Root for the Underdog

The year that is just ending, although perhaps marginally better than 2009, has brought little to celebrate. There’s been the earthquake in Haiti, the disastrous BP oil spill, unimpressive unemployment statistics, and setbacks in Afghanistan. For the less politically savvy, 2010 might be remembered as the year Conan lost his show, “Lost” ended with many unresolved questions, and Transportation Security Authority employees saw us all naked over Thanksgiving.

It’s no surprise that, in this bleak political and financial climate, a renegade free-speech bomb thrower from down under has emerged as a folk hero. Julian Assange, the self-styled “editor-in-chief” of the new media non-profit WikiLeaks, famous for publishing classified documents, represents the promise that we can still make the world a better place.

The current of popular support for Assange extends much deeper than the superficial claims of solidarity issued by foreign dignitaries, who had a good chuckle after the US diplomatic cables revealed that officials called Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev “Robin to Putin's Batman.” Assange has been voted among “50 People Who Matter 2010” by the New Statesman, a British magazine, and he won the popular vote for Time Magazine’s 2010 Person of the Year. On Internet message boards, Assange has been hailed as a conquering hero and has been given the blessing of hacker groups like 4chan.org’s Anonymous movement, which has been shutting down bank websites on his behalf.

Whether or not he has been intentionally cultivating his celebrity, Assange has been very successful at gaining attention. With his shockingly white hair, tucked carelessly behind his ears, and an impish smirk, Assange looks like a messenger from another era—a strange hybrid of Andy Warhol and Legolas from the Lord of the Rings. His adventures in hacking computer networks as a teen add to his “bad boy” pedigree. When responding to his retractors, he speaks with the fiery diction of a revolutionary, accusing U.S. military leaders of “wading in the blood” of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And like any good countercultural leader, the Australian Assange has no permanent home, having lived in Kenya and Tanzania as well as sharing a house with other activists in Iceland earlier this year.

In fact, his international escapades are what led him to hot water: accusations of offences related to sexual encounters with two women in Sweden. His supporters allege that the charges have been trumped up to bring a dangerous radical under control. Assange was released on bail yesterday after nine days of incarceration in London, and is currently fighting extradition to Sweden.

If anything, his trouble with the law only adds to his reputation as a crusader for the common people, fighting against the vested interests of political authorities, although it is shameful to see supporters of free speech and democracy so casually brush aside allegations of sexual abuse.

Assange’s fame transcends his role as a free-speech activist because the story of his struggle resonates with all of us. A study at the University of South Florida several years ago confirmed what had been suspected since David and Goliath: underdogs have an innate appeal. Using sports and politics as examples, the researchers found that the disadvantaged party in any confrontation arouses the sense of fairness and justice in spectators, especially when the underdog has to use more effort.

Assange’s solo confrontation against the governments of Sweden, Britain, and now the United States, hoping to bring a case against him after the release of the diplomatic cables, makes him a perfect underdog specimen. The fact that his organization is dependent on donations and has struggled with money in the past completes the picture of an underdog activist facing long odds.

Finally, although Assange’s WikiLeaks is not without problems, not least of which are its own transparency issues, its mission is a good one. While the argument can be made that releasing sensitive documents, such as the US diplomatic cables, will set back the cause of democratic advancement in the short run, it is easy to see that organizations like WikiLeaks promote freedom and equality in the long run by preventing governments from sweeping their dark deeds under the rug.

Even the most hardened skeptics of free speech activism must see that Assange and his ilk bring a message of uplift to a world besieged by war and economic woes. Though he doesn’t appeal to everyone, people everywhere have already pinned their optimism for a better world on Assange’s brand of radicalism.

While Americans count the days until companies start hiring again or until their children return from tours of duty, and people of other nations struggle through their own problems, men like Assange provide the thing we need most: hope.

Adam R. Gold ’11, a Crimson editorial writer, is a physics concentrator in Adams House. His column appears biweekly.