It’s not surprising that many people were unwilling to take, at face value, the word of a woman they do not know against a Supreme Court justice being confirmed amongst one of the most divided Senate Judiciary Committees in one of the most politically divisive times in recent history. What is surprising, however, is the reasons why people are saying they don’t believe her, and the beliefs they’re expressing about when sexual assault is excusable (Never. The answer is never).
i heard a lady on a CNN panel of women who support Trump say, 'what boy hasn't done that in high school' in regards to the allegation of attempted rape against Kavanaugh, and i can't quite put into words the mixture of rage and sadness that have stayed with me the last 24 hours
— beth, an alien® (@bourgeoisalien) September 21, 2018
When CNN sat down with a panel of Republican women, each of whom voted for Trump in 2016, to discuss the accusations by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford against Trump’s SCOTUS nominee of sexual assault in high school, their answers were utterly flabbergasting.
One woman, Lourdes Castillo de la Pena, said that she couldn’t believe Dr. Ford because everyone she’s seen has said how nice a guy he is.
‘How can we believe the word of a woman of something that happened 36 years ago. This guy has an impeccable reputation. There is nobody that has spoken ill will about him.’
However, rapists and other men who abuse women are often charming, polite, and well-liked. The fact that he hasn’t raped any of the people sent out by the GOP doesn’t mean that he couldn’t have raped Dr. Ford. The comments, however, just grew worse. Gina Sosa said:
‘I mean, we’re talking about a 15-year-old girl, which I respect. I’m a woman. I respect. But we’re talking about a 17-year-old boy in high school with testosterone running high. Tell me, what boy hasn’t done this in high school?’
Republican woman on Kavanaugh allegations: 'what boy hasn’t done this in high school?': A panel of five Republican women in Florida joined CNN Thursday to defend Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh… https://t.co/nNDHukZzAB #ImpeachTrump #ImpeachKavanaugh #TheResistance pic.twitter.com/aHCFSkpKNz
— Patrick (@cahulaan) September 22, 2018
In fact, most men and boys do not rape or sexually assault women. The problem is that too many do, and none of the ones who do only do it once, which is why so many girls experience it.
Trump supporter and panelist Irina Villarino asked:
‘But in the grand scheme of things, my goodness, there was no intercourse. There was maybe a touch. Really? Thirty-six years later she’s still stuck on that had it happened?’
Unwanted sexual touching is sexual assault, but Dr. Ford’s interview with The Washington Post, where she first came out publicly, mentioned quite a bit more than touching.
‘I thought he might inadvertently kill me. He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.’
CNN knows what they're doing when they gather a panel of women to defend Kavanaugh. https://t.co/JGrCPh6nOK
— CheekyMonkey (@konohead) September 22, 2018
Lourdes Castillo de la Pena is willing to forgive him even if he did try to rape a 15-year-old girl. After all, it was long ago, she said.
‘As long as that’s an isolated incident, yes…If the person made a mistake and they’ve moved on and they have been a good human being, who are we to judge?’
CNN asked a panel of only female *Republican* voters – some of whom admitted Kavanaugh’s behavior wasn’t appropriate, but also say they have *no sympathy* for Ford https://t.co/MMh0MKDyvd
— Ryan (@RD3001) September 22, 2018
The problem is that men and boys who commit these crimes rarely stop at one, and even one is too many. This is a lifetime seat on the highest court in the lands, where he would be making decisions about women’s rights and women’s bodies every day.
We, the American people, are who we are to judge.
See the full segment below:
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
