So I took the summer off to decompress from the Royal Wedding. I also tried to focus on my kids and really being present in the moment with them. And by that I meant I read a lot of trashy books and sat with my feet in a baby pool. So you can imagine my surprise when I come back to reality and apparently an alleged sex offender has been nominated to the Supreme Court. For those keeping count, that would bring the total to 2 out of 9 that have credible sexual assault allegations against them. Those are horrible percentages! If I handed you 9 cookies and said 2 are going to vote to strip you of your rights and monumentally alter the course of our laws in this country AND they might grope you, you would NOT take those cookies! Even if one cookie was a tiny little badass cookie named Ruth.
What the hell is going on? I get that a liberal president will nominate a liberal justice and a conservative president will nominate a conservative justice, but I really didn’t think it would follow that an alleged sex offender president would nominate a fellow alleged sex offender. That is not how it is supposed to work! Where have our standards gone?
Today Kavanaugh’s first accuser will testify in front of the Senate. Yes, let that word “first” sink in- there are MORE than one!! Let’s put that harrowing thought aside for a moment. This feels vaguely familiar… oh wait we did this already with Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill and a bunch of old white men are going to do the same thing they did then. They circle the wagons and protect their own. They shred the reputation and the credibility of a woman bravely stepping forward for their OWN gain. They LIKE a culture where a man in teflon and can do or say anything he wants. They don’t want uppity women who don’t know their place having ANY kind of say in our country’s laws, her workplace, or what happens to her own freaking body! Over and over they paint these men, who are rapists at worst and creepy entitled sexists at best, as the true victims of these stories. Afterall, boys will be boys- right? It is the same old story over and over again.
How dare those women destroy a fine man- he has a family!
Well, why was she at that party in the first place?
Was she drinking or wearing a low cut shirt? Because nice girls don’t drink or dress like that!
Why didn’t she report it to the cops?
Uh that last one is actually easy and relevant- she didn’t report because of douche canoes like you! The country and the rest of the world will be watching to see how these men in power, desperate to cling to the old ways where a flight attendant was a sexy stewardess and a secretary was a piece on the side, handle this hearing and this nomination. More importantly, young people who just on the cusp of making decisions about who they will be and the values they will hold, will also be watching. What will they see? Do we believe the word of a woman who has nothing to gain and everything to lose by coming forward? Or the word of a man who has everything to gain by lying? What lessons will young men and young women take away from this process?
If this sickens you, and by God it better sicken you, then don’t just shut off the tv and bury your head in the sand praying someone does the right thing. DO SOMETHING-
WATCH the hearing- KNOW which senators are there to find truth and which are there to frustrate the process and just plow through. Which senators gives this woman the respect ANYONE deserves and which are there only to humiliate and tear her down. Make a list.
CALL and WRITE the senators that behaved badly. Let them know you know who they are.
DONATE to democratic challengers and incumbents. This horror shit show will just continue until the democrats get back in power.
CALL your own senator- Red or Blue let them know you are watching them. They work for you!
Playdates and Protests: 