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#MeToo and #HimToo and the Continuing Fight Ahead

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As the nation watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, it witnessed the unfolding of a decisive moment in the #MeToo movement. 

Ford testified that an intoxicated, teenaged Kavanaugh — who vehemently and explicitly denied all allegations of sexual assault and misconduct — pinned her down on a bed and attempted to remove her clothing during a party 36 years ago. But despite public outcry from women’s rights advocates, Kavanaugh’s confirmation process was successful. After a 50-48 vote, Kavanagh was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice on Saturday, October 6.

When Ford took the stand, she was supported by a community of sexual assault survivors and women’s right activists, but they were unable to derail Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Dr. Sarah J. Brubaker (Virginia Commonwealth University associate professor, and Criminal Justice and Public Policy Director) said she believes the Kavanaugh hearings are illustrative of a larger societal problem in America.

“Both the allegations regarding sexual assault and the threat to eliminate women’s reproductive rights reflect the overall status of gender relations in our society,” Brubaker said, “and the power differentials that continue to place women in subordinate position to men.”

As Kavanaugh was sworn in, protests erupted at the court doors. These protests continued outside the high court Tuesday, as Kavanaugh prepared for his first day as a U.S Supreme Court Justice. USA Today reported that over 40 protestors arrived at 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning to meet Kavanaugh as he entered the building.

This level of support for Ford and opposition to Kavanaugh comes in the wake of the strengthening #MeToo movement.

In a CNN discussion with Jake Tapper, Sen. Nina Turner, D-Ohio, stated that the Kavanaugh hearings are an important moment for #MeToo and the treatment of assault survivors.

“This is a watershed moment for this country, and I hope that more good can come from this,” Turner said. “We have lots of work to do, even beyond what is happening in this Kavanaugh case.”

Turner’s opinion, however, is not universally shared. Conservative commentator and journalist Tiana Lowe argues that Ford’s allegations do more harm than good for future of the #MeToo movement.  

In an article for Politico Magazine, Lowe stated that Ford’s allegations against Kavanaugh represent a shift from credible “evidence-backed” claims to politically-motivated “revenge” accusations. Lowe wrote that the partisan tunnel vision seen within the two parties throughout this process only served to delegitimize the #MeToo movement.

“It’s these two factions, keen on engaging in scorched-earth political bloodsport, that threaten to derail the groundbreaking potential of the #MeToo movement,” Lowe said.

Conservative writer Lisa Boothe noted in an op-ed article for The Hill that the #MeToo movement has begotten an unprecedented weaponization of sexual misconduct claims.

“Since the #MeToo movement started less than a year ago, we have seen an overcorrection in society that is dangerous and inarguably anti-men,” Boothe said.

Boothe thinks #MeToo has led Americans to be “coerced” into believing a woman’s allegation solely because she is a woman. Furthermore, Boothe states that Ford’s allegations are being used as a “battering ram” to attack Kavanaugh’s character and career.

Boothe’s opinion correlates to the rising #HimToo movement, which emerged as conservative response to #MeToo.

Sandra E. Garcia, a reporter for The New York Times, wrote that Kavanaugh’s confirmation “energized” the #HimToo movement — which was popularized with a rogue tweet from a mother, claiming her son was afraid to go on solo dates because of the current political climate surrounding sexual assault allegations. Her son, a Navy vet and ally of the #MeToo movement, quickly cleared up the incident and spoke out in favor of women’s rights.

After the Kavanaugh hearings, this hashtag quickly became representative of belief that the current political climate in America is dangerous to men.

“During the hearings, many people tweeted #HimToo to show their support for Kavanaugh,” Garcia wrote, “and to reprimand women who they believed had made up accounts of sexual assault to destroy a man’s career.”

A multifaceted debate, Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court represents a pivotal point for #MeToo.

