4 ms·

Would the people who argue that the described situation was not rape please remember that it actually is under swedish law and the situation in your own jurisdi

Would the people who argue that the described situation was not rape please remember that it actually is under swedish law and the situation in your own jurisdiction is irrelevant here?

Sevrene 7y ago
The legal definition of rape is one that is restricted by the law, but the moral definition is not. If I say a biscuit is a cake and legally it is made so, does that mean it is actually a cake? I'm sure North Korea or China say some people are criminals and must be executed. As an outsider should we just agree because 'the situation in your own jurisdiction is irrelevant here'? I think not, morality and truth should not be restricted to the definition of the law where it presides. It's possible what Assange allegedly did was in fact rape, but illegal or not shouldn't be the defining factor when assessing the truth of that claim.
sjwright 7y ago
If Swedish law used the word arson to describe the situation, would you accept that term and call Assange an arsonist? As a commentator, I am not beholden to novel terminology used elsewhere, let alone in a country that doesn’t even use English as their primary national language.
- alkonaut 7y ago
  I’d hesitate to call anyone a rapist until proven guilty. But I have nothing against the broader use of the term in general.
- ascorbic 7y ago
  The UK Supreme Court ruled that the accusations would be classified as rape under English law too. That was ones of the ground that he used to challenge the original warrant.
  - sjwright 7y ago
    I don’t care what the UK says any more than I do Sweden. I don’t live in either country. I will use terms that I consider more descriptive than rape. What’s wrong with sexual misconduct, for example? I realise it doesn’t have the emotional charge of “rape”, but isn’t that a good thing? We shouldn’t choose words based on our opinions.

Would the people who argue that the described situation was not rape please remember that it actually is under swedish law and the situation in your own jurisdiction is irrelevant here?

Sevrene 7y ago

The legal definition of rape is one that is restricted by the law, but the moral definition is not. If I say a biscuit is a cake and legally it is made so, does that mean it is actually a cake? I'm sure North Korea or China say some people are criminals and must be executed. As an outsider should we just agree because 'the situation in your own jurisdiction is irrelevant here'? I think not, morality and truth should not be restricted to the definition of the law where it presides. It's possible what Assange allegedly did was in fact rape, but illegal or not shouldn't be the defining factor when assessing the truth of that claim.

sjwright 7y ago

If Swedish law used the word arson to describe the situation, would you accept that term and call Assange an arsonist? As a commentator, I am not beholden to novel terminology used elsewhere, let alone in a country that doesn’t even use English as their primary national language.

alkonaut 7y ago
I’d hesitate to call anyone a rapist until proven guilty. But I have nothing against the broader use of the term in general.
ascorbic 7y ago
The UK Supreme Court ruled that the accusations would be classified as rape under English law too. That was ones of the ground that he used to challenge the original warrant.
- sjwright 7y ago
  I don’t care what the UK says any more than I do Sweden. I don’t live in either country. I will use terms that I consider more descriptive than rape. What’s wrong with sexual misconduct, for example? I realise it doesn’t have the emotional charge of “rape”, but isn’t that a good thing? We shouldn’t choose words based on our opinions.