So, here are some cheerful statistics for you: According to RAINN, about 60% of rapes aren’t reported. In those cases, there’s about a 51% chance that the 40% of reported rapes will have an arrest made. There’s an 80% chance of prosecution. And, given various factors including conviction and sentencing, there’s only about a 16.3% chance that someone who commits rape will serve time for that rape. Meaning: If we factor in the rapes that go unreported, only 6% of rapists ever serve time. EVER.
Gee, it sounds like making sure that rape accusations are taken seriously, and pursued to the full extent of the law, in all cases, is a pretty important issue, for progressives!
Meanwhile, here are some facts: A man has been accused of rape by two separate women. He fled the country in which he was accused. He is fighting extradition, so that he won’t have to go back to that country and face charges — even though there are spectacularly low rates of conviction for accused rapists, he just doesn’t think that he should have to go through the system, for whatever reason. And you know who’s posting bail for him?
Fucking progressives. That’s who. Including one man who has, for some years now, served as one of the most prominent and recognizable faces of the American left, filmmaker/rabble-rouser/all-around champion of the Truth and the Little Guy, Michael Moore. He’s put $20,000 hard, cashy dollars on the line, so that Julian Assange, white male left-wing darling, will be able to get out on bail despite posing a substantial and acknowledged flight risk, and despite the fact that he evidently is working to avoid facing the charges of his accusers. And why is that? Well, as per Michael Moore’s lengthy diatribe on the subject, which contains exactly one paragraph about the rape charges, his reasoning is as follows:
For those of you who think it’s wrong to support Julian Assange because of the sexual assault allegations he’s being held for, all I ask is that you not be naive about how the government works when it decides to go after its prey. Please — never, ever believe the “official story.” And regardless of Assange’s guilt or innocence (see the strange nature of the allegations here), this man has the right to have bail posted and to defend himself.
In other words: Never, ever believe the women who are accusing Assange of rape. Never, ever believe the allegations that he forcibly held a woman down and raped her, never, ever believe that he raped a woman while she was unconscious. “Regardless of his guilt or innocence” — and it’s clear that Moore has chosen to believe in his “innocence,” despite the fact that Assange’s working to avoid being tried for the crime — help him. Don’t believe anything you hear about the charges, don’t believe the official story, despite the fact that Assange’s people have been caught lying — it turns out there is no such crime as “sex by surprise” in Sweden as Assange’s lawyer Mark Stephens alleged, it is not worth a fine of $715 because it doesn’t exist, and there is also no Swedish law against having sex with a broken condom; what is against the law in Sweden, it turns out, is rape, which is what Assange has been charged with — and a reasonable person might assume that they are the ones it’s unsafe to believe. Don’t believe them. The allegations are “strange.” (They sure did seem that way, when they were being inaccurately reported all over the place, thanks in part to misinformation spread by Assange’s defense.) Believe Michael Moore.
Believe Michael Moore when he tells you that giving $20,000 in bail is fair, because WikiLeaks is important, because the government keeps secrets, and for a lot of people, “secrets killed them.”
Sorry, but you brought this upon yourself. No one can hide from the truth now. No one can plot the next Big Lie if they know that they might be exposed.
Says Michael Moore. But hey, Michael, you know what exposes a Big Lie, a lot of the time? Rape allegations. You know who knows all about big lies? Women who have been raped. Raped, sometimes, by powerful men within our communities; raped by men who were beloved and supported by those communities; raped by our fellow progressives. And we didn’t report, because we knew no-one would believe us; because we knew we’d be shamed and smeared and lied about and harassed until we agreed to go away and let the Big Lie continue to exist. You want to employ the phrase “secrets killed them?” Women who have been raped know all about how secrets can kill people. And how, often, it’s telling the secret that gets you killed. Ask the women who are pressing these charges — their names have been so widely leaked, in one case by your fellow “progressive” media dudebro, Keith Olbermann, that it is possible to find their home addresses, their personal blogs and social media accounts, and to track their activities and personal lives. I’d imagine that they are very much in fear for their lives, due in large part to people like you, Michael Moore, who are insisting that they should not be believed.
And you’re the face of the Left. You have the platform, you have the power, you have the cash and the fame and the name and face recognition: You claim to speak for us. And when you speak, you don’t stand against rape.
So, who remembers the climactic scene of Roger and Me? Everybody, right? Poor little guy Michael Moore, standing up against The Man, standing outside the office of The Man, in fact, just because Roger has done something that has immeasurably harmed his community, and he wants to talk to the guy. He wants to hold him accountable. He wants Roger to look him in the face and tell him why he’s hurt all of these people.