On one hand, this process has significantly furthered the conversation on sexual assault and misconduct in American society. Furthermore, the ongoing opposition against Kavanaugh from sexual assault survivors, #MeToo supporters, and women’s rights activists demonstrates the continuing vigor of this movement.

On the other hand, allegations of political agendas and the “weaponization” of sexual assault claims may discourage individuals from coming forward in the future. Additionally, these assertions may negatively affect the perceived legitimacy of individuals who found a voice under #MeToo.

The next few months are likely to have a long-lasting impact for the #MeToo movement. If it is to remain strong in the future, women’s rights activists will have to be prepared to continue the fight at full strength.

Dear Men: Here’s How Not to Treat Women In The Era of #MeToo, Trump, and Kavanaugh

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An apparently necessary guide from the women of RVA Mag

Good afternoon, male readers of RVA Mag and the world! Between the Kavanaugh/Ford case, #MeToo, and the general fact of having Trump as president, it’s a pretty scary time to be alive. Especially for a man!

Man, it is so difficult being a cis white man in America these days! You think you’re just leaving your house one night, minding your business to get a Starbucks and buy some board shorts, and boom! You’re accused of sexual assault! What is a guy to do, am I right?

But let’s be real. We would be remiss without acknowledging that the ladies in your life are having a bit of a time, too. It’s rough out there for us girls. So I bet you’re sitting there asking yourself: “Brad, my man. What can I do for the ladies in my life? How can I be a better ally?”

We’re glad you asked, Todd! Just for you, we have created a handy dandy top six list that’ll tell you how to be a better ally to the girls in your life!

Don’t rape anyone.

Might as well start with the easiest one, to ease you into the rest: Ask for consent. Ask permission to touch anyone, even if it’s just a hug. Believe it or not ladies really enjoy it when you ask for basic things like hugs, hand-holding, or having sex. We know it’s a tough concept to embrace, but we want you to know we believe in you.

Don’t be a piece of shit.

We know that the best way to make the news and politics easier to swallow is to make jokes about it, filling the internet with memes and crappy comments. However, there is something you should know about what happens when you post things like memes about how Kavanaugh couldn’t have raped Dr. Ford when they were in school because “she was ugly.” The women in your life who’ve survived rape and sexual assault are going to see that.

And rest assured, by the way — there are some women in your life who’ve been through things like that, regardless of whether you know about it. They might not have told you, but guess what — they don’t have to! Not everything is your business! Who knew?

Anyway, those women are going to retain that information. And they are going to now know that they can never trust or feel safe around you ever again. Ever. Do you want that? No? So don’t do that! Pretty please!

Don’t make jokes about sexual assault.

We know, we know. You totally have good intent with this. You’re not like a regular dude — you’re a cool dude! You’re edgy, but you’re an edgy progressive who is going to take back rape jokes. For the girls!

We are super sorry to tell you this, but you can’t actually do that. We know you want to poke fun at Kavanuagh, and that’s super cool in concept (but ONLY in concept). You want to write an edgy twitter joke or two, or maybe make a meme. But maybe don’t? In fact, definitely don’t. It will never be your place as a man to make jokes about the sexual assault of women.

So the next time you think it’s okay to ask, “Hey! How do we feel about jokes about sexual assault?” just remember: Don’t! Instead, try making some memes about how it’s almost Halloween, and how retail is crazy right now. So relatable! Maybe a meme about sweatpants at Thanksgiving? Too silly! So relatable!

DO call out your buddies for their uncool behavior.

Being one of the dudes and just hanging with your bros is so hard and uncomfortable right now. You can’t just do your thing and call girls sluts and hoes when they wear those shorts and skirts to be comfortable in 95 degree heat. Oh no!

Even if you don’t do that, it’s gonna get kinda awkward when Chad does makes his own jokes, or whistles at that cutie walking down Broad St. But you know what is even more awkward? Watching this behavior become normalized, because you didn’t ever say anything, and then waking up one day to realize that every single woman (and a larger chunk of men than you realize) you know has been raped, assaulted, harassed, or some combination thereof. So spooky!

