September 18, 2018
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s brave decision to go public with her accusation that Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when he was 17 has thrown a grenade into the Republicans’ confirmation hearing charade. The reaction on the right has been predictable. Some have excoriated Dr. Ford as an opportunist- a risible assertion that only makes sense if we think that scores of women crave the “opportunity” to re-live scarring trauma while scores of people pore over every detail of our personal and professional life in an effort to discredit us.
Dr. Ford is a hero. Despite knowing that she will be pilloried and dismissed as confused at best or a fabulist at worst, she has agreed to testify before Congress in public hearings next week. In a dispiriting echo of the Clarence Thomas hearings 27 years ago, Orrin Hatch is still a member of the Judiciary Committee!
Although we can easily dismiss the hardcore conservatives attacking Dr. Ford’s credibility, it is harder to hear the scores of other men concern trolling that youthful behavior can be scrutinized, “no one” will be able to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. That presupposes that every adult man has an attempted rape in his past. More to the point, it presumes that men are the only people qualified to serve in the highest levels of government, erasing the 35% of the lawyers in this country who are women. In addition, this plea that we overlook the misdeeds of young, privileged white men exposes the hypocrisy of a system that doesn’t hesitate to imprison young African American men for years and goes so far as to blame 12 year old Tamir Rice and 17 year old Trayvon Martin for their own deaths.
This entire episode has exposed the unspoken beliefs held by far too many of the men who rule this country. In their eyes, men are the only ones with something worthwhile to contribute to society and their lives are the only ones that matter. They caution us not to look too closely at the pasts of prominent men and treat the women harmed in their wake as disposable collateral damage. They are telling us that our trauma and lost potential is a worthwhile price to pay for men who can write elegant opinions or produce hit movies and television shows.
Twenty seven years ago, Anita Hill’s humiliation enraged women across the country and led to a record number (29) of women being elected to House and the Senate (7). This year, after enduring two years with a lying, serial sexual harasser as Commander in Chief and watching a parade of truly awful entitled predators trying to maintain positions of power (Rob Porter, Roy Moore, Jim Jordan), we are poised to shatter that record. 48% of the Democratic nominees for major offices this year are women. We’d better make sure to elect every one.
#DrChristineBlaseyFord
#VOTE