White women: how can we see our sons in Brett Kavanaugh and not our daughters in Dr. Christine Blasey Ford?
I am a white woman.
I have both a son and a daughter.
I am CERTAIN my son will never be falsely accused of assaulting a girl, because I have raised him to respect and honor women.
I am TERRIFIED that my daughter will be assaulted, as I was.
In 2001 there were 2,200 rapes reported on American college campuses. In 2014, there were 6,700 rapes reported on campuses. That’s an increase of 205%.
We don’t know if the increase is because more survivors are reporting, or if the actual rate of sexual assault is increasing.
But it is clear to me that having a President who brags about grabbing women by the pussy nominate a Supreme Court Justice who has multiple credible accusers of sexual assault and said Justice getting confirmed by the Senate sends a TERRIBLE message that will result in more sexual assault.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation signaled to would be assailants “go for it- there will be no consequence” and to survivors “just lay there and take it. Don’t bother coming forward, you will be revictimized and the person who harmed you will not be held accountable.”
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s life is ruined. She can’t live in her home, she can’t work because of death threats.
She knew this would happen, but came forward anyway, not because she is a tool of the Democrats, but because she is a patriot and wanted to protect America from having another sexual predator on the Supreme Court.
SHE IS THE VICTIM. SHE IS SYMPATHETIC. SHE TOLD THE TRUTH.
Kavanaugh is rewarded by having the ultimate prestige of serving on the Supreme Court.
HE IS NOT THE VICTIM. HE IS NOT SYMPATHETIC. HE LIED REPEATEDLY UNDER OATH.
Kavanaugh was not railroaded, the American people were railroaded by the Senate Republicans who wanted Kavanaugh confirmed so that the religious right will vote in the midterm elections.
And now, according to the Washington Post,
“….many red-state white women came to see Kavanaugh as a sympathetic figure who is being “railroaded.” The strategist tells me these women associated this battle with their own husbands, sons and grandsons, asking themselves: “Why should 35-year-old accusations that are uncorroborated derail his entire career?”
Please white women.
How many of us have been sexually assaulted? How can we possibly identify with Kavanaugh?
If we are worried about our sons, let’s change the way we raise our sons.
Don’t our daughters deserve our worry, too?
We are not making this up, white women. This is the TRUTH.
I was sexually assaulted at 16. It never even occurred to me to press charges. But you can be DAMN sure if he were nominated to serve on the Supreme Court I would speak out.
That assault has affected me MY ENTIRE LIFE.
It robbed me of my voice at other times I have been harmed. But I finally found my voice again.
And you can be DAMN sure that if my daughter is sexually assaulted I will find the person who does it and take justice into my own hands.
Please white women. Let’s hold the Senators who voted YES accountable by voting them out, and support the Senators who NO by keeping them in.
As women, as mothers, our vote is the strongest voice we have for the society we want for ourselves and our children.
Let’s use it wisely.
Karen Fleshman, Esq. is an attorney, activist, and a nationally recognized expert on racism, feminism, workplace fair practices, police brutality, and politics.
Working in nonprofits and local government, Karen came to understand that racism is the underlying problem in our society.
In 2014, Karen founded Racy Conversations, a training company, to inspire the first antiracist generation.
She gives talks and facilitates workshops at companies throughout the United States on unconscious bias, micro aggressions, sexual harassment, and raising antiracist children. Her clients include the Sierra Club, the Wikimedia Foundation, Yahoo, Sony, Xero, Salesforce, Upwork, and KARGO. She blogs for Huffington Post, Moguldom, and Blavity, and is a Medium Top Voice on Racism, Feminism, and Politics.
Karen dedicates much of her time to police accountability activism and serves on the workgroup overseeing implementation of the United States Department of Justice recommendations on ending bias at the San Francisco Police Department. She was arrested four times at the US Senate protesting the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
Karen is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, the University of Texas at Austin, and New York Law School, and is admitted to practice law in New York.
