As the World Takes Five Steps Back

I remember the grade 7 bully. We hated him. But in high school, something happened, we ended up at a few of the same parties, started talking, and he became a very close friend. He had a lot of anger as a child, but he had learned some better ways of dealing with his problems, and he had actually turned out to be more empathetic and thoughtful than many of my friends. I have since met a lot of people like him. But I also remember another boy in grade 7. A sneaking, tattling, horrible boy that would tell my bullying friend that other people had said things about him and egg him on to beat people up. Then he would sit back, out of danger, and smirk at the idea of kids being hurt because of him. We hated him even more than the bully. And he never got any better.

Apparently, there’s more of him too.  In the last few months, they have been calling for Julian Assange’s head on a platter. It seems a safe bet. Assange vs. ‘the finest fighting force in the history of the world’, who ‘can meet any challenge, and defeat any foe’.  But have you all noticed a shift? A slight change in the wind? This last week, when the mafia Swedish government announced an international arrest warrant for Assange, the mainstream media didn’t really pick that up, did they? Not like last fall. And those that did pick it up were so much more careful. Even NYT was relatively scrupulous, not bringing any personality disorders or drag queen exes into the conversation at all.

Those news outlets have probably been given a lot of reading lately. I wonder what they have been reading? With the world already growling about war crimes and investigating the last leaks, which were just the prelude, everyone is taking five steps back. Suddenly no one is wanting to look like an accomplice.

So where does that leave Adrian “my sincere desire” Lamo? Or Jonah “it’s a serious question” Goldberg, John “rattle a bullet around his skull” Hawkins, Christian “non-judicial actions” Whiton, and Marc “wide range of options” Thiessen? Or all the so charming commenters who have been sounding off to everyone?

These people didn’t just disagree with Wikileaks. They called for the murder of a private citizen who had committed no crime. They tried to egg the mafia on to murder a hero. And they tried to keep us all in the grip of a fascist state forever. Don’t forget about them. Their kind doesn’t change.

Note: This article has happily stolen research done by the inimitable x7o.