I've been trying to pinpoint my growing unease over Wikileaks & Julian Assange December 8, 2010

This really came to the fore for me yesterday, as the various news sites reported his arrest, and the subsequent comparisons of Assange to the kind of person we collectively wanted Obama to be. Putting aside how farcical the notion of one man transforming a vast and entrenched political system in a period of two years is, I've come to realize that I'm increasingly uncomfortable with the whitewashing going on with Assange.

What Wikileaks has done, as an organization, is transformative. You can argue whether the net result is positive or negative - that's not the sort of thing I'm aiming to discuss here. What I do have problems with is the loss of delineation between Assange the man and Wikileaks the organization. Assange works as the editor in chief for Wikileaks - but he is not the entire organization, and he is most certainly NOT the living embodiment of it, or the vessel for it. And no matter what he does under the banner of this organization, it does not act as a counterweight to what he does as a person. This is especially relevant, because this seems to be the knee-jerk reaction to the claims of rape made against him - that it's all part of a smear campaign, that the accuser is fame-whoring, or worse, merely a political tool. She is judged in the court of public opinion less for who she is and what she's claimed to have undergone and more for what Julian Assange has come to embody. Kate Harding states it beautifully:

The fact is, we just don't know anything right now. Assange may be a rapist, or he may not. His accuser may be a spy or a liar or the heir to Valerie Solanas, or she might be a sexual assault victim who now also gets to enjoy having her name dragged through the mud, or all of the above. The charges against Assange may be retaliation for Cablegate or (cough) they may not.

Public evidence, as The Times noted, is scarce. So, it's heartening to see that in the absence of same, my fellow liberal bloggers are so eager to abandon any pretense of healthy skepticism and rush to discredit an alleged rape victim based on some tabloid articles and a feverish post by someone who is perhaps not the most trustworthy source. Well done, friends! What a fantastic show of research, critical thinking and, as always, respect for women.

We live in a time where pure, unadulterated facts are the rarest and most precious thing. Merely encountering them in the vast choking miasma of politicized hyperbole being manufactured everywhere is like a lungful of clear fresh air, and intoxicating. But let's not let our lust for greater clarity trample due process.  She may be someone so cynical as to view this as a valid ride on her 15 minutes worth of fame. She may be part of a conspiracy to discredit Assange and demoralize Wikileaks and its supporters and contributors.

And she may have been raped - and if so, what's happening right now is downright horrifying. The point is, don't let the lust for transformative truths blind us to our responsibilities as basic and decent human beings.