A few hours ago I stumbled across a tweet by Huffington Post UK editor Basia Cummings which made my blood boil. Actress and activist Pamela Anderson had just spoken to the press with WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson about their visit with Assange at Belmarsh prison, decrying the WikiLeaks founder’s cruel treatment and unjust prosecution. Basia Cummings took this opportunity to call her social media followers in to make fun of Anderson’s clothing.
“Pamela Anderson arrives at Belmarsh to visit Julian Assange wearing… a bespoke cape/blanket referencing ‘Cromwell’ and free speech’. It’s a look,” Cummings said.
But what really got me were the comments the tweet elicited.
“Is it possible to unwank over someone?” asked one user.
“Pamela Anderson arrives at Belmarsh to visit Julian Assange to supply him with some material for his cell wank bank,” said another.
“Cum blanket,” said another.
“She banged Kid Rock. Enough said,” said another.
This is just a small sampling from a quick skim. There are many, many others. I won’t quote them all.
Read the appallingly sexist comments on this tweet. All of the values mainstream liberals claim to stand for always go straight out the window the second they pose an obstacle to vicious partisan sniping. @pamfoundation is a much, much better person than any of them will ever be. https://t.co/bbRarHQGZp
— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) May 7, 2019
I found this so deeply illustrative of the way mainstream liberals throw every value they claim to stand for right in the garbage as soon as it becomes an obstacle to their petty partisan attacks. They all warned that Trump was campaigning on a platform of xenophobia, homophobia and demagoguery, but as soon as he was elected they began launching phony Russiagate attacks which themselves were rife with xenophobia, homophobia and demagoguery. Liberal pundits who rightly criticized Bush for his unforgivable invasion of Iraq now attack Trump for being insufficiently hawkish toward Russia and its allies. These mindless automatons don’t actually stand for anything beyond blind partisan loyalty.
In the same way that they will happily wipe their asses with any of their pretend values the second it becomes politically convenient to do so, mainstream liberals will also fabricate grave, solemn concerns about things they never actually cared about before as soon as it can be used as an angle of partisan attack.
Feminist writer Naomi Wolf began her excellent 2010 essay titled “J’Accuse: Sweden, Britain, and Interpol Insult Rape Victims Worldwide” with the words, “How do I know that Interpol, Britain and Sweden’s treatment of Julian Assange is a form of theater? Because I know what happens in rape accusations against men that don’t involve the embarrassing of powerful governments.” Wolf argued that “men are pretty much never treated the way Assange is being treated in the face of sex crime charges,” and she was absolutely correct.
As a survivor of multiple sexual assaults, I have found it unspeakably infuriating the way this same patriarchal imperialist system which has allowed rape culture to thrive throughout the entirety of its existence has suddenly become deeply, deeply concerned about plot hole-riddled and completely unproven allegations against a man who just so happens to have published humiliating truths about that very same imperialist system. This same warmongering power structure which has never given a shit about women beyond our ability to fly a stealth bomber and squeeze new recruits out of our vaginas suddenly has the full force of its propaganda machine whipping liberals into a hysteria about allegations of acts that aren’t even illegal in the nations those liberals live in. Acts that these liberals have never even thought about pushing to make laws against in their own governments.
J'Accuse: Sweden, Britain, and Interpol Insult Rape Victims Worldwide http://huff.to/h9Urc8 by Naomi Wolf #freeassange #cablegate #wikileaks
— CODEPINK (@codepink) December 14, 2010
Do you know how you can be absolutely certain that anyone you see on social media rending their garments about Assange’s Swedish allegations is completely full of shit? Because no matter how hard you search through their post history, you will never, ever find any similarly enthusiastic push to ban the actions that Assange is accused of in their own government. In their own land, where their own daughters and sons will be impacted. They focus solely on shaky allegations against a target of the CIA and the Pentagon which are alleged to have happened in Sweden, a nation with very different sexual consent laws than the nations of these English-speaking concern trolls.
Without conceding that any part of the unproven allegations against Assange are true, it’s important to note that the United States, from which many of these Assange haters express their grave concern about Assange’s Swedish accusations, has no laws whatsoever about non-consensual condom removal, and other western judicial systems are barely even beginning to touch on the subject. None of these nations convict men for initiating sex while the woman is half-asleep, as Assange’s rape allegation asserts, and virtually every woman you know has had sex initiated with her by a sexual partner while she was half-asleep. Yet none of the blue-checkmarked journalists you see calling Assange a “rapist” on social media have ever written any articles demanding that laws be passed in their own countries calling for women to receive legal protection from this.
