Kavanaugh Nomination

I think the entire story falls apart when she knew that gang rapes were taking place, and not only did she not do or say anything in 36 years, but apparently no other victim said anything either.

I don't really like Kavanaugh that much, so I feel gross defending him here. These stories have more holes in them than swiss cheese.

By the way, the last time I went to a high school party was my first year in college when my younger friends invited me over. When I got to the "party" I opened the door into a passed-out girl lying on the floor, there were 3 guys huddled around a laptop listening to a rap song, and there was some girl puking in the bathroom. The only drink they had was hard cider. I had plenty of college parties to go to that were way way way better than that.

 

Did she go to high school parties where she had heard gang rapes are rumored to have taken place

 

There is nothing partisan about preventing someone who has sexually assaulted you from playing a role in making decisions that will affect everyone's lives. If he had done that to your sister or your daughter, would you want him on the Supreme Court?

Meanwhile, if Kellyanne Conway had brought charges against her attacker, or at the very least not used her experience to attack someone who had gone through the same thing... then maybe I would change my opinion.

 

I don't think that means that it isn't true.

This whole #metoo thing is a relatively new phenomenon, and there is a lot more support and acceptance for women who come forward with these types of allegations, as well as a greater overall sense of sexual assault being wrong.

I don't think people who haven't been assaulted actually understand what it involves-- everyone has a natural desire to avoid confrontation, avoid drama and pretend everything is okay... which would include returning to the parties. This is how this sort of thing becomes normalized-- because even the victims themselves don't want to deal with it, especially since they know it's going to disrupt their own lives as much as it disrupts the lives of the aggressor. So everyone just looks at them, they seem okay, and so they carry on not worrying about these things. You don't want to go through a lot of drama involving rape accusations when you're trying to finish your exams, write your papers, live a rich and full existence... there's a lot more to gain by just shutting up, pretending everything is okay and carrying on as if it's all perfectly normal.

It's sort of like the kid who grew up being abused, but still loves the parent who is doing it to them and doesn't really believe that the parent deserves to be punished for it... so they fill their life with distractions and power through it, and then suddenly it's not even part of their life anymore... and then maybe a few years later, they come to realize just how wrong it was, and they finally start to unpack all of the trauma.

 

The #meetoo hashtag started after so many stories of sexual abuse in Hollywood went public last Spring with Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, and more. But Hollywood didn't like the public realizing all the sexual abuse that was going on there, so they diluted sexual abuse and sexual harassment stories to encompass EVERY facet of life, like the workplace and schools.

As someone who has experienced sexual abuse myself, I understand fear of stepping up and speaking out. But I also realize that an accusation of sexual misconduct can be weaponized for personal gain, whether it be truth or lie. I really envy the accusers in this case; they seem to have forgotten a lot of the important details that went on. I wish I could forget everything about my incident, but i remember many of the details all the way down to the date it occurred.

 

Sorry about that. It must have been traumatic for you. Did you step forward and report the incident at the time? How did that go? Was it at a place you were familiar with or in a strange environment? I've never been molested, so thinking about what I'd do is speculative. But it would seem to me that if this had occurred during my teenage years and I had come forward (a) my reputation with peers would have been ruined; if the perpetrator were a female, everybody would think I was a fag for complaining, and if it were by a male it would be worse; and (b) where would that go, without proof, or at least substantial evidence? One of the guys in my men's group confided in us that his daughter hated him and he couldn't figure out why? After talking it over, he mentioned that she had once told him one of his friends molested her, and he didn't believe it. We encouraged him to go to her and apologize. He did, and they seem to be back together.The accused, however, was by then living in another country, so the possibility of bringing him to justice seems remote.

I went to lots of parties back then, but I couldn't tell you when or where, who all was there, or even who the host was, although I knew that at the time. And I wasn't drinking. I could probably get it down to the general neighborhood, but that's about it.

 

Now don't drift already. You posted the Canons and plugged in where you are certain Kavvenaugh is derelict in.

