The Assange Wikileaks affair has engendered outrage and anger from the Right and it is expected that super-patriot Conservatives would rail against him for exposing America as anything but exceptional. If nothing else, Conservatives are united, consistent, and predictable in their opposition to perceived anti-Americanism, and that includes their relentless criticism of President Obama.
Conservatives can also be counted on to consistently oppose women’s rights, and Republicans are notorious for voting against women’s interests as a matter of course. That being said, one expects the left to be the polar opposite of the dogmatic right, but recent events have proven that many on the left are no different than single-minded right-wing-nut-jobs.
The president’s tax deal caused the left to explode with rage inciting some to call for a replacement candidate to run against him in 2012. Regardless that the deal included extending unemployment benefits for millions of Americans, assistance for college, or that every American got a tax cut, the left fixated on the wealthy tax cuts. The compromise was not ideal and Obama said his focus was helping all Americans, but it didn’t matter to the idealistically fractured left because the group’s laser-sharp focus was on the wealthy tax cuts. The loudest protests came from MSNBC’s Beckian pundits who railed for days on end about Obama abandoning his base.
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It is disgusting to hear Progressives and Liberals abandon their president because he didn’t fulfill their every whim regardless that he made a difficult choice to help the entire nation. One expects the left to think critically and look at issues from a broader perspective than those on the right, but there was little objectivity from the left and their criticism sounded like right-wing-nut-jobs and teabaggers they mock and deride.
When Assange released diplomatic cables on Wikileaks, the Left’s reaction was fairly predictable although some called for his head like their counterparts on the right. But when it came to light that two women in Sweden accused Assange of sexual misconduct, many on the left abandoned reason and showed their intolerant misogynistic true colors. Apparently where women are concerned, there is no discernible difference between the left and the right.
The amount of vitriol from left-wing teabaggers concerning women is shocking and absolutely despicable. Without knowledge of the particulars of the rape charges lodged against Assange, many on the left lashed out at the women as “honeypots†and accused them of being lackeys for the CIA. There is little doubt that many governments would like to muzzle Assange, and many on the right branded him a terrorist and some called for his assassination. But the Left’s attack on the two women demonstrates their disposition toward women is no better than the right’s.
The chauvinism expressed on the Internet and particularly this site proves that women are still held in contempt for speaking out against a man who sexually assaulted them. Instead of waiting to hear details, or a court proceeding, the women in the Assange case have not been treated as victims, but as vindictive feminists worthy of character assassination. It would be one thing if at trial the women confessed to setting up Assange for profit or favors from the CIA, but to find fault with them before any details are known shows that the left is still influenced by the male dominated society that devalues women.
Liberals and Progressives are supposed to be critical thinkers and models of objectivity, but that is an epic mischaracterization. Instead of waiting for facts, many saw that two women charged a man with sexual misconduct and immediately attacked them as if they were criminals.
Some comments on this site were shocking and not what one would expect from liberals just like it is unexpected that they attacked Obama for being a sellout. Obviously the enlightened left is rife with misogynists who accuse women for being victims. The timing of the charges is suspicious, but the instantaneous reaction that the women are at fault reeks of male chauvinism and is unexpected from the left. However, much like Obama’s tax deal, the left’s response and willingness to malign the women exposed them as little more than teabaggers who are Democrats.
Liberals who are critical before hearing facts of an issue are reminiscent of the Fox News crowd who worship Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin; the difference is they worship MSNBC and Keith Olbermann. The attacks on Sarah Jones for her prescient, unbiased article were sickening and what one expects from the most ardent RWNJ. Sadly, many who read the article saw the word rape and automatically responded with anti-feminist rhetoric aimed at Ms. Jones and labeled Assange’s accusers as honeypots.
Perhaps the Liberals and Progressives who criticized Ms. Jones and the Swedish women have no mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, or grandmothers, or perhaps they have no compassion for anything except their single-minded pet issues. It is impossible to respect the left who have attacked the president and women before hearing the details of an issue. The idea of critically analyzing Obama’s tax compromise or the Assange affair escapes many on the left, and distinguishes them as left wing teabaggers; they should be ashamed.
However, they are not ashamed, and once the details and final results of the 111th Congress were revealed, the left celebrated President Obama’s accomplishments without any mention of their displeasure from two weeks ago. No one knows how the Assange rape charges will play out, but the left has exposed itself as misogynistic and biased against women. Progressives and Liberals must be proud of themselves for their wavering support of President Obama and women’s rights. It is easy to predict that when the facts are in, the Left will arrogantly claim they are the segment who was on the right side of the issue regardless the outcome. One thing is certain; the right is consistent in their ideological positions, and right or wrong, they stick to their guns. Liberals and Progressives though, abandon their core beliefs to fit the news of the day and it is just one reason Republicans and their conservative base control the narrative on every issue.
It is time for the left to go to the dark side and join the teabaggers, or lose their arrogance and start working together by critically analyzing issues and using their famed objectivity to rebuild what little integrity they once possessed. As of late, they have shown neither objectivity nor integrity whether it is their condemnation of President Obama’s tax compromise or misogynistic attacks on Sarah Jones and two Swedish women for no other reason than they are women.
Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