The people pretending to care about these allegations do not care about rape, and they do not care about women. I recently had my Twitter privileges suspended by someone who called me a “rape apologist” for not automatically subscribing to the “believe all women” meme in the case of a known CIA target, and, when I informed him that I myself am a rape victim, this man called me a liar. I went off on him, and he reported me. This man has never cared about rape or women, and it’s entirely likely that he’s done things to women that push the same boundaries on sexual consent he’s accusing Assange of doing, or worse.
I suspect that goes the same for a lot of the concern trolling Assange-hating men I encounter online whose suddenly holier-than-thou position on initiating sex with a sleepy woman you’ve just been intimate with probably does not line up all that well with their own sexual past. I mean, let’s get real. I’m a woman, my friends are women, I’ve been in a lot of book clubs and mom’s groups and out on a lot of girl’s nights and I know that if you want to get a conversation really fired up, just mention how annoying it is when a bloke wakes you up prodding you with his dick. It’s relatable and a rich vein to mine anecdote-wise. This is a universal experience for a western woman, and yeah, I think it’s rapey and gross and I would love for it to stop, but don’t pretend you care about that now any more than you did before you realized it was a way you could smear Assange. Be real. If you weren’t campaigning for it to be outlawed in your own state or country before, you need to at least be making noises about it now first, and you know and I know that that simply isn’t happening.
In fact, as the years pass, it is becoming entirely possible that the publicity around the allegations against Assange will not change one thing about rape law in any of the western countries which pretend to be so outraged by it other than to be considered a useful hack for smearing a journalist for exposing the patriarchal imperialist system under which rape culture continues to thrive. It has been nine years; nothing has changed. I think we can safely say that after nine years and no change that this has never been an honest concern for the health and well-being of the women involved and for women in general, because if it was then those laws would be ubiquitous across western democracies. Yet again, the suffering of women will be used by the powerful to hide their crimes and entrench more deeply the suffering for the women who work tirelessly as human shields protecting their children from the effects of war and poverty in a predatory capitalist system which is incapable of valuing women’s work.
True Feminism
"Anywhere you see a healthy impulse arising in society, you will see attempts to twist it into the service of power, and this is very much the case with feminism."https://t.co/h64T6ECbbI
— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) November 16, 2018
Of course we should want these things to be illegal. Of course it should be illegal to deliberately have unprotected penetration without consent. Of course it should be illegal to initiate sex without fully awake and enthusiastic consent. Of course we should all want to live in a world where everyone is protected from any sexual interaction happening without their permission. But these people are not interested in creating that world. These people are interested in supporting the same rapey power establishment which has no regard for the sovereignty of entire nations, much less the individual sovereignty of womens’ bodies. They pretend to be on the side of women, but they are actually on the side of the worst aspects of patriarchy, because they have formed an egoic identification with the political structures which are built upon those aspects. That’s what concern trolling is.
This is just one of the many ways in which authentic feminism, authentic advocacy for the real interests of real women, has been co-opted for the benefit of a depraved establishment which has never cared about women and never will. We see it in the way the mass media celebrates women ascending to leadership positions of the military-industrial complex and the National Guard, and the way the presidential candidacy of a woman who embodies all the sickest aspects of the patriarchy was billed as a path to victory for feminism. The healthy impulse to elevate a gender that had an enslaved status in our society since the dawn of civilization has been hijacked by perverse agendas, and it needs to be reclaimed.
Whenever you see anyone claiming to be deeply, deeply concerned about the Swedish allegations against Assange, ask them what they’ve been doing to fight for legal changes which protect women from the things Assange is accused of doing. Then watch them squirm.
For more info on the gaping plot holes in the “Assange is a rapist” smear, check out this section from my mega-article Debunking All The Assange Smears.
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25 responses to “People Who Publicly Fret About Assange Rape Allegations Are Lying”
Do not forget Jacob Appelbaum who has been banished through spurious charges of sexual crimes and do not forget the beautiful soul of Aaron Swchwarz, hounded to death or murdered for his brilliance.
Haha, nice one Caitlin.
I’ve always been perplexed at the alleged crimes under Swedish law and why the UK, Europe and SpartUSA have not sought to pass similar laws via our respective legislatures.
Can you imagine a petition in Blighty to enact those laws over here. I know of about 70+ politicians who have shown the support against Julian only recently.
Can you imagine….
I am truly grateful to you for these callings-out of the self-imagined “left” for their descent into smear campaigns, xenophobia and demagoguery.
