Well, Now Brett Kavanaugh Can Face His Accuser

[Dancing Fire]

And since it's a drinking game, no part of Maria's post should have offended anyone! Fun how that works!

Never had a beer in my life.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I hope this never happens to one of your daughters @Dancing Fire .

I wouldn’t be able to look at my father if made some of the comments you have made. I would disown him.

What did I say. ???

 

[Calliecake]

@Dancing Fire , I know you have read the comments on this thread. It’s pretty obvious Kavanaugh being confirmed has hit many women on here like a ton of bricks.

The congrats to Kavanaugh, hope you drink a six pack tonight comment felt like another kick in the head. I realize this is the internet and you are free to say whatever you wish.

The odds are pretty good this could happen to one of your daughters or granddaughter in their lifetime. Do you think you would feel like this is a funny joke knowing one of your loved one was in pain from the events the past few days. We are human beings. A little kindness often goes a long way.

 

[Dancing Fire]

@Dancing Fire , I know you have read the comments on this thread. It’s pretty obvious Kavanaugh being confirmed has hit many women on here like a ton of bricks.

I'm sure there are many women who have been sexually assaulted, but that doesn't mean Kavanaugh was one of those perpetrator.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

I have to reluctantly agree that there wasn't enough definitive information to conclude with conviction what our guts are telling us likely happened - although I do believe one BIG reason for that is that there wasn't a REAL investigation done by the FBI - just a sham one. Of course, that wasn't necessarily under the control of the senators who had to vote one way or another, so I think you have a fair point there. If I had been a senator, I still would have voted against him on the basis of his lies about his conduct in high school and college, extremely partisan rhetoric, history of partisan work, and questionable statements about the legal immunity of a sitting president.

I'm sorry that you, too, have had traumatic experiences that are being triggered.

@OboeGal this is EXACTLY WHAT I think.




On the more important issue about cultural misogyny let me start by saying that I have the utmost respect for the US, and have always had great admiration for the land of the free.
But when I read your stories from an outside perspective I am deeply shocked and saddened. I didn't wish to offend anyone before , but I just have to speak up.

The mysoginistic rape culture we see is not "normal". While we also have different issues regarding equal pay, the famous "glass ceiling", the sexism, and the everyday verbal harassment in Europe, but some aspects of what is described in this thread and in the US media as daily or frequent simply doesn't exist here.
The recurrent cases of ultra privileged, highly educated men sexually assaulting their classmates simply do not exist. I have heard of this for the first time when I went to the US and was looking into a year at a US university. I was deeply shocked.
I come from a University town. I have studied in three different countries. Many of my friends have as well. I have not heard of a single case of this specific behavior. It is deeply shocking. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that it has been prevalent for such a long time. Victim blaming, not wanting to ruin a young rapist's future, lax jurisdiction.
No.No.No.
Our system is too lax in many cases and broken in others. But a pattern of this? No.

It is a good thing to try to get an outside perspective from a comparable place in the world. How do things work there? Do we have to accept what bothers us? "just human nature"?"boys will be boys"?
No. It. Is. Not. Acceptable.

I have no emotional attachment to any of the US parties at all. From my outside perspective I cannot understand this decision from the republican party. Trump? Yes. A pal with about the same values regarding women. But I cannot understand what is going on in the RP. How can anyone not see the signal this sends to survivors all over your country? What's the discussion even about? She was highly believable. There are a zillion other qualified candidates, equally conservative.
Why push him through and humiliate victims, marginalize women? Divide the country even further?
I'm shocked and saddened.
Granted, I lean more liberal myself in many aspects, but I though I'd probably be registered as an independent in the US , but I have friends with my cultural background who where admirers of the RP and republican values and they feel exactly the same.

 

[cmd2014]

Congrats to Kavanaugh! hope you drink a 6 pack tonight.

Wow. No matter what your political affiliation is, this is hugely insensitive. While you may think that this is a "win" and are celebrating it - you also have to know that thousands (millions) of women across the US and the world are feeling like this is one more instance where justice was not served and that their voices didn't matter. Many of those women are here and have shared intimate details of their pain and trauma relating to this issue. And you have rubbed this in their faces like it is some kind of dumb joke. This is not a joke. Sexual assault is not something to laugh at, whether you personally think that Kavanaugh did it or not. Alcoholism is also not something to joke about. I am shocked that you would think that it is.

