The biggest leak

Sometimes, I'm asked about what I think about Assange. Julian Assange. To avoid any confusion on the subject.

Let me make myself as clear as possible, without any preambling or disclaiming:

Let him rot.

In the grander scheme of things, what matters is the possibility of people whistleblowing again. Not that any one singular person is able to whistleblow, but the institutional possibility of anyone at all to do it again.

It's nothing personal. In fact, it is the explicit opposite of personal.

Let's reverse it. Let's make it personal. What if there was only one hero? What if there's only one person (or a few persons) that possess the ability to get information moving? What if our hope lives and dies with a defined cast of characters?

Then the defenders of the status quo have an easy task ahead of them. Just find these people and make them disappear. All close up and personal.

Game over.

Thing is, though, that it isn't personal. It's the opposite. Anyone can become a whistleblower. It's not a ting based on virtue and predestination, but of the institutional order of things. If one whistleblower disappears, there's thousands more, by virtue of how organizations need to document their actions and reactions. Documents that can, indeed, be leaked. By anyone.

Game on.