No one says “That murder victim was asking for it, did you see that outfit he was wearing?”

No one says “She wasn’t mugged, she probably just gave him her purse voluntarily, then regretted it the next morning.”

No one says “He invited her up to his apartment, so clearly he wanted her to to beat him up.”

No one says “Well, she was drinking, so it’s her fault she was a hit-and-run victim.”

It’s great that you personally don’t make any assumptions, but many, many people do, and they often side with the alleged rapist. Given that most accusations are true, that means there are a lot or rape victims being treated very unfairly.

My spell checker doesn’t even know it exists

Just sayin

Unfortunately most non-Swedish media seem to do the same thing and the more trustworthy part of Swedish media have very restrictive policies about publishing facts about an ongoing investigation (as has the prosecutor and Assange’s Swedish attorney, stated by law, we don’t fight legal disputes in the media in Sweden, we fight them in the court room), so what most people get to know have been warped into something very far away from anything resembling facts trough a lot of language and cultural misinterpretations, with a lot of wishful thinking and sensationalism added.

In addition to the official Swedish bulletins and official court documents (yeah, boooring, but anyone who wants them can get copies anonymously at only the cost of making the copy (something like 5 SEK per sheet), something no non-Swedish “journalist” seem to have bothered to do), a good place to start is Swedish chat-rooms and web-forums. Flasback is perhaps the most easily available and a good place to start. Flashback threads always contains a lot of speculation and unverifiable facts, but obviously made up “facts” usually get smashed by other commenters in a thread that has been going on for a while and many of the (unverifiable) facts usually turns out to be from first or second hand sources. [It is the favorite place to cut&paste articles from for Assanges ex-employer Aftonbladet ] Be aware, people active at flashback come from all extremes (and everything in between), the whole spectrum of religious, political and other beliefs, with all kinds of deviants, perhaps not a safe place for faint-hearted US-Americans used to a moderated debate. So if you want to know more than what is in the official bulletins and documents, get a good HUMAN Swedish translator and prepare for many months of digging at Flashback.

Well ok, but you have no one to blame but Assange for all this “theatre” you like to push off on the old media. I am sure if he cooperated with the courts then we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion right now, the truth would be told and people would be on with their lives.

Except… Assange has chosen to run from his problems. Was this a calculation on his part to raise his profile and funnel money to his organisation? He’s a smart man and he must have his reasons for choosing to fight extradition: but what are they? Why must he act like he’s carrying some great and terrible secret?

If he’s done nothing wrong, as Assange as asserted, then why is he so scared of the Swedish courts? It’s cause for suspicion, even if it can only play itself out in the “theatre” of Assange’s own celebrity.

After all aren’t the charges against Assange based in the smaller local legalities in Sweden? A show trial for Assange would likely involve America and in-so far no such action has been taken. So what’s the man scared of, the truth?

• Murder? Well the victim should have done something to stop them.
• Got mugged? What were you doing out so late or in that neighborhood or what did you do to provoke the perp?
• Got beat up? What did you do? Couldn’t you have run away.
• She was drunk and got hit by a car? And that is surprising how?

Ever hear the canard about “Why didn’t the Jews fight back against the Nazis?” I have. It’s all stupid blame the victim B.S.

There is a societal backlash against rape victims. But to me that has more to do with societies larger issues with women. And the way women are treated within different cultures. And if you are a man and get raped? it’s never treated sympathetically. You think sexual violence only exists in the straight community. Get real.

But with regards to Assange in an ascot, it means 1,000% of nothing. They are accusations made in a context that makes it dubious. That is not a “blame the victim” canard; that is a fact in this case.

And it does not change the fact that if he is proven to have raped these women, the political push wasn’t to bring a rapist to justice, but to punish someone connected to the actions of WikiLeaks. Do you actually believe these charges would be pursued across continents and to this degree if that were not the case?

Also, who doesn’t have holes in socks. Have you ever worn socks? I’m thrilled if they can last more than 6 months.

And because I’m fed up of hearing what an evil man he is without actually ever seeing anything even slightly naughty, I’m just going to say it again. He comes across to me as a very respectful, reasonable man who clearly has a passion for doing something good in the world. If you look into his family history, this has been encouraged and really everything I read him say or read about his past encourages me to see him in a very positive light. I see nothing creepy about the man and I wish that people would start pointing to actual documented events when calling him out as a POS.

I agree completely.

It looks to me like she was just imitating your use of your status as a rape victim as a badge of authority (which in the case of a definitional debate, it is not).

Looks who’s calling the rape victim a liar now.

As for the people who insist that article 11 applies only to governments, it does not, every human being has a moral obligation to protect human rights, which includes in refraining from witch hunts because something terrible might have done by someone you don’t like. If you’re really want justice for not only those women, but all women, you should be backing a system of justice that acts without fear (of US intervention) or favour (based on, oh, say, gender norms).

I read a delightful blog today where people were “denouncing” Naomi Wolf for not joining in on the Assange bashing. Sisterhood indeed.

If I had known the actual word, I might have said “nice one” rather than making snarky comments.