And if you think that no-one in your life has ever been exposed to sexual violence, I would say to you that you may not know what has happened to the women in your life who you love. Many daughters do not disclose to their fathers when they have been victimized. Many wives do not tell their husbands. Many mothers and sisters and aunts and grandmothers simply live with the pain of things that have happened to them buried inside of them. I hope for your sake that the women in your life aren't hearing these kinds of remarks in real life and having it reinforced for them that it is not safe to disclose. That their feelings don't matter. That they don't matter. Because I would like to think that the women in your life who you love matter to you.

 

[cmd2014]

I would also say that I don't think that anyone "won" here. I think the US as a whole lost. I think Russia is laughing. I think all of the enemies of the Western world are sitting back and enjoying this. The best argument for Trump being put into place by the Russian government (wittingly or not) is the discord and strife and divisiveness that he has sowed in the US. No one could have divided the US as effectively as he has. History has taught us that every powerful nation has been undone by civil discord and infighting, not by any threat from the outside. What better way to bring about the downfall of the US than by inciting infighting and discord to a level that has not been seen since the civil war? By eroding civility between friends and neighbors. By eroding confidence in the government. By eroding the strength of the institutions put into place for good governance, for the protection of the people, and for the protection of your national resources. This is just one more example of how divided the country can become if you provide the catalyst to do it. Trump provides the catalyst to do it. Whether that is simply for his own ends because he knows it will win him votes, or because others are putting him up to it, who knows.

Good government is about taking care of everybody. It's about ensuring that even if people don't agree with the decisions being made, that they can see that they are being made for the good of the country as a whole, even if it might negatively affect them personally. It's about uniting people to a common cause, not splitting them into warring factions. Trump has split the country into warring factions. Us vs Them. With me or against me. Win vs Lose, not looking for compromises that everyone can accept and live with. And history has shown us that people are not very capable of having empathy for people that they have labeled as an enemy. To those of you who are labeling this as a "win" are your fellow American citizens really your enemy? If so, who is your friend?

 

[soxfan]

Wow. No matter what your political affiliation is, this is hugely insensitive. While you may think that this is a "win" and are celebrating it - you also have to know that thousands (millions) of women across the US and the world are feeling like this is one more instance where justice was not served and that their voices didn't matter. Many of those women are here and have shared intimate details of their pain and trauma relating to this issue. And you have rubbed this in their faces like it is some kind of dumb joke. This is not a joke. Sexual assault is not something to laugh at, whether you personally think that Kavanaugh did it or not. Alcoholism is also not something to joke about. I am shocked that you would think that it is.

And if you think that no-one in your life has ever been exposed to sexual violence, I would say to you that you may not know what has happened to the women in your life who you love. Many daughters do not disclose to their fathers when they have been victimized. Many wives do not tell their husbands. Many mothers and sisters and aunts and grandmothers simply live with the pain of things that have happened to them buried inside of them. I hope for your sake that the women in your life aren't hearing these kinds of remarks in real life and having it reinforced for them that it is not safe to disclose. That their feelings don't matter. That they don't matter. Because I would like to think that the women in your life who you love matter to you.

If you were DF's daughter, would YOU say a word to him? I wouldn't. I would feel 100% unsupported and probably like I deserved it.

Keep being a great dad, DF!

 

[monarch64]

Oh, wow, this is just too good: https://www.vox.com/2018/10/9/17955402/this-is-my-son-meme-himtoo-metoo-pieter-hanson

 

[Jambalaya]

For all those saying that memory during a traumatic attack is reliable:
https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/18/opinion/i-was-certain-but-i-was-wrong.html

I think this article is only available to subscribers since it's from the archives. Here it is below. It's exactly this kind of thing why I am am reluctant to condemn BK without a thorough investigation. This article was referenced by another article I was reading today about the Kavanaugh case, which said the opposite about traumatic memory - that in fact it can lead to worse recall, not better. This is the sort of thing I was referring to when I mentioned how Elizabeth Smart's sister said the kidnapper was wearing white and had a gun, when in fact he was wearing black and had a knife.

I was Certain, But I Was Wrong
From the New York Times, June 18, 2000, by Jennifer Thompson.

In 1984 I was a 22-year-old college student with a grade point average of 4.0, and I really wanted to do something with my life. One night someone broke into my apartment, put a knife to my throat and raped me.

During my ordeal, some of my determination took an urgent new direction. I studied every single detail on the rapist's face. I looked at his hairline; I looked for scars, for tattoos, for anything that would help me identify him. When and if I survived the attack, I was going to make sure that he was put in prison and he was going to rot.

