Men Will Be Boys. And That's the Problem.

And boys, you know, can be clueless about some things, like sexual harassment and thinking that they can do anything to a girl or woman if they feel like doing it. They also sometimes have trouble understanding just how offensive they are by dismissing a woman's claim that she's been the victim of any kind of unwanted action.

So here we are again.

Of course, how you see the Kavanagh-Blasey Ford issue depends on what side of the political spectrum you inhabit, and I tend to agree with these sentiments about how careful we all need to be in the absence of a thorough investigation.

And that's the point. We need the legal authorities to conduct a thorough investigation before we rush to judgement, even though that train left on the hour, and now it's proverbially ten past. Forcing Dr. Blasey Ford to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee will only create a he said-she said moment that does not serve the interests of justice.

Which leads directly to the next point;  that the Republicans on the committee, and in the Senate, have very little interest in the actual, factual, verifiable story. Senator Charles Grassley has already telegraphed (what a quaint saying, no?) his intentions by saying that Dr. Blasey Ford must appear this week, or the committee will go forward with their vote to send Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the whole Senate. Thursday seems to be good for everybody, but that still doesn't allow for an investigation.

In truth, Grassley's argument is not one of facts, but one of time. We don't have time to weigh your arguments, little lady, because if this gets drawn out past the elections and we lose the Senate, then we might never be able to strike down legal protections and precedents regarding your womb, your medicine cabinet, your pantry, your LGBTQ children/relatives/acquaintances, your water, your air, your employer's right to pay you less, your right to overcome corporate-based arbitration if you get hurt by one of our products, your privacy, your medical care, your education, and your vote.

To rush the process would undermine the justice system and everything Judge Kavanaugh has said during his hearings about weighing evidence and rendering a fair, just verdict. At least that's what I think he meant behind all of the obfuscation and non-answering. There's still plenty of time to conduct an investigation, get the facts, listen to the two individuals involved, and come to some kind of conclusion before November's election.

Or maybe Senator Grassley wants to rush so that the president and other GOP guys can't continue to say foolish things about why Dr. Blasey Ford didn't rush to the police at age 15 or come forward earlier. All you have to do is witness the abuse she's endured in the past week to answer those charges. And if you think it's just women who fall silent in the face of abuse, then think again. Certainly, more women are sexually abused, but the stigma attached to it affects all people.

Justice delayed is justice denied. But so it justice rushed.

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