You know what immeasurably harms the progressive community, though, is rape and rape apologism. Is victim-blaming; is accuser-smearing; is the unwillingness of men in positions of power to consider rape a crucial issue that must be taken seriously. And the person who’s hurting our community, and refusing to take responsibility for that, right now, is Michael Moore.
So thank God he’s on Twitter. He is @MMFlint, in fact! And here’s what we’re going to do: We’re going to use the #Mooreandme hashtag to tell him why what he has done and said is wrong. We’re going to talk to the man. We’re going to stand outside his window with a megaphone until he comes down and talks to us. And what we’re going to say — what I hope you’re going to say — is this:
We are the progressive community. We are the left wing. We are women and men, we are from every sector of this community, and we believe that every rape accusation must be taken seriously, regardless of the accused rapist’s connections, power, influence, status, fame, or politics. We believe that rape is a crucial and central issue which affects us all, women disproportionately, and we are sick of being told that you should “never, ever believe” us. We believe that accuser-shaming, accuser-harassment, victim-blaming, and the suppression of rape cases all serve one distinct purpose, which is: TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO RAPE US AND GET AWAY WITH IT. To make us scared to report our rapes, even to the people we know. And we will not stand for it any more. We require — not ask, not prefer, absolutely require — progressive media and public figures to stand against rape in every case. Again, this is not negotiable. This is mandatory. This is a requirement: If you don’t stand against rape, and make that stand a crucial and central part of your platform, we do not accept you either as a real “progressive” or as someone who is in any way qualified for authority or a leadership position. We will not buy your merchandise; we will not support you; we will speak out against you. Because a progressive movement that doesn’t stand against rape isn’t a progressive movement. It’s just The Man, it’s just the oppressor, it’s just oppression, in a baseball hat, holding a camcorder.
Please tweet @MMFlint, using the hashtag #Mooreandme, until we have an explanation from Michael Moore, and preferably an apology, and preferably $20,000, donated to an anti-sexual-assault organization of his choice.
You told us the little guy had to stand up, Mr. Moore. You told us the authority had to be held accountable for harming communities. You told us that the Big Lies were worth exposing. But you’re promoting the Big Lie, you’re harming our community, and this time around, the little guy is us.
We can be loud. We can be persistent. I hope you’re prepared.
52 Comments
Will keep retweeting, Sady.
Rocking post, Sady.
Btw, Moore doubled down on Olbermann’s show last night. Watching the two of them snort about what “hooey” the allegations are is absolutely rage-making.
“The way this is being prosecuted is obviously informed by politics. The charges are real and should be taken seriously.”
See how I did that, Mr. Moore? See how it’s totally possible to say those two things and have them both be right?
Yeah, uh, wow. Fuck you, Michael Moore.
This is an outstanding post and a great idea.
YES. Thank you for writing this.
The frustrating thing about this (aside from the fact that real women may have been raped) is that this will be used as a talking point for rape accusations against powerful men for years to come.
“How can you believe that Senator [X] sexually assaulted one of his interns? Don’t you think it’s a little convenient that these accusations are surfacing now, on the eve of the passage of [Important Bill Z]? Don’t you remember what happened to Julian Assange?”
Fuck yeah, Sady!
Since I don’t have Twitter, I intend on writing Mr. Moore a letter explaining how much I love his work and am ashamed of his actions.
brilliant post!
I am very glad this excellent post was written. I was spitting bile for about an hour after I read that dreadful paragraph.
Shared. Lucy said exactly what I wanted to say but more succinctly than I was going to.
I’ve decided to stop giving a shit about the “Little Guys” when Moore, et al, start giving a shit about the “Little Women.”
Thanks for writing this. And thanks for the inspiration.
Ugh. Typing fail. Not “when,” but “UNTIL!” Gaaaah.
Bravo. Take it to the “oppressor in a baseball hat.”
I am all about this!
My tweet:@MMFlint Political aggression in prosecution does not turn rape into consensual sex or rape charges into “hooey” #mooreandme
Glad to participate in something so necessary and awesome. I would love to hear his defense of his actions and whatever lame rationalization of the this apparent love for left-leaning white boys with power being confused or purposefully conflated with standing up for the “little guy”. And by love, I mean briefly amused by, followed by majorly depressed by.
thanks sady.
One of your best posts, Sady. Thank you for this!
Conflating wikileaks and rape charges, as the media has been consistently doing, serves the purposes of neither cause.
For the record I support wikileaks activities. I also support Assange being returned to Sweden for questioning. If he is guilty of rape, I hope he is punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Done. Great post.
Jerks like these make calling myself “progressive” or even “Democrat” anymore a total impossibility. My FDR-worshiping grandmother is spinning in her grave, the poor dear.