We know — it’s scary to stand up to your bros. But it is really important that you do this. You got this, bro!

Believe survivors. All of them. Always.

Sexual assault is such a bummer of a topic. Such a downer! And talking about it and learning that people you love or even those you don’t know have survived these things is such a buzzkill! But you know what’s even more of a bummer? Being violently raped and having no one believe you. Crazy!

Fun Fact: Not believing survivors not only normalizes sexual assault, helping pave the way to making it commonplace in our society. It also, on the individual level, increases and worsens depression, anxiety, and suicide. All bad things, my dude. Be there for people, and if someone finds it in them to trust you to talk to you about this, stiffen that upper lip and be the best dude friend your friend has ever had. Listen, and support them.

Remember how we mentioned asking for a hug? Now is the time! Ask for that hug, my dude! Also be vocal about that support! Take a break from tweeting at Starbucks and the Redskins and start tweeting at people to believe survivors. Tell everyone you know to support RAINN (Rape Abuse Incest National Network)! Be the stand-up bro we know you are, my bro!

Don’t want to be accused of assault? Don’t assault someone!

We know! Everyone is so scared, you guys. “Will I be accused of sexual assault?” Good question, my dude! Here’s how you know.

  1. Take a seat.
  2. Ask yourself, “Have I obtained clear consent before and during every sexual encounter I’ve ever had?” (You might also want to ask yourself, “Have I ever engaged in sexual activity with someone who was intoxicated to the point of impairment?” Because that counts as sexual assault too, my dude!)
  3. Is your answer no? Then you’re good!
  4. Is your answer yes? Oops! Might want to be prepared, bro!

We know these are all scary and difficult times. But you know what? You, my friend, are a man. And you can do this! Be there for women and survivors. Be the stand-up dude we know you are!

Sincerely,

The Women of RVA Mag

P.S. — Yes, we’re writing this article anonymously. We write anonymously becasue we are genuinely concerned for our safety and livelihood. If that sounds silly or stupid to you, this article was written for you — and you need to have a long, difficult conversation with not only yourself but the women and other survivors in your life about why you’d take such an uncaring attitude toward their suffering.

Again, you may not know those survivors are there. But they are. Look around the room you’re sitting in right now. We promise you that most of the women in the room have been harassed, assaulted, raped, or all of the above. The woman writing this has been all of the above, both in the distant past and all too recently. And she is tired. She is so unbelievably fucking tired.

The choice of this article’s darkly sarcastic tone was an intentional one, if for no other reason than to hopefully make you think. But if you or someone you know has survived an assault, please get help. If you don’t have a trusted counselor in your life, we implore you to reach out to RAINN — call their National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at (800)656-HOPE. It is never too late, and you are not alone.

Light Up For Safety: Lyft Brings Amp To Richmond

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This summer, Lyft — the fastest growing ridesharing service in the US — began the Richmond-area rollout of Amp, a device designed to make rides safer and more personalized. Amp is a pill-shaped device that sits on Lyft drivers’ dashboards, its front- and back-facing light-up screens making it easier to find your ride and identify your driver.

“It took a little bit of legislative work to get it here, but now that it’s arrived, we’re very excited,” said Cabell Rosanelli, Lyft’s market manager for Richmond. “You can imagine if you’re leaving the Fan late at night, and there are four black Toyota Corollas lined up out front. If the driver has an Amp you would be notified that your ride has an orange light burning in the front of the car.”

As someone who has gotten into the wrong Lyft in DC — a generic black Camry, of which there are always several — Rosanelli says Amp makes it more convenient for both passenger and driver, halting any mix-ups and ensuring an ease of transition.