They themselves should be grateful to your for the wake-up call; they (and we all) stand to lose hugely through their abandoning of reason, clear thinking and ethics.
Speaking of Pamela Anderson’s visiting Julian Assange, here is a succinct and informative account of the visit; and possibly most importantly Julian Assange’s mailing address for letters. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/08/assa-m08.html
One of the commenters to this article suggests that those who choose to write to Julian Assange include a stamped and addressed envelope and some stationary for him to reply.
As Usual,
EA
Here is the mailing information. (see above)
Send letters of support to Julian Assange
Mr Julian Assange
DOB: 3/07/1971
HMP Belmarsh
Western Way
London SE28 0EB
UK
(You must write your return address on the back of the envelope or it will not be delivered. You must include his date of birth in the address as above.)
It is obvious that Julian Assange is being framed in light of female hyper-intolerance.
Natural life has 3 parts. Born into a family, marriage and starting a family, and helping that family grow and start their own families..Child, Parent, and Grandparent.
Systematic destruction of the natural order is what is being seen. Men and women are meant to come together and stay together and respect each other’s strengths, pratice trust, forgiveness and tolerance. If a man and woman are pure when they marry, so will tgere union be, and create a solid foundation for life.
Men take on the burden of physical power, fighting for resource and protection where resources can dwindle and come under conflict. Women take on the burden of child bearing and fight on the social front. Natural strengths harmoniously utilized.
The further this is deviated from, the harder life will be. Those in power know this and seek to poison this organism.
How do lions procreate? Do not blame men, and do not pity women. The natural order is the only remedy, everything else is a lie which leads all further astray. A strong family is a strong woman and a strong man in their union. The best retirement plan one can have is a strong family.
I have observed the methods which were used against Assange used against a radical organizer just a few years later by an agent provocateur / saboteur or group thereof. The accusation was almost identical, but because there was no law regarding condom usage in the US, the target’s supposed dereliction was always morphed into forcible rape by his accusers when speaking of the incident. Also, because there was no formal legal process, but only accusation and innuendo, there was no way of definitively refuting the charges. After breaking up the target’s organization, the agent provocateur team went around to other radical groups trying to stir up suspicion and hatred against him. In this they overreached themselves — they inspired a couple of dumb boys to burn down the building the target lived in, which brought down a serious police investigation, making it necessary for a number of people who had been involved in the provocation to leave town. I attempted a personal investigation because I was curious as to whether the agents were volunteers or paid by somebody, but of course their identities were phony and there was no way of telling where they actually came from without advanced cop resources which I do not possess. My impression, however, is that the anti-Assange method was being experimented with and proved unreliable in the US context. It’s something to watch out for, however.
I appreciate your passionate loquacity but “Not Guilty” is all you need to say to these wolves in sheep’s clothing. Julian Assange has NEVER been charged with any offence, nor is he likely to be. The “sexual assault” smears are just a CIA cover story to divert attention from the US extradition attempt. It is just a blatantly obvious CIA-orchestrated smear campaign and character assassination. Such campaigns are usually a prelude, or sequel, to the more lethal variant as we have seen with JFK, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X, to name but a few of those assassinated for stepping on the toes of the US State machine.
Those who echo these smears are the lackeys, toadies, and lickspittles of the capitalists and their system. These types are more concerned with preserving their own petit-bourgeois status in life than anything else, and they will never step on the toes of their bourgeois masters for fear of slipping down the greasy pole they have ascended. Money really does talk.
Basia Cummings, we are coming for you
Caitlin & All
Very important information regarding Julian’s treatment at Belmarsh was discussed/reported yesterday at the below link:
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2019/05/karen-kwiatkowski/pray-and-weep/
Apparently Chelsea Manning was exposed to this or similar “medical treatment” (chemical torture) and has suffered long-term debilitating consequences, something I did not know.
The author is a well-known, well-connected libertarian who has been exposing neo-cons ever since she witnessed their WOD Iraqi lies while working at the Pentagon during the reign of W.
Caitlin, I hope you will investigate this matter and report back to your progressive community. We all need to stand together in support of Assange and Free Speech, and you’re the best 5-alarm bell we’ve got on the internet.
Here’s a lead-in Karen K. wrote several weeks ago, which I missed. The two articles together and without derailment of Fedgov’s agenda give us a pretty good picture of what to expect.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2019/04/karen-kwiatkowski/d-c-s-own-khashoggi-moment/
Thank-you, Anne Williamsonn / May 8, 2019, for the links to truly horrible information, but utterly necessary to know – that the US & UK Govs are now chemically attempting to destroy Julian Assange.