It seems possible that the phrase “official story” as used by Moore was meant to refer to the “story” of the authoritarian-government hell-bent-on-preserving-power and not of the accuser. But then, I’m armchair-psychologizing Moore…
@Matt: His statements are still aimed at discrediting these accusers, and he’s openly stated that he believes the charges to be “hooey.” Are you joining, or balking? Because there’s room for you if you join. The whole rest of the Internet for you to comment on if you’re not on board.
This is a very good critique, and Moore’s comments and actions are clearly fucked up, but I think you should really re-read the bid where he says “never ever believe the official story”— he is not saying women should not be believed, he is instead positing a conspiracy theory that the women are victims not of Assange but of Assange’s enemies, as pawns in a political game. Now, if he’s wrong— and he probably is— than his actions still add up to these rape victims getting ignored… but he really didn’t say to “never ever believe” women who bring up rape allegations, and by saying he did when he clearly didn’t, you weaken what could be a very strong argument.
@Matt: Yeah, that’s my interpretation of what he meant, too. The implication of it, though, is that the woman accusing Assange are tools of that authoritarian-blah-blah-blah and thus aren’t even a factor in his decision to post bail. Before he went on Olbermann, he wasn’t necessarily calling the women liars, just totally inconsequential. After Olbermann, it’s both.
Do you have a link to an accurate story on the rape case? The one I read the other day completely painted Assange in an “unjustly accused” light. It was very convincing, actually, so I’d like to see info that is unbiased and accurate—well, if that’s still possible.
I agree that rape is never excusable and he needs to face these charges. I’m just curious to see how much the case has been twisted—by either/both sides.
@Michelle: Jessica Valenti has a good roundup of misinformation v. accurate information, with links to papers that have reported the charges correctly, here: http://jessicavalenti.com/2010/12/10/aol-news-at-the-center-of-%E2%80%9Csex-by-surprise%E2%80%9D-lie-in-assanges-rape-case/
It’s pissing me off big-time that even the more “truthy” and less tabloidical reports on this case ALL mention Miss A’s “guide on how to get revenge on cheating boyfriends that she wrote her own self and is totally about cheating boyfriends,” yet, considering it is a BLOG POST, nobody sees fit to fucking LINK TO IT, no matter how disrespectful they are towards the women’s privacy otherwise. We can publish their home addresses and photographs, but we cannot actually link to the thing on the Internet that she wrote that proves she is evil!
And, fucking OBVIOUSLY, this is because said guide DOES NOT EXIST. I went and BACKREAD TWO YEARS OF MISS A’S BLOG and it is NOT THERE. What is there is a link to an English-language ehow.com article on revenge, generally, written from a rather philosophical point of view, and talking about how, like, you should seek revenge against a specific action of the person and not the person in general, and that the revenge you seek should fit the person’s offense or it will not be cathartic, and stuff. There is something about cheating partners that is used as an *example* (The link is http://www.ehow.com/how_2296915_get-legal-revenge.html to the article; I’m not going to link to Miss A’s blog, but Jessica Valenti did if you don’t believe me that that’s the damn article). Through awkward Google translate (as I do not read Swedish, I admit) got the notion that she was, for some reason or other, having philosophical thoughts about the nature of revenge or some shit like that. Not that she was a particularly vengeful person trying to figure out ways to fuck with people.
But of course, that’s not as exciting as how awful the things that random dudebros on the Internet JUST TOTALLY KNOW she wrote without even seeing them are.
…And quite frankly, if the lady had written an article on how to fuck with your sorry-ass cheater of a boyfriend, then as long as “file false rape accusations against him; it will TOTALLY WORK” wasn’t specifically on it, then SO FUCKING WHAT.
I sent my first tweets today, because of you and this campaign. Rape is a progressive issue. If Moore is unconcerned about rape, or feels it is an issue of less importance than the Wikileaks, or if he feels that some good deeds give people rape freebies, then he is not an ally.
All I would have wanted is for him to reserve judgment until the case has been tried. He couldn’t manage that? He should be ashamed of himself.
I caught Moore on Olbermann last night. Olbermann’s hypocrisy and opportunism are just astonishing. I remember when he was all angry faced that Bill O’Reilly slut-shamed a young girl who was raped and got on his soap-box and played Progressive Man Who is Angered by the Way Women are Treated…and then this happened. Then some dude on his team didn’t just victim blame, but may have raped two women and he could not be quicker to tear them down. I cannot believe this is the standard for “Progressive Media.” It’s painful.
@Melissa McEwan:
Yeah, Moore and Olbremann. Don’t you love the smell of wealthy while male privilege; it’s remarkably similar to hot, fresh bullshit.