When I went to the police department later that day, I worked on a composite sketch to the very best of my ability. I looked through hundreds of noses and eyes and eyebrows and hairlines and nostrils and lips. Several days later, looking at a series of police photos, I identified my attacker. I knew this was the man. I was completely confident. I was sure.

I picked the same man in a lineup. Again, I was sure. I knew it. I had picked the right guy, and he was going to go to jail. If there was the possibility of a death sentence, I wanted him to die. I wanted to flip the switch.

When the case went to trial in 1986, I stood up on the stand, put my hand on the Bible and swore to tell the truth. Based on my testimony, Ronald Junior Cotton was sentenced to prison for life. It was the happiest day of my life because I could begin to put it all behind me.

In 1987, the case was retried because an appellate court had overturned Ronald Cotton's conviction. During a pretrial hearing, I learned that another man had supposedly claimed to be my attacker and was bragging about it in the same prison wing where Ronald Cotton was being held. This man, Bobby Poole, was brought into court, and I was asked, ''Ms. Thompson, have you ever seen this man?''

I answered: ''I have never seen him in my life. I have no idea who he is.''

Ronald Cotton was sentenced again to two life sentences. Ronald Cotton was never going to see light; he was never going to get out; he was never going to hurt another woman; he was never going to rape another woman.

In 1995, 11 years after I had first identified Ronald Cotton, I was asked to provide a blood sample so that DNA tests could be run on evidence from the rape. I agreed because I knew that Ronald Cotton had raped me and DNA was only going to confirm that. The test would allow me to move on once and for all.

I will never forget the day I learned about the DNA results. I was standing in my kitchen when the detective and the district attorney visited. They were good and decent people who were trying to do their jobs -- as I had done mine, as anyone would try to do the right thing. They told me: ''Ronald Cotton didn't rape you. It was Bobby Poole.''

The man I was so sure I had never seen in my life was the man who was inches from my throat, who raped me, who hurt me, who took my spirit away, who robbed me of my soul. And the man I had identified so emphatically on so many occasions was absolutely innocent.

Ronald Cotton was released from prison after serving 11 years. Bobby Poole pleaded guilty to raping me.

Ronald Cotton and I are the same age, so I knew what he had missed during those 11 years. My life had gone on. I had gotten married. I had graduated from college. I worked. I was a parent. Ronald Cotton hadn't gotten to do any of that.

Mr. Cotton and I have now crossed the boundaries of both the terrible way we came together and our racial difference (he is black and I am white) and have become friends. Although he is now moving on with his own life, I live with constant anguish that my profound mistake cost him so dearly. I cannot begin to imagine what would have happened had my mistaken identification occurred in a capital case.

Today there is a man in Texas named Gary Graham who is about to be executed because one witness is confident that Mr. Graham is the killer she saw from 30 to 40 feet away. This woman saw the murderer for only a fraction of the time that I saw the man who raped me. Several other witnesses contradict her, but the jury that convicted Mr. Graham never heard any of the conflicting testimony.

If anything good can come out of what Ronald Cotton suffered because of my limitations as a human being, let it be an awareness of the fact that eyewitnesses can and do make mistakes. I have now had occasion to study this subject a bit, and I have come to realize that eyewitness error has been recognized as the leading cause of wrongful convictions. One witness is not enough, especially when her story is contradicted by other good people.

Last week, I traveled to Houston to beg Gov. George W. Bush and his parole board not to execute Gary Graham based on this kind of evidence. I have never before spoken out on behalf of any inmate. I stood with a group of 11 men and women who had been convicted based on mistaken eyewitness testimony, only to be exonerated later by DNA or other evidence.

With them, I urged the Texas officials to grant Gary Graham a new trial, so that the eyewitnesses who are so sure that he is innocent can at long last be heard.

I know that there is an eyewitness who is absolutely positive she saw Gary Graham commit murder. But she cannot possibly be any more positive than I was about Ronald Cotton. What if she is dead wrong?

 

[OreoRosies86]

I find it really disturbing that people are still trying to devil's-advocate Dr. Ford after she stated her certainty it was Kavanaugh who assaulted her.... multiple times.