Canon 1 just keep this brief. You feel he is in violation of correct? Therefore he should not be in the SCOTUS. Is this correct?

 

Yep. Each victims brain develops it's own coping pathways. Some create an alternate reality to wall off the real world. Which I am in no way asserting is the case with Dr Ford. We have no idea what her mental health doc has diagnosed. I seriously doubt it will ever be looked into.

She's 100% certain. Kavenaugh is 100% certain. Obviously this is impossible. But one person is surely going to be disected and disemboweled in public. Even if they find nothing, it's going to be the spectacle the Dems thrive on. An awesome way of having an untouchable way of slaughtering a poltical opponent.

I hate Rush Limbaugh. But I give him credit. He predicted the Dems were gonna come up a with a second accuser within a week with the same claim. He nailed it. He stated the strategy almost like they gave him the script they wrote.

His fans will be rabid now.

 

Thanks, I've moved passed it though, and I refuse to be a lifetime victim about it. It was an older friend who I looked up to many years ago. Even though we were both legally minors at the time, it still had an impact on me that left me feeling very dirty and ashamed of myself. He was a bad influence; a lot of my school friends didn't like him, and everyone in my family warned me about him, and he was a pathological liar. I ignored them all. Cut a long story short, I didn't come forward about that incident to anyone for a long time because, like you said, the fact he was male made the possibility of reporting it much worse. However, I do consider myself lucky because I've read quite a few testimonies of those who've experienced abuse, and my incident wasn't even close to as bad as theirs. Fortunately the law eventually caught up with him on a charge for breaking and entering. Last I checked, he was in jail for stealing a rental car, and became an insulin dependent diabetic. Thus, I like to think I got some closure.


I've been to lots of parties in high school and college too. But I don't remember any of them involving rape, group sex, or anything elicit out in the open. Although I'm not saying it never happens at any party ever, I find it odd that so many high schoolers would be discrete and secretive about such things happening at these parties. The worst I've ever seen at a party was a drunken fist fight.

 

I feel no need to share my story but I applaud you for your candor that nobody understands that isn't a victim. Like you, my perpetrator found his way to the hell i could manage for him. Thank You.

 

His nomination has nothing to do with the Canons of how judges are expected to adhere to. You feel that Kavenaugh is in violation of these Canons? Yes or no? And again for brevity sakes we can just work with Canon 1 you provided.

 

The Dems agreed to the deal. It said relevant evidence currently before them. I don't blame you for being sad.

 

Good enough. Then I know with all your moral compass that demands judges abide by this rules, I'll expect you will support the removal if Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Who I happen to admire myself. But needless to say you can't get around the fact that she acknowledged her conduct was wrong.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Expresses Regret for Criticizing Donald Trump

Sorry but she is biased and not nuetral in her feelings. Just like Kavenaugh

 

We're at a crossroads as a country. No democracy can survive on the basis of sheer formal legalism. There must be broad popular consensus to back it up. If Republicans try to ram this through on the basis of their razor thin majority in the Senate, and then try to put some partisan stooge like Lindsey Graham in as Attorney General, expect all hell to break loose. It was Graham, if you remember, who said that Session needed to go after the election, because Trump needed to have an Attorney General he would have confidence in. I smell a rat.

A major precondition to a functioning democracy is that "the major political groups must not be so mutually threatening that they would rather overturn the democratic game than lose an election to their advers- aries".http://people.virginia.edu/~ga8h/Making-Democracy-Stick.pdf
If a government loses that, it risks losing its legitimacy. I'm afraid that's what we're in danger of losing in this country.

 

The Dems demanded it, the Republicans agreed, set the terms and the Dems agreed to it. Why are you sad. They have nothing to hide. Right? If Fienstein didn't like the deal Coons and they voted to approve, then she should step down. She is the one that started this entire thing. She's relevant evidence.

No way an FBI investigation can be considered as competent if they have to call ahead to get permission and broadcast to the party being investigated the tenor and content of what they are seeking from the subjects of the investigation.

Certainly even you can concur that they have to follow standard procedure