The first few weeks of the rollout, I took Rosanelli at his word alone, but more recently, the Amp has blown up the Richmond ridesharing scene. A night time walk around the city now brings more than the glare of headlights: the device blazes in candy-neon shells on dashboards, a beacon of convenience. For me, it is something of a comfort — transportation exists literally at my fingertips, and I’m a sucker for bubblegum pink.

It’s a change that the drivers are excited about, said Rosanelli. They threw a big event to distribute Amps to those eligible — any driver who has done 125 rides in the last three months.  

“I talk to drivers every day, and there are some amazing stories out there,” said Rosanelli. “We have every background, every story you can imagine… Whether it’s a wounded veteran, a single parent, a retiree, or someone who is unemployed or underemployed, we’re all trying to do something really great and create financial freedom for ourselves.”

While convenience is key, and Amp is helping to create a frictionless pick-up, it’s the safety concerns surrounding ridesharing that have everyone talking. A recently released CNN investigation found at least 103 Uber drivers in the U.S. who have been accused of sexually assaulting or abusing their passengers in the past four years.

It’s the horror story that plays out on every college campus, in every large ridesharing market: How do you stay safe when you’re stepping into someone else’s car?

“We’re not necessarily trying to solve for a safety matter, we’re trying to make everyone’s life a little easier,” said Rosanelli of Amp. “I’d say it’s less of a safety matter, and more so an efficiency, matching, and conversion play. There’s less confusion at the point of pick-up.” Of course, to admit to trying to solve safety concerns would mean admitting there is a problem.

Ruth Walston has been driving Lyft in Richmond and DC for a couple months now, and despite being a female driver in a field largely dominated by men, most of her experiences have been good. In fact, she enjoys it.

The process of getting certified was easy. And after submitting all of her documents, she heard back in less than an hour: “You’re ready to go!”

“I’ve had part-time jobs, where I was only there for four hours, that killed me by the end of it. But I could do eight hours driving Lyft and feel fine,” said Walston. “I don’t feel like I’ve given my life to capitalism at the end of the day.”

She has interesting conversations with new people, works on her own terms, and clocks in and out whenever she chooses. But, as always, safety is on her mind.

“When you get into a stranger’s car, and when you allow strangers into your car, you’re opening yourself up to that possibility,” said Walston. “It matters and it sucks, but it goes deeper than Lyft — the fact that you can’t trust strangers at all in our society is the problem.”

To Walston, Lyft is getting the same treatment that almost anything new receives: immediate distrust, and a wish to unload deeper societal issues onto a scapegoat. “Let’s put it this way: the dark cloud that follows around Lyft about sexual harassment and violence, I feel like that’s another example of people targeting new things over old problems.”

“It’s the dark cloud that follows around everything that’s different and new: it’s innovative and cool, but what problems can we find with it?” Walston continued. “We find the same problems that exist throughout society, because humans are inherently flawed and we are all living amongst each other in the same damn shit. So everything that we make has the same damn problems.”

Another recent CNN article addresses these same issues, with similar results. After a Chinese ride-sharing firm dealt with the rape and killing of one of its passengers, allegedly at the hands of a driver, it’s clear that these safety concerns are literally universal.

In the article, CNN’s Sara Ashley O’Brien writes that Katie Wells, an urban studies foundation post-doc at Georgetown University who researches the social and economic effects of on-demand services, “called sexual assault and rape on ridesharing platforms ‘a symptom of the larger issue’ of violence against women.” Wells agrees with Walston that what can be done is for ridesharing companies to take accountability, address the problem, and put protective measures in place.

As a young woman living in a city, I’d rather take my chances in a rideshare than walk home alone at night, tipsy and on unfamiliar streets. That isn’t to say it can’t be dangerous, and that these companies shouldn’t be held accountable, but these are old problems, and I’m ready for new solutions: Like Amp, like all-women ride-sharing services, like companies that are willing to listen to driver and passenger complaints.