 

[Jambalaya]

Jennifer Thompson said she "studied every detail of the rapist's face." But she was still wrong. She identified the wrong guy...multiple times. "Sabrina's" article in Rolling Stone magazine was breathtaking in its apparent sincerity, but she was a political activist who was trying to draw attention to rape culture and didn't care that she threw her three friends plus a number of men under the bus to achieve her political aims. I was utterly taken in. Never occurred to me for one second that somebody would make such a thing up. The accuser of the Duke lacrosse team was also lying. This kind of thing is why there has to be an investigation. I'd do this:

- Interview the parents of the house where the party took place.
- Interview BK's family members.
- Interview Dr. Ford's family members. (Have they said anything yet? Not sure.)
- Interview Mark Judge.
- Appeal for anybody to come forward who remembers a gathering with Dr. Ford and BK in the summer of 1982 or thereabouts. Some people do save their diaries and calendars. I gather no one has yet said they remember a party at that time where both were there.
- Appeal for the family members of anyone who remembers their child or sibling attending such a gathering.
- Talk to Dr. Ford's close friends from that time.
- Talk to BK's close friends from that time.

ETA: I'm sure there's more, but this is just off the bat. Dr. Ford may have been convincing, but other accusers who were genuinely mistaken or just flat-out lying were also convincing. Convincing enough to get arrests made, fraternity houses closed, wrongful convictions, lives ruined with their utter certainty which then turned out to be made of thin air.

I'm demonstrating from other cases just how fallible memory can be and I'm arguing for the fairness of a proper investigation before the accused is condemned. It's common sense, not to mention a reflection of democratic process. I'm not sure what's "disturbing" about that.

 

[monarch64]

If Dr. Blasey Ford did not KNOW her attackers, I'd say your point is valid, @Jambalaya . The trouble with what you've posted is that in your example, the victim did not KNOW the alleged perpetrator/accused. Dr. Blasey Ford knew both BK and MJ socially.

 

[Dancing Fire]

If Dr. Blasey Ford did not KNOW her attackers, I'd say your point is valid, @Jambalaya . The trouble with what you've posted is that in your example, the victim did not KNOW the alleged perpetrator/accused. Dr. Blasey Ford knew both BK and MJ socially.

So based on that reason BK is automatically guilty of the crime?

 

[Jambalaya]

@monarch: Right, right, but JT says she studied her rapist's face intensively throughout the attack.

I'm just saying that I cannot condemn Person X on the basis of the fervency of Person Y's accusations. I would never condemn someone outright unless no stone had been left unturned in an investigation. The possibility that he's innocent yet has been dragged through all this eats at me. Elizabeth Smart was in the news recently because one of her abusers had been released from prison. I was reading all about it - she is an amazing woman. An innocent man, Richard, was accused of the kidnapping. The police were utterly convinced that he did it, and what tore at my heartstrings was the footage of the police interview where they were aggressively questioning him, and they reduced this big tough man to tears. He died a few days later in police custody of an aneurysm, probably because of all the stress. Then his partner died a few years later by taking her own life. Her son said she never recovered.

I was reading more about the case today and someone online quoted an article from the Boston Globe which said it was concerned that none of the four friends Dr. Ford named could remember the party. And that's a very respectable left-wing Democrat paper.

The consequences of mistakenly or falsely accusing someone can be about as serious as it gets. That's why I won't blindly believe anybody purely on the basis of how convincing they seem without a thorough investigation. It's all very well if she's correct, but can you imagine if she's mistaken, what it's like to be wrongly accused? Horrific damage has occurred in these kinds of cases to great human cost.

 

[monarch64]

So based on that reason BK is automatically guilty of the crime?

Huh? I said nothing of the sort. I was responding to Jambalaya's article about a victim who misidentified her rapist. MANY victims KNOW their attackers. https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/rape-sexual-violence/campus/Pages/know-attacker.aspx The point I was making was that it's a lot harder to misidentify a person you've known for several years.

 

[Jambalaya]

Yes, you do make a good point, Monarch. My point, really, is just to urge caution because IF someone has been wrongly/mistakenly accused, the consequences can be truly horrible (ref. the stuff I wrote above).

 

[Dancing Fire]

@monarch
I was reading more about the case today and someone online quoted an article from the Boston Globe which said it was concerned that none of the four friends Dr. Ford named could remember the party. And that's a very respectable left-wing Democrat paper.

The consequences of mistakenly or falsely accusing someone can be about as serious as it gets. That's why I won't blindly believe anybody purely on the basis of how convincing they seem and without a thorough investigation. Horrific damage has occurred in these kinds of cases to great human cost.

