Defending Assange Accusers: Sady Doyle Is Getting It Done

It feels like progressive activists haven’t had a lot of victories to write about lately. Perhaps that’s in part because we can’t seem to agree as to just what qualifies as a win.

This is especially true for feminists as the last year gave us a series of setbacks in health care reform and electoral politics. It wasn’t so much that we were thrown under the bus as the bus backed over us and parked.

Which is what makes Sady Doyle’s #MooreandMe campaign all the sweeter. For those who don’t know, #MooreandMe is feminist blogger Sady Doyle’s campaign to take Michael Moore (and by proxy Keith Olbermann) to task after the two summarily dismissed the sexual assault allegations against Julian Assange, calling a ” bunch of hookey”).

The idea was to hold Moore accountable to the “little guy” in the same spirit of Moore’s documentary “Roger and Me.” Except this time the “little guy” is women and the target is the ongoing rape apologism cycling the story, putting progressive muckraker Moore in the uncomfortable spot of playing The Man.

The first step in the campaign was to call out Moore and let him know that mocking accusations of sexual assault is to participate in rape culture. The second step was to call on Moore to donate the same amount he gave for Assange’s bail to an organization that fights sexual assault and helps survivors.

The purpose behind the campaign was not to shame Moore, Olbermann, or anyone for that matter. The purpose of the campaign was to issue a call to progressive men to stand with the women in their lives and put an end to rape culture. Those pushing back against rape culture sent messages to both Moore and Olbermann’s Twitter account with the #MooreandMe hashtag, simply asking them to apologize for the way they dismissed the rape charges and to see how by not doing so they continue a culture that accepts, as normal, violence against women.

That message was lost on Moore and Olbermann, at least temporarily, as Olbermann “quit” Twitter for three days and Moore just refused to answer. But then something happened. They got it–at least Moore got it. And on national television, on the Rachel Maddow show, looked right in the camera and said that allegations of violence against women must always be taken seriously and that any suggestion otherwise is inexcusable. That’s it.

It may not sound like much, but as Doyle herself points out, it’s actually something significant. That’s because we still live in a world where its okay to dismiss rape allegations as lies. In fact it is normal to do so. But with this campaign, we took a step toward erasing that reality and replacing it with one where progressive celebrities don’t have to go on national television to state the obvious as part of a mea culpa for perpetuating a culture of rape. And for that I tip my hat to Doyle.

photo courtesy of gavjof via Flickr

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Martha E.

6:24AM PST on Feb 6, 2011

I tip my hat to Doyle, and also to Moore. Michael Moore has been a man of integrity, who tells the world the truth in so many areas of life. It takes a courageous person to go on t.v. and apologize, and I thank him for that. He's always been a hero to me.

February 6
send a green star

bj J.

12:48AM PST on Jan 1, 2011

Well, at least it is a step forward...well done!

January 1
send a green star

Donna H.

8:46PM PST on Dec 29, 2010

I agree with DeborahD P, leaning towards a smear camp.

December 29
send a green star

Rebecca M.

3:19PM PST on Dec 28, 2010

Rape should be taken seriously, however in regards to the Assange situation, its women like this who make it hard for real rape victims to get justice. These woman stated themselves that he did not rape them, and where willing to drop all charges if he had an HIV test done. These women where more upset he was sleeping with both of them with less than adequate protection. I am a rape survivor and these women outrage me! Spend more time helping REAL victims!

December 28
send a green star

Past Member .

9:29PM PST on Dec 27, 2010

well...i can see that the subject hasn't changed much in the past few weeks....ja is still trying to stay our of sweden and they want him back...what i read was that the rape charges in this case stem from his refusal to inform his partners if he has any std's or aids...it seems to be a legal requirement in sweden to inform your partner or to inform them if they ask...i'm not certain of the exact law, but ja is avoiding everything...from what i read initially...the solution was pretty easy....but then ja chose to fight, tried to blackmail the world, released multiple stolen documents, and is continuing to fight...and all i know for sure...is we don't have the entire story but he does seem to be his own worst enemy...so i'm not taking sides on any of them... so far...none of them have covered themselves in glory on this one....but i guess if you're wrong long enough, stall long enough, and get your high priced attorneys to throw everything at them...you might...just might....be able to negotiate something less than life in prison...good luck....as for our culture of rape...yes...it does exist and the only reason that michael moore made any public statement isnt' that he's sorry...it's that he's afraid he might lose some fans, i.e., money....we still live in a male dominated society and stopping crimes of rape are not a priority...just ask george washington university....punishing them certainly isn't a priority...ask kobe...

December 27
send a green star

Barbara E.

8:40PM PST on Dec 27, 2010

Sadly Noted.

Jeffrey M.

12:03AM PST on Dec 27, 2010

This witchhunt has bought to the fore some of the more sick decomposition products of new-left feminism.

In their search for a place on the political spectrum to inhabit, those who didn't (and some who did) get careers in the Democratic Party or the Labour party slithered into positions where they could use their 'consciousness raising' skills to exploit those most vulnerable: semi-official rape-crisis centres are an especially interesting pond in which to find some of the surviving sociopathic lifeforms acting out their S.S.C.U.M Manifesto fantasies in real life.

In Sweden, however, some of them evolved legs and crawled into the State prosecutor's office. There was an attenuation of the upper spinal column cells which in normal people form part of the frontal lobe - but the reptile lower bit remained, connected organically to the historic gene in feminist history that marched to"Ban the Demon Drink" and handed out white feathers in WWI.

These witchhunters, like all those before them, assume that anybody who stands up to them can be cowed; with hints that maybe they'd be rapists themselves; defenders of rapists; possessors of a penis; carriers of the Y-chromosome or some other well-known mark of Cain.

Just another feminist for whom character assassination is a way of life - and if it helps with the actual assassination of Assange? That's just the sort of "justice" the Borgstroms, Nys and Pieklo don't mind at all. A fair trial in Sweden? Not bloody likely.