I took a handful of rides last week and chatted with some drivers about their experiences. Most had been driving for years, with largely favorable memories. Lyft was a supplement to their day job, a grab for extra cash, with the worst transgressions being overloud, midnight drunks. My driver on an 8 am ride said his last passenger had asked him out. And though it didn’t make him uncomfortable, we both decided that a 7:45 am romantic advance is just too early — not to mention an incredibly inappropriate thing to do to someone who has no easy way out.

We are at the beginning of a vast cultural change. Lyft has only been in Richmond for two years, Uber for four, and already, it’s hard to imagine the city without it. And it’s the kind of progress that will only continue to develop.

Rosanelli has a vision for the company that goes beyond the new LED light-up dashboard accessory. “I talk to our City Council and others about what we can do with ridesharing, and how it can continue to shape the city,” said Rosanelli. “Cities were built and designed around cars. And now there’s this opportunity with better public transportation, rideshare, bikes, and other modalities to redesign our cities around people.”

The Amps lighting the tepid Richmond nights this bizarrely warm October are a comfort to me. They are a symbol of innovation, of an attempt to move forward. I see them while I’m walking, be it out of bars, or a friend’s house, or a music hall, and I know, if I wanted it, I have a way home.

Photos via Lyft

“Scary Time” for Men, Scary Lifetime For Women

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When the 45th President of the United States says that it is a “very scary time for young men in America,” he is blatantly discounting the fact that it is always a very scary time for women – young and old – in America. I have more than 100 students in my anthropology classes this semester, and the reality is that nearly 25 percent of them will experience sexual violence before they graduate. 

In the general population, 1 out of every 6 women will survive rape or attempted rape. LGBTQ women experience sexual violence at an even higher rate; more than half of transgender women of color will survive sexual assault during a lifetime that will be, on average, only 35 years long. The RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) website reports in large, dominating letters that every 98 seconds, another American is sexually assaulted. 

In a culture where sexual violence against women is this pervasive (and embedded in places like the high schools of potential U.S. Supreme Court members), it doesn’t matter if these women are our daughters, sisters, or wives: it matters that being a woman – any woman – comes with a very real, very tangible risk. 

A risk that is not just “scary,” but one that shapes our lives.

Most of us don’t remember where or when we picked up certain tricks, but many of us carry our keys between our fingers in case we need to defend ourselves while walking to the car. We’ve learned somewhere along the way to look under our cars and in the back seats before we get in; we rarely, if ever, get in an elevator by ourselves with a man or group of men we don’t know. We have all, at some point, called a friend on a walk home so that someone knows where we are, and listens with us for danger as we walk alone. 

These are ways that, every day, every woman in America acknowledges and mitigates – as best we can – the risk of sexual violence we face simply for being women. 

Ways that men mitigate the risk of sexual violence? They don’t, because for the most part, they don’t have to. Scary, indeed. 

Years ago, when I first started teaching at VCU, one of my undergrads asked me to sign a pledge to Start by Believing. At the time, it didn’t seem all that profound to me: it seemed logical pledging to simply believe women when they reported surviving sexual violence. But since then, as students have come through my classes, I’ve found myself in more than one situation looking in tear-filled eyes and saying, before all other things, “I believe you.” And each time I say it, the reality becomes more stark: despite statistics that clearly show women in America are at risk, the default seems to be that when they report their experiences, they are questioned and ultimately doubted.

“What were you wearing? Were you drinking? Were you walking home in the dark by yourself?”

Patriarchy is a deep and profound thing. 

The net result of this doubt is that only 20 percent of undergraduate survivors report their assaults. For non-student survivors, nearly 2 out of every 3 assaults go unreported. Their reasons? Fear of retaliation from the perpetrator, and law enforcement’s disinterest or inability to help. 

And what we watched, as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judicial Committee, is this same tragedy playing out in a very national and public way.

For those who think college kids or millennials today aren’t engaged in a national conversation, I counter with this: students listened on their phones to Dr. Ford’s testimony in the hallway between classes, and asked me to finish lecturing early so we could watch together as a class. They gathered in a conference room on campus to watch the hearing with allies. They turned to each other, turned to me, and said, “I believe her.”