The left wing media said...if you shake hands with Trump you are automatically guilty of all crimes.

 

[monarch64]

@Jambalaya I also do not subscribe to blind faith, and you know a major reason for that is the Rolling Stone write up you mentioned. To your points about false accusations and their effects...I have a friend who killed himself 10 years ago. His cousin has since confided in the family that their uncle repeatedly tried to molest them (and he thinks the uncle was successful in his attempts with the youth who committed suicide.) Imagine not being able to tell anyone, and dying over it because you couldn't live with the pain of all of THAT. That child's parents have suffered horribly. She medicates nonstop with pills. He drinks to excess every day. The rest of the family is dedicated to stopping suicide, but no one wants to talk about the allegations of molestation. Currently the uncle is living a somewhat normal life, although he is HIV positive and in prison for an unrelated crime of which he was convicted.

I don't have the answers here. But I'm very interested in discussing how to make sure victims are not silenced.

 

[Jambalaya]

@monarch: I agree, victims should never, ever be silenced. The story above is so terrible. What Dr. Ford went through in this process was horrendous. Can you imagine going from a private citizen to probably at least a billion people knowing your name overnight? Exposed to every weirdo out there. I think she should have been allowed to testify via audiolink for her own safety and to encourage other people who may find themselves in similar situations to come forward. Or answer questions in writing. Just something other than the spectacle that ensued. (ETA: I think both victims and accused people should be given much greater privacy. The result of a given trial can be made public, but I'm not sure why it's all out there before a verdict.)

And then, he gets the job without any thorough investigation! I'm sorry, but any investigation that takes a week is a sham. Him getting that position was indeed a slap in the face to all victims. The entire selection should have been put on hold for a proper investigation, which would take months. But that wait time should have been OK, for anyone who's interested in the truth.

Sometimes, you can't get at the truth, despite a no-stones-left-unturned investigation. I guess, at that point, you have to let the accused off due to lack of evidence. "Reasonable doubt." But even if it was inconclusive, at least a real, proper, thorough, independent investigation would have sent the message to anyone who is a victim of assault that their experiences do matter, and that what they have to say matters. It would also deter people like that Rolling Stone person, if they knew accusations would spark a thorough investigation.

ETA: I know Dr. Ford and her family are in hiding. So basically she's been thrown to the wolves. I bet she doesn't have any police protection, either.

The government handled this whole thing just horribly.

 

[monarch64]

@Jambalaya it's just sad all around. All of it. Every time I try to wrap my brain around the underlying societal issues that led to what we've watched play out, I feel utterly defeated and overwhelmed with frustration and sadness. Like, how is it we live in a world socially conditioned to protect the "weak" (women and children) but the world (men) also treats them like total shit a lot of the time and gets away with it? It is completely messed up.

My six year old daughter told me a few days ago that one of her classmates (a boy) pushed her off the "trail" outside their school recently. (There is a hill with some trees and a well-beaten path on it between the street and the playground.) I asked her if she told her dad, and she said "no, I didn't want to upset him." We protect and silence at the same time. And that's how it begins. A push on the playground. Pigtails dipped in inkwells. Bra straps snapped. Because "that means a boy likes you." The young girl's fear of incurring the man who takes care of her's wrath, either at her or at the perp. That shit needs to CHANGE.
(Yes, I had a conversation with my daughter about not worrying about upsetting anyone and to always tell an adult as soon as that type of thing happens.)

How does that relate to the Blasey Ford/Kavanaugh situation? Because same as it ever was, girls are taught to keep quiet. Boys are taught "boys will be boys." And society protects the white, well-to-do, from-good-families, male perpetrators nearly every time. See: Brock Turner.

 

[Jambalaya]

I agree with everything you wrote above, Monarch. And in recent days I've also wondered about the irony of men having an instinct to protect women (so we're told) but if that's true, why do men spend so much time treating women like shit?

Just today, I didn't reply quick enough to some guy's message on the online dating site that I'm trying, and he sent me a message calling me an asshat, except he didn't say "hat." The time lag was just a few hours. Same thing with another guy who was very annoyed that I didn't get back to him after...wait for it...five hours. Yet I'm guessing that why they don't get laid is a total mystery to these guys.

Just to be clear, the guy who sent me a message calling me an ass**** was a total stranger who I had never exchanged so much as a single message with. He was just that annoyed that I hadn't responded to him, despite the fact that I had an autoreply set up. Talk about entitled. (And don't worry, I'm completely anonymous on that site and he had not seen any of my photos.)

