth of "Girl who cried rape", this comic artist was not doing herself, Assange, or anyone interested in the debacle any favours. Since the rape allegations came out, so-called progressives everywhere, from Michael Moore to Naomi Wolf have rushed to defend him, calling the charges hooey, and saying it's all a big cover-up government plot that would make Stieg Larsson turn in his grave.
But it appears that their defense of him is not based on intimate knowledge of the case, a detailed inside intelligence on the workings of the Swedish legal system, or anything else of merit. It appears to spring from the fact that they consider Assange to be "one of us" and thus, not rapist-material. That it's all either a big misunderstanding, or that the victims cried wolf to help the U.S Government.
I'm not the most articulate person on earth, but I will say that, without a guilty/not guilty verdict in place, we have no way of knowing his innocence or the validity of the story. So participating in these gruesome myths does little to help Assange.
But it does do wonders to people who have been raped or taken advantage of in some way by someone who is powerful, high profile, and has friends in high places. A message that they are essentially disposable, that their stories have no merit, that they must not smear the image or tarnish the narrative of great men who do great things (TM).
In many ways, I can see connections between this and the Polanski case (Though it was much more clear-cut with the latter, since Polanski was already guilty and convicted but chose to flee) In both stories, men who have powerful friends in the left-wing sphere were accused of rape, and both times, their lefty friends came out in full support of them, often tarring and feathering the victim in the process.
You do not need to support Assange to support Wikileaks. It is possible for a liberal man who did a powerful whistleblowing service to history and journalism to also be a rapist. That does not mean you should unequivocally support him when he has been accused of a heinous crime like rape.
If Assange is found guilty, I hope he serves his time in prison. According to RAINN, only 1 in every 16 rapists serve any jail time for their crimes. This is partially due to the low reporting on rape, out of fear of repercussion for reporting.
Ask yourself why that could be the next time you open your mouth or type to tarnish the alleged victims of Assange, or claim it was all made up for political reasons.
In the meantime, I am really aching for a scanner. I have officially stopped following this particular comic artist, and I am now itching to start my own comic. I'm not as artistically talented as her, but I could at least make a decent comic without resorting to rape myths.
I'm not going to comment on Assange's guilt or innocence. That is for the Swedish courts to decide. But I am going to say that by partaking in the rape myth of "Girl who cried rape", this comic artist was not doing herself, Assange, or anyone interested in the debacle any favours. Since the rape allegations came out, so-called progressives everywhere, from Michael Moore to Naomi Wolf have rushed to defend him, calling the charges hooey, and saying it's all a big cover-up government plot that would make Stieg Larsson turn in his grave.
But it appears that their defense of him is not based on intimate knowledge of the case, a detailed inside intelligence on the workings of the Swedish legal system, or anything else of merit. It appears to spring from the fact that they consider Assange to be "one of us" and thus, not rapist-material. That it's all either a big misunderstanding, or that the victims cried wolf to help the U.S Government.
I'm not the most articulate person on earth, but I will say that, without a guilty/not guilty verdict in place, we have no way of knowing his innocence or the validity of the story. So participating in these gruesome myths does little to help Assange.
But it does do wonders to people who have been raped or taken advantage of in some way by someone who is powerful, high profile, and has friends in high places. A message that they are essentially disposable, that their stories have no merit, that they must not smear the image or tarnish the narrative of great men who do great things (TM).
In many ways, I can see connections between this and the Polanski case (Though it was much more clear-cut with the latter, since Polanski was already guilty and convicted but chose to flee) In both stories, men who have powerful friends in the left-wing sphere were accused of rape, and both times, their lefty friends came out in full support of them, often tarring and feathering the victim in the process.
You do not need to support Assange to support Wikileaks. It is possible for a liberal man who did a powerful whistleblowing service to history and journalism to also be a rapist. That does not mean you should unequivocally support him when he has been accused of a heinous crime like rape.
If Assange is found guilty, I hope he serves his time in prison. According to RAINN, only 1 in every 16 rapists serve any jail time for their crimes. This is partially due to the low reporting on rape, out of fear of repercussion for reporting.
Ask yourself why that could be the next time you open your mouth or type to tarnish the alleged victims of Assange, or claim it was all made up for political reasons.
In the meantime, I am really aching for a scanner. I have officially stopped following this particular comic artist, and I am now itching to start my own comic. I'm not as artistically talented as her, but I could at least make a decent comic without resorting to rape myths.