They witnessed, with the same gnawing fear and disquiet in their stomachs, as man after man on the committee told Dr. Ford some version of their doubt in her story. Doubt in her ability to remember, doubt in her ability to judge what makes assault assault. 

Her reasons for not coming forward were questioned by the leader of our country in a tweet on September 21: “I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!” 

The resulting stories from survivors use the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport. They are swift, profound, and brutal. During her testimony and in the following days, RAINN saw a 338% increase in traffic on their sexual assault hotline. This is evidence, according to RAINN president Scott Berkowitz, that Dr. Ford’s “story has clearly resonated with survivors, and has led thousands to reach out for help for the first time.” 

The President would like us to focus on the fear of false accusations, or on criminalization of the “boys will be boys” mentality. But statistics tell us that of all assaults reported, only 2% are found to be false. The President – accused of sexual violence by more than a dozen women – has also mocked Dr. Ford and her testimony, which fuels the belief of women across the country that our experiences do not matter. It fuels the belief that, even in raising our voices to the most prominent leaders of our country, we will not be heard. 

Dr. Ford has likely spent her entire academic career being talked over by male colleagues, so in that sense, the hearing was nothing new. Having young women look to her as a role model is likely not new either. 

The conversation we are seeing on the national stage – of a smart, credible, accomplished woman being mocked by the president for reporting her sexual assault – is being heard by every woman in the country. 

It’s heard by women who may think to themselves, “If a professor of psychology isn’t believed, why would anyone believe me?” It’s heard by more women who have kept their assaults quiet for decades, and by women who do not remember all the details – and one result could be that all of these women see the writing on the wall, and simply continue to say nothing. 

Yet, by speaking out, Dr. Ford has done something for women in this country that we perhaps didn’t know we needed. In this moment, women are finding voices that they didn’t know they had, courage from places deeply buried. Another American will be sexually assaulted every 98 seconds until we, as a country, dismantle the power structure and language that believes the accused over the survivors. Starting, sadly, at the very top. 

I believe you. And if you are a survivor of sexual violence, I encourage you to call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. 

Reports to National Sexual Assault Hotline Jump 147 Percent

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Yesterday’s testimony by Professor Christine Blasey Ford about being sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was a testimony to the bravery and courage of survivors everywhere. A sympathetic, articulate, and well spoken individual, Ford highlighted the deep trauma and pain that victims of sexual assault bear everyday.

Alternately, Kavanaugh and the Republican men on the Senate Judiciary Committee demonstrated a complete lack of empathy for women who have experienced sexual assault. And according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), there are 321,500 victims of rape and sexual assault in the US each year – one every 98 seconds.

Despite the cold reception she received, one of the unintended consequences of Ford’s testimony yesterday was the empowerment of women to come forward with their stories and reports of sexual assault. As millions of women listened to Ford detail her experiences, then listened to Kavanaugh and the all male Republican squad gnash their teeth, wail, and defend allegations of sexual assault, women started calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline in record numbers to detail their own experiences.

Time Magazine has reported that the hotline saw a 147 percent increase in calls yesterday, “compared to a normal workday.” The obvious correlation? The testimony of Ford. RAINN asserts that when sexual assault is in the news-cycle, there is always a concomitant spike in reports. However, yesterday’s numbers exist outside of anything which might be deemed normative; more so, given the fierce defense of Kavanaugh that took place on the Senate floor.

There are now three allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against Kavanaugh, the last being alleged by Julie Swetnick, who claims that the judge and his friends would get women drunk so they could be “gang raped.” The Senate Judicial Committee has announced that it will vote today on the fate of Kavanaugh, in what has been one of the most politically outrageous episodes of our hyper-partisan times.

*RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached at: 800.656.HOPE (4673)

 

Men In Virginia Should Want Kavanaugh Gone

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Should circuit court judge Brett Kavanaugh be appointed to the Supreme Court, the lives of women throughout the U.S. will change, starting with the court being overshadowed by a man who clearly has a proclivity for lying about sexual assault, straight through to the great Republican fantasy of repealing Roe v Wade. And at the center of this whole situation, there is twisted kernel of truth, which is now apparent: Republicans don’t care about people, they only care about keeping and maintaining power.

Kavanaugh, who is at the center this ongoing political opera, is a man whose moral compass is supposed to govern the supreme law of this country. However, what is now at stake is whether in 2018 – in the era of “me too” – a man’s personal reputation or the need for political expediency is worth more than a woman’s life, liberty, or right to safety. Kavanaugh’s hearings have become a litmus test of where we now stand as a country – morally, ethically, politically.

Regardless of what Republicans, conservative punditry or even the White House has said, Kavanaugh has been accused of more than just horseplay. He has been accused of sexually assaulting four women. “But boys will be boys,” as some have been saying. “It was so long ago,” others have said. Yet as men, it is important for us to acknowledge that “boys being boys” does not include drunkenly trying to hold down a woman and covering her mouth so she does not scream.

One potential concern, which has been raised in defense of Kavanaugh, is that any woman with a score to settle will be able to claim sexual assault without the burden of proof, and that Kavanaugh should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. In trying to secure his nomination as quickly as possible, though, he has shown his preference for power and prestige over justice. This is the elitist culture of toxic masculinity at its intersection with things like extreme privilege and class.  

As a guardian and symbol of justice, he should care that these accusations are taken seriously, and considered with the full rigor and power of our justice system. His ambitions to the Supreme Court should be subordinate to this concern. Nonetheless, the president, who has also been accused of sexual assault, unsurprisingly said that the women accusing Kavanaugh are “all false to me,” using his own accusations as a way to defend the embattled judge.

The president’s comments pose another question: Is sexual assault not sexual assault unless it is reported within 24 hours of the incident occurring? We know the short answer to this is no. But this is one of the broad questions we should expect our elected leaders to take seriously now that these accusations are part of the nomination process.

Kavanaugh’s defense relies solely on his character as a “family man,” though the more accusations that are leveled, the more reasons we have to distrust and question his character. His defense, using his status as a virgin throughout high school and for many years after, is  just one example. Beyond this being an obvious play to the Republican’s Christian base, are virgins suddenly incapable of sexual assault? If the allegations are true then it’s obvious that young Kavanaugh’s virginity didn’t come from a place of Christian virtue.

This also exposes the Republican Party’s precarious position; having to defend a lecherous president and Supreme Court nominee while simultaneously extolling the virtues of chastity and virginity. While always positioning themselves as the party of values, what has become obvious is that the GOP only has values when it’s convenient to do so. And at this stage, their main value is political power at all cost. We should all take umbrage at the notion that the hunt for truth in sexual assault allegations must be quick; a lifetime appointment to the highest court of law should not be done in haste.

People in this country deserve better.

Even if Kavanaugh did what these women allege, I’ve heard people ask if there is no room for redemption and forgiveness. If there is room, then he still must take responsibility for his actions before forgiveness is considered – something he has consistently failed to do. By lying, he has shown that he is willing to make a mockery of the high court he wants to represent. Forgiveness is only possible if you own up to what you did, including assaulting women during “horseplay” in the 1980s. Having a wife and two daughters does not change this.  

The battle over the Kavanaugh nomination transcends party lines. It is about not only the way women are treated, but the kind of story we, as a country, are willing to tell to one another. Values, morals, and ethics are critical, and the Republican Party continues to lose credibility by being unwilling to back up their own moral claims with concrete action. Attempting to force through the Kavanaugh nomination instead of investigating multiple allegations proves that their goal is not truth, but promoting their agenda at all costs.