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Jennifer Thompson said she "studied every detail of the rapist's face." But she was still wrong. She identified the wrong guy...multiple times. "Sabrina's" article in Rolling Stone magazine was breathtaking in its apparent sincerity, but she was a political activist who was trying to draw attention to rape culture and didn't care that she threw her three friends plus a number of men under the bus to achieve her political aims. I was utterly taken in. Never occurred to me for one second that somebody would make such a thing up. The accuser of the Duke lacrosse team was also lying. This kind of thing is why there has to be an investigation. I'd do this:

- Interview the parents of the house where the party took place.
- Interview BK's family members.
- Interview Dr. Ford's family members. (Have they said anything yet? Not sure.)
- Interview Mark Judge.
- Appeal for anybody to come forward who remembers a gathering with Dr. Ford and BK in the summer of 1982 or thereabouts. Some people do save their diaries and calendars. I gather no one has yet said they remember a party at that time where both were there.
- Appeal for the family members of anyone who remembers their child or sibling attending such a gathering.
- Talk to Dr. Ford's close friends from that time.
- Talk to BK's close friends from that time.

ETA: I'm sure there's more, but this is just off the bat. Dr. Ford may have been convincing, but other accusers who were genuinely mistaken or just flat-out lying were also convincing. Convincing enough to get arrests made, fraternity houses closed, wrongful convictions, lives ruined with their utter certainty which then turned out to be made of thin air.

I'm demonstrating from other cases just how fallible memory can be and I'm arguing for the fairness of a proper investigation before the accused is condemned. It's common sense, not to mention a reflection of democratic process. I'm not sure what's "disturbing" about that.

It is not the same case (neurologically and psychologically) if you knew your attacker.
The cases of witness reliability as to details or facial features are not the same as dealing with a person you know.

In short, you can it doesn't imprint in your brain of the attacker wore a white/purple /red/blue shirt etc...
But you'll forever k iw it was Tom/Dick/Harry from last year's summer camp.

 

[soxfan]

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/election/article207845019.html

 

[soxfan]

https://www.tennessean.com/story/ne...d-after-leaking-info-lee-campaign/1572260002/

And they continue to be the laughing stock...

 

[soxfan]

https://www.motherjones.com/politic...-it-harder-for-tribal-north-dakotans-to-vote/

 

[soxfan]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entr...cid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063&utm_medium=facebook

I can go on all day....

I think the republicans might be scared going into the midterms.

 

[Jambalaya]

It is not the same case (neurologically and psychologically) if you knew your attacker.
The cases of witness reliability as to details or facial features are not the same as dealing with a person you know.

In short, you can it doesn't imprint in your brain of the attacker wore a white/purple /red/blue shirt etc...
But you'll forever k iw it was Tom/Dick/Harry from last year's summer camp.

Yes, you make a good point.

 

[Jambalaya]

Soxfan, that link you shared is frightening in the extreme. How can any human being entertain such notions?

 

[House Cat]

@monarch: Right, right, but JT says she studied her rapist's face intensively throughout the attack.

I'm just saying that I cannot condemn Person X on the basis of the fervency of Person Y's accusations. I would never condemn someone outright unless no stone had been left unturned in an investigation. The possibility that he's innocent yet has been dragged through all this eats at me. Elizabeth Smart was in the news recently because one of her abusers had been released from prison. I was reading all about it - she is an amazing woman. An innocent man, Richard, was accused of the kidnapping. The police were utterly convinced that he did it, and what tore at my heartstrings was the footage of the police interview where they were aggressively questioning him, and they reduced this big tough man to tears. He died a few days later in police custody of an aneurysm, probably because of all the stress. Then his partner died a few years later by taking her own life. Her son said she never recovered.

I was reading more about the case today and someone online quoted an article from the Boston Globe which said it was concerned that none of the four friends Dr. Ford named could remember the party. And that's a very respectable left-wing Democrat paper.

The consequences of mistakenly or falsely accusing someone can be about as serious as it gets. That's why I won't blindly believe anybody purely on the basis of how convincing they seem without a thorough investigation. It's all very well if she's correct, but can you imagine if she's mistaken, what it's like to be wrongly accused? Horrific damage has occurred in these kinds of cases to great human cost.

What is your solution to this problem? Rape victims will be traumatized by the crime. Do we not validate them when they identify their assailant? You do realize that most of the time, the people they identify are correct... like close to 99% of the time.