Rape isn't rape if the rapist is a popular famous person or a Hero...

One thing I was certain of, until recently was that rape is bad - and everyone thinks this.  It would appear that I must have been mistaken.  It seems that actually if two different women accuse you of rape it's fine not to face those charges, well it's fine at least if you are internationally famous for being a good person - highlighting problems other people have faced and showing the world the corruption of governments.  How could I have got it so wrong?

Before I say anything else, I've got to add that I love the work that WikiLeaks does, corruption should be brought into the open and transparency is always something that should be strived for - as long as it's disclosure does not endanger lives (when it's non-disclosure does not).  All Governments should be held into account for their actions so it is great that there is an organisation out there promoting that.

However, doing good work does not give you free reign to break the law.  I'm not presuming guilt here, that is for a court of law to decide (so any crime I mention is alleged) but skipping bail is not exactly the best way to convince of innocence.  People point to the fact that he hasn't actually been charged, but as David Allen Green excellently points out he is wanted in Sweden for arrest.  Anyone who has time should definitely read his post in the New Statesmen, it excellently debunks many myths that are currently floating around regarding the case, as actually:

1. The allegations would still be classified as rape in the UK.
2. It would actually be harder for him to be extradited from Sweden than the UK (as that would require both countries approval).
3. It's not legally possible for Sweden to give a guarantee about any future extradition.
4. Assange is wanted for arrest so there is no reason for the Swedes to just question him in London.
5. Ecuador does not have particularly free press, and they have a history of extraditing people (particularly recently a blogger) to a country where they could face the death penalty.

. 
Yet it has been on excellent posts like this that I've seen some of the strangest comments.  The worst of which though have come in other formats from prominent people:

"Even taken at its worst, if the allegations made by these two women were true, 100 per cent true, and even if a camera in the room captured them, they don't constitute rape. At least not rape as anyone with any sense can possibly recognise it. And somebody has to say this... 'Woman A' invited him back to her flat, gave him dinner, went to bed with him, had consensual sex with him. Claims that she woke up to him having sex with her again. This is something which can happen, you know," 

"I mean, not everybody needs to be asked prior to each insertion. Some people believe that when you go to bed with somebody, take off your clothes, and have sex with them and then fall asleep, you're already in the sex game with them."

This quote comes from the podcast made by ever controversial MP George Galloway.  'Woman A' of course refers to the case where she claims to have had consensual protected sex with Assange, fallen asleep and then later woke to find him attempting sex without a condom nor her consent.  Apparently Mr Galloway and many others believe that a person only needs to have consent for one act to then subsequently perform more when they aren't even conscious... maybe not everyone needs to be asked each time, but one would have thought that they should at least be able in a position to remove consent before the action takes place.  For once I was genuinely pleased reading the Metro's letters section as the readers took him to task - particularly the Anonymous girl who'd had a similar awful experience, my heart goes out to her.   With people making the sort of comments Mr Galloway is making it's no wonder George Potter is considering himself a feminist (an excellent post).

It seems to me that people are trying to make Julian Assage out to be a martyr for his cause, at the moment he isn't, he's just someone who doesn't want to get arrested for rape and attempted rape.  If he gets extradited to the US and put on trial for supposed crimes that WikiLeaks have done I'll be protesting with the rest but until then he should stop using his website as a shield for his own alleged personal misdemeanors.  The real martyr for WikiLeaks is of course Bradley Manning, but people don't seem anywhere near as concerned about him as they should be, nor are they as concerned as they should be about the women involved.  They are nobodies, so why should they have rights - Julian Assange is famous and good, he can't possibly have raped them, why should he face these charges?  Is it me, or are the people supporting Mr Assange becoming what they would usually claim to hate?