Gov Enforcers – not the politicians & top bureaucrats who give the orders – are the ones actually doing this horrendous harm to Julian. GovEnforcers do the HARM, whether w/ bullets, bombs, BZ (chem being used on Assange) or any of the hundreds of other methods in Gov arsenals.
Disgusted?
Do NOT include GovEnforcers among your “friends”. Make GovEnforcerhood of all kinds VERY unpopular! Few Enforcers => GovLdrs are impotent & their words are ignorable.
Ah, the Buddha Ms Caitlin speaks the truth!!!
Unfortunately, human beings can not really discuss male – female interactions in an honest and rational manner; especially if they are young!! Some people make love with sex and some people make hate with sex; it is a very complex subject!! When men get old they realize just how foolish they were as youngsters when it came to females!!
Big thank you today for that piece you nailed a lot of elephants in the room. I find it quite scary that the bulk of my liberal friends now believe that anything is justified in the name of removing Trump from office. Sweep away all the checks and balances of the the political system. All our deeply held values of tolerance, dialogue, democracy, inclusiveness are thrown out the window.
Some of the tweets sounded like a conversation you imagine you would hear in a redneck deplorable biker gang. (apologies to bikers, rednecks, deplorables and gangs)
Brava, Caitlin – again and always, brava!
Let’s see the responses to this calling out!
From Jim in BudaPest
Those who fret should get Sweden to observe its own rape laws as it relates to its victims. Assange was first charged in Sweden for “rape” but the definition of rape in Sweden includes unprotected sex. It was alleged that a condom broke during consensual sex.
What is illegal in Sweden is to make similar allegations against asylum seekers. Sweden became the rape capital of the world but horrific jail sentences and fines have been levied on victims who were brutally gang raped by economic and political refugees of the very issues that WikiLeaks was bringing to the attention of the world. … Sweden, sad to say, is making a precedent of inflating the importance of the private acts of a controversial journalist and ignoring the deeds of asylum seekers …”
The Swedish police no longer even bother investigating violent rapes of very young children by rapefugees.
How many men have come forward and confessed to committing rape or sexual assault in the public eye?
That was a rhetorical question. We all know the answer. Zero.
https://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/memory-reconsolidation-and-dead-man-walking/
more relevently, how many lies and crimes have the Deep State operatives like yourself been committing?
everytime you open your mouth.
“Of course it should be illegal to initiate sex without fully awake and enthusiastic consent. ”
I really wish you would rethink this one. We certainly want it to become understood by men throughout our societies, but I shudder to think of our governments managing/punishing it.
In my way too many years, I have NEVER heard this complaint before, so I have to think the situation could be much improved by simply making sure that all men know it’s not acceptable.
I concur with the article except for your last line, then watch them squirm.
People who believe that they have always been right, especially men, can never believe that they have always been wrong. It would kill them.
For example russiagate continues unabated even since it has been debunked by Saint Mueller.
GET THE CLUE by Stan Clark 5/7/19 (for a man of much fortitude)
You revealed too much
We’re beyond reproach and as such
We don’t have to prove it wasn’t true
We’ll assault you and game you Accuse and defame you
Pull our many strings to frame you Psychologically maim you
Box you in and restrain you Indefinitely detain you
Cut every lifeline you ever knew
We’ll do all we can
And there’s much we can do
To ensure that others with your impudent degree of fortitude
Clearly get the clue:
“Defy us and this is what we’ll do to you.”
Thanks for all you do in the interest of truth and justice Caitlin!
This is just one of the many ways in which authentic feminism, authentic advocacy for the real interests of real women, has been co-opted for the benefit of a depraved establishment which has never cared about women and never will. We see it in the way the mass media celebrates women ascending to leadership positions of the military-industrial complex and the National Guard, and the way the presidential candidacy of a woman who embodies all the sickest aspects of the patriarchy was billed as a path to victory for feminism. The healthy impulse to elevate a gender that had an enslaved status in our society since the dawn of civilization has been hijacked by perverse agendas, and it needs to be reclaimed.
I couldn’t agree more. Thank you, Cait!
That’s not true. There have been many cases of it, and it hurts those who have been raped as badly as it hurts those falsely accused. Assange HIMSELF was falsely accused of rape if you haven’t forgotten…
those who pretend to care about the victims have lied one too many times and undermined themselves all on themselves.
do the soldiers of the Deep State care about North Koreans when they profess their bloody concern about human rights in NK? don’t make me laugh.
You tell em Cait !!