[ExI] Manning and Assange

[Jeff Davis]

On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 3:02 PM, Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com> wrote:

> I thought just the same about the insistence of some posts about the
> "narcissic" profile of Julian Assange. Hey, what's the big deal? I am a
> narcissic myself, and I do not like the implicitly discriminatory
> connotation of the way the term was employed. :-)

Thank you, Stefano.

 Back in '92, when Ross Perot briefly ran for President, certain
commentators remarked in a coyly critical way that he had quite the
ego.  The implication was clear:  American voters should beware of the
possibly defective thinking or character of a man with so outsized a
view of himself.

I couldn't help being astonished.  What about Clinton, HW Bush, or
Nader, or for that matter any of the lower orders of pols seeking
federal office in the Imperial city?  No egos there, right?

Give me a break.

Egotist, narcissist, it's all the same.

I think  many of those with hostility toward Assange, are just
jealous.  He's smart, confident, heroic, fearlessly tightens the
sphincters of tyrannical elites, and has babes the world over hiking
their skirts for him.  If you're a guy who can't get laid, or a woman
with relationship disappointments, well then, naturally, you can't
stand Assange, the despicable cad.

If you're an admirer of Robin Hood, you love Assange.  If you're a
"patriot" whose ego identifies with  authority and state power (so
long as the power is in the hands of your "tribe", of course) then you
hate Assange.

In short, he's Julian Assange, and they're not.

Best, Jeff Davis

 "During times of universal deceit, telling the
  truth becomes a revolutionary act."
                  George Orwell