Julian Assange - A Victim
Whistleblowers... the government hates them almost as much as they hate being exposed.
The American Government, especially, does not like when people, like journalists, run their mouths and expose them to the world for everyone to see what is really going on. Whistleblowers, though a term not kind as one would imagine, are people who report and uncover the buried truths that different organizations or people do not want brought to light. One of, if not the main reasons, why bigger powers do not like whistleblowers is because they uncover the truth- and do their job! This type of confrontation agitates governments and their officials, and this anger turns into rage, and can even sometimes turn into the case concerning Julian Assange.
Although not every case regarding a whistleblower and a politician escalates like this one did, government figures like to shut up anyone who sets out to defy them.
My question is- where is the protection of the first amendment here?
Wikileaks, an international non-profit platform for people with important news to publish with protected anonymity, was founded by Julian Assange. A little ironic dont you think? That he would create and back an international organization to protect sources and then get punished for exactly that when it came to the Vietnam Logs he released?
In my own opinion, Julian is a victim. Yes, I see that he published and exposed private records regarding the U.S. Military, but it was fair game and knowledge anyone could have found out if they took the time to find it. The bottom line with that is, the misconduct on the part of the U.S. should not have taken place. The government is only angry because they never wanted that information to be public knowledge. For the American Government to not only look bad but also have to admit defeat is not a good look for them, and is one of the worst possible scenarios they could have faced. Meanwhile, while Julian was hiding from the Americans because of this, the entire time the CIA was spying on him in his refuge!
Honestly, it appalls me that other journalists do not support Julian and what is going on. The main argument I keep encountering is that fellow journalists are saying he is not a journalist. One of the main arguments I saw for that claim was because he "doesnt work for a big newspaper." I did not know that in order to be a journalist in todays age, you were required to work for a newspaper? How odd. This just goes to show you that there is not valid basis for any of these claims, and so many journalists are turning a blind eye to this probably because they do not want to be seen as a target. They are just as afraid as Julian is to not be on the good side of the government... and I can see why.
Something else that I do not find fair about Julian and his circumstances regarding other journalists is the fact that I have seen some articles published saying it is important, as a journalist, to take note of what is happening with Julian and to learn from it and pay attention to it, but nowhere in the same article are people saying they support him. I just do not think you can have your cake, and eat it too, not when it comes to an overexertion of power that was never meant to be there in the first place.
If I have not made myself clear enough yet, although I do not have the most extensive background on the case, I do take Julians side. I do not see how, first of all, being an Australian citizen, the American Government has any right to torture him as much as they are. The fact that they are housing him in one of the most dangerous prisons in the world, for the worst criminals, and he is not even being charged with anything either, blows my mind. I would have liked to see some Australian lawyers or representation, or even any kind of awareness being present for him from them. I find the whole thing very strange. I do not understand how he can be held in such a jail with no charges, I do not understand where the U.S. thinks they are harnessing this non-existent power from, and I do not understand where his Wikileaks support is.
Overall, I am shocked. I just cant wrap my head around someone being treated this way and I can not begin to comprehend how someone treats another human being like this, for just doing their job.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange
The American Government, especially, does not like when people, like journalists, run their mouths and expose them to the world for everyone to see what is really going on. Whistleblowers, though a term not kind as one would imagine, are people who report and uncover the buried truths that different organizations or people do not want brought to light. One of, if not the main reasons, why bigger powers do not like whistleblowers is because they uncover the truth- and do their job! This type of confrontation agitates governments and their officials, and this anger turns into rage, and can even sometimes turn into the case concerning Julian Assange.
Although not every case regarding a whistleblower and a politician escalates like this one did, government figures like to shut up anyone who sets out to defy them.
My question is- where is the protection of the first amendment here?
Wikileaks, an international non-profit platform for people with important news to publish with protected anonymity, was founded by Julian Assange. A little ironic dont you think? That he would create and back an international organization to protect sources and then get punished for exactly that when it came to the Vietnam Logs he released?
In my own opinion, Julian is a victim. Yes, I see that he published and exposed private records regarding the U.S. Military, but it was fair game and knowledge anyone could have found out if they took the time to find it. The bottom line with that is, the misconduct on the part of the U.S. should not have taken place. The government is only angry because they never wanted that information to be public knowledge. For the American Government to not only look bad but also have to admit defeat is not a good look for them, and is one of the worst possible scenarios they could have faced. Meanwhile, while Julian was hiding from the Americans because of this, the entire time the CIA was spying on him in his refuge!
Honestly, it appalls me that other journalists do not support Julian and what is going on. The main argument I keep encountering is that fellow journalists are saying he is not a journalist. One of the main arguments I saw for that claim was because he "doesnt work for a big newspaper." I did not know that in order to be a journalist in todays age, you were required to work for a newspaper? How odd. This just goes to show you that there is not valid basis for any of these claims, and so many journalists are turning a blind eye to this probably because they do not want to be seen as a target. They are just as afraid as Julian is to not be on the good side of the government... and I can see why.
Something else that I do not find fair about Julian and his circumstances regarding other journalists is the fact that I have seen some articles published saying it is important, as a journalist, to take note of what is happening with Julian and to learn from it and pay attention to it, but nowhere in the same article are people saying they support him. I just do not think you can have your cake, and eat it too, not when it comes to an overexertion of power that was never meant to be there in the first place.
If I have not made myself clear enough yet, although I do not have the most extensive background on the case, I do take Julians side. I do not see how, first of all, being an Australian citizen, the American Government has any right to torture him as much as they are. The fact that they are housing him in one of the most dangerous prisons in the world, for the worst criminals, and he is not even being charged with anything either, blows my mind. I would have liked to see some Australian lawyers or representation, or even any kind of awareness being present for him from them. I find the whole thing very strange. I do not understand how he can be held in such a jail with no charges, I do not understand where the U.S. thinks they are harnessing this non-existent power from, and I do not understand where his Wikileaks support is.
Overall, I am shocked. I just cant wrap my head around someone being treated this way and I can not begin to comprehend how someone treats another human being like this, for just doing their job.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange
Comments
Post a Comment