This rape apologist bullshit makes me sick. Thanks for challenging it, Sady.
I’ve been following along on Twitter, and holy crap, Sady, you’re a goddamn force of nature. Amazing and inspiring.
Tweeted, hells yes. This post is rockstar.
Also:
Should Michael Moore help post bail for WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange? [poll]
Ok so this made me go get myself a twitter account. Now will someone explain what a hashtag is and how I go about doing this?
It’s great to stick up for women and support rape allegations being taken seriously. I also hate that some Wikileaks supporters are using this as an excuse to wax misogynistic.
But I think it’s also important to always make it clear that the legality, morality, and significance of Wikileaks is completely unrelated to Assange’s guilt. We can all agree that scandalous celebrity trials receive undue attention over much, much more important stories.
My tweet:
@MMFlint All rape accusations should be taken seriously, regardless of who they are being made against. #Mooreandme
@Canomia:
Hashtags (#) are ways for Twitter to track “trending topics” to see what people are talking about. Great way to mine/ track/ search for data, to show your solidarity for a cause, etc.
Also, an excellent way of denoting sarcasm, irony, or an aside.
To denote that you’re talking about a particular Twitter user like Michael Moore (who tweets as MMFlint), put an (@) symbol in front of their username. Like the hashtag, it can then be tracked to see who is talking to or about who.
Welcome to the wild world of Twitter!
Thank you thank you thank you Sady! keep on RTing.
Here’s a tweet that clocks in at exactly 140 characters and packs in a lot, IMO:
@MMFlint @KeithOlbermann Shaming accusers, suppressing rape cases ALLOWS PEOPLE TO RAPE AND GET AWAY WITH IT. http://is.gd/iNW36 #Mooreandme
@nomadicat
Thank you so much. I’m part of it now.
Just goes to show that when people talk about rape what they’re really talking about is what they think about women. MM thinks women lie about rape.
Progressive men seem to think that if they do a bare minimum of not-being-a-total-asshole stuff then they get cookies, blowjobs, and….rapes. The contempt some lefty men have shown for these women and their accusations has been breathtaking. They obviously think that if you vote for abortion you’ve earned a few ‘get-out-of-feminism’ careds.
Here’s my tweet. I tried to jam as much as I could into 140 characters.
@MMFlint @KeithOlbermann Shaming accusers, suppressing rape cases ALLOWS PEOPLE TO RAPE AND GET AWAY WITH IT. http://is.gd/iNW36 #Mooreandme
(Sorry if this is double posted, my browser is having problems with the site.)
One more “progressive” man who doesn’t take rape charges seriously. Alas, this is no surprise.
I was 42 years old when I first heard a man being accused of rape and I cannot think of one “prominent” man being convicted.
Excellent piece. PS I’m old.
I stole @Karen’s tweet. Great idea!
Nate Silver did the same thing today and tried to claim it was math. The post is essentially, “The investigation is politically motivated, so the charges must be fake. It’s Bayesian inference!” Barf.
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/a-bayesian-take-on-julian-assange/
Anybody think, even for a second, that if Julian Assange wasn’t Julian Assange, this case would be prosecuted with even one percent of the effort and vigor it’s getting?
That’s the bit that makes me sad.
We SHOULD treat rape allegations this seriously. That would be justice. Sadly, we don’t, which tells me that the urgency here comes from something besides justice.
I hope there’s justice in the trial. I really do. If this case gets slammed through because of US arm-twisting, that says “Rape is one of the privileges of power, it’s okay as long as you don’t piss off anyone bigger than you.”
Thank you, Sady. It’s refreshing to see someone taking Assange (and Moore, and Olbermann) to task after having heard people praise the man to the heavens and dismiss the accusations from his victims. Rape is never okay, no matter who did it.
@Allison: I liked that analysis until about halfway through, and then he lost me.
And he, like basically everyone else on the internet, is getting distracted by analyzing whether he did it or not, which nobody knows except him and the alleged victims. What is up for public debate is whether or not his alleged actions constitute rape, which they do. Conflating those two things is bad journalism and bad science.
Whoa, Allison, that’s an appallingly bad article. I’ve been disappointed with Nate Silver for a while now, but this elevates him into megadouche territory.
Trending in a couple places! But here come the Privilege Denying Dudes in a late entry to the race.
I was both calmed and empowered with rage by this post. Thank you for putting into words what I couldn’t through angry tears of confusion and mistrust.
Just a note about the statistics–most rapists commit multiple rapes, so the number of rapes is not the same as the number of rapists. 6% of rapes result in prison time, but that doesn’t mean that it’s just 6% of rapists put behind bars.