The national debate sparked by last week’s testimony of Christine Blasey Ford against Brett Kavanaugh reflects the fact that sexual assault and abuse are examples of the larger issue of male hegemony that has existed in our country – and the world – for too long.
Let’s not forget that women only gained the right to vote in 1920, having been denied that fundamental right by men for 132 years.
Yet, little changed in America for women in real terms until Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972. That set off the kind of debate we are seeing now. By the way, the Amendment is still fighting for its life, needing only one more state to reach the 38 state threshold for ratification.
The #MeToo movement is a direct descendent of the equal rights amendment fight.
But the key point here is that the charges against Kavanaugh cannot escape this historical context, try as he did last Thursday to make it all about politics.
Of course, it is about politics because he was appointed by a political leader, is seeking confirmation by other political leaders, and being opposed by still others.
But it is about much more than politics. It’s about the way he and most men were raised to view women.
His mother may have been a competent professional who stood out because she achieved success in a male dominated profession (law), but Kavanaugh’s high school and college behavior showed that he was more influenced by the way the dominant culture views and treats women than he was by his mother’s personal achievements.
The “boys will be boys” mantra we have heard as a justification for anything he might have done is a perfect example of why we know sexism, and in some instances outright misogyny, remain embedded in male attitudes and actions toward women.
Moreover, the Lindsey Graham tirades during the hearings proved that many men still do not understand the cultural shift the #MeToo movement represents.
Graham wasn’t just protesting how he believed Kavanaugh was being treated. He was lamenting the loss of power he feels as a man because of the sins of our past.
I believe most women simply want equal rights and equal treatment under the law, but if some are angry at men, let’s not forget that we men have earned it.
Social unrest doesn’t erup out of a vacuum. It is always rooted in injustice, in this instance, injustice women have endured.
That is what Kavanaugh is caught up in at this moment. He wants to blame some orchestrated left wing conspiracy for his troubles, but if he is a victim as he wants to believe, it is of his own making simply because he has enjoyed and taken advantage of the privilege being male and being white have afforded him.
The irony for me is that I actually believe Kavanaugh genuinely cannot remember what he did to Dr. Ford because drunk boys often don’t remember the stupid and sometimes violent things they did.
Every grown man today knows exactly why Kavanaugh cannot remember what he did in high school, and also why Dr. Ford paid the price for being a girl in a man’s world back then.
I saw the behavior of drunk guys in high school. I got into a fight with one of them at a party because of a sexual slur he made about the girl I was with whom he had once dated. He laughed, too, when he made his nasty comment, until we went outside.
By the way, I don’t remember lot of the details of that night. I don’t remember the name of the girl whose house we were in, or the friends of the guy I fought, or anyone else who was there. I only remember the girl I was with, a friend of mine and his date, and the guy I fought. But not remembering much about that night doesn’t change the fact that the fight actually happened.
If men today are angry because they don’t feel safe because of the #MeToo movement, it is because there is no other way for our society to redeem the way men have treated women, sadly sometimes with the support of other women.
So this controversy is not going away regardless of what happens with the Kavanaugh nomination because it is a moment in a much larger social revolution now taking place.
I believe our society has always become better when we have had to undergo this kind of upheaval.
That will be the case again because of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony that captured the nation’s attention last week.
We are witnessing history in the making, always a messy, turbulent process when people have to confront ugly truths about themselves.
In this instance, we saw the agony on the face of a real person and heard the anguish in her words as she told her story of what happened to her because of the attitude toward girls boys in her generation learned from men.
That not only has to change, it is changing. It comes too late for Dr. Ford, and even for Brett Kavanaugh, but it is not too late for her children and his.
That change will help all of us be and do better.
linnposts.com 
Jan,
This post is superb in every way: informed, insightful, personal, and aware of historical significance. It could not be said any better!
Bill Blackwell
Thank you for responding, Bill. I sent this out in fear and trembling, for any number of reasons. You comment has settled my concerns. You are indeed the best of friends.
In Robert Bolt’s play “A Man for all seasons”, the hero Sir Thomas More, at his trial for refusal to acknowledge Henry VIII as Supreme Head of the Church in England states that: “…The World may construe according to its wits; this court must construe according to the Law”. In letting his rage boil over at alleded ‘left-wing conspiracies’, would-be Judge Kavanaugh seems to think that his political inclinations are the law, without respect to established doctrines and precedents. Dr Ford’s testimony and Brett Kavanaugh’s response to it have shown to us all that Kavanaugh is clearly not suited for the office of Judge in the United States Supreme Court.
Could not agree with you more, Nigel. All we need is two Republicans and all Democrats in the Senate to agree. We will soon find out if they have any real moral character.
Well said Jan. With the growing opposition to Kavanaugh, it seems hard to imagine that he would actually get the votes, but McConnell has a lot of power to punish people, so we shall see. In any case, from this male’s perspective, there seems to be progress in this country in recognizing the overwhelming abuse that women suffer.
Wilbur, I think Kavanaugh will be confirmed, but I don’t think that will diminish the impact Dr. Ford’s testimony is having.
Jan, Elizabeth Loftus has done an incredible about of research into the area of “false memory”. Once a memory is implanted, it is as real as real can be, but I will never convince you that false memory is a possibility in this case, but from this psychologist’s perspective, it has to be considered. But, another point in your essay – most people who know you are not aware that you were involved in physical violence in high school – had that been known for any of your selections as either a seminary student, pastor, or chaplain, could/should that have been a dis-qualifying factor? Not a totally parallel analogy, but relevant, nevertheless. BTW, don’t you find it interesting that hillary does not think that bill should have resigned and verbalized that his rel. with Monica was not harassment since she was an adult – totally ignoring the power imbalance. That totally flies in the face of the me2 movement. I reckon I find it very interesting that your total focus is on bashing DT while never criticizing any of the dem violence vs. republicans nor any of their questionable tactics like Feinstein delaying the info on BK for what was it, 6 weeks, or dems infringing on the rights of people like Sarah Sanders while she is eating in a restaurant. Might be nice to also mention that un-employment is at a 50 year low and the number for blacks is at a historical low. JMHO. Lastly, I do note that most comments on your page are totally and unequivocally positive, so I am in hopes that this one will be seen as a contrarian point of view and not deleted.
Steve, false memory was not only considered, but played prominently in the hearings. The real test was who was more credible and most Americans believe she did. So do I. A more plausible explanation is “drunk induced memory loss. I believe Kavanaugh believes he didn’t attempt to rape her, and that he did because he was too drink to remember it. The false equivalency between my fight and his attempted rape is too absurd to be relevant. Come on, Steve. You can reason better than that. As for everything else you say, none of that has anything to do with the subject I addressed, but is typical of Trump supporters, but I will respond to the Feinstein delay. I think that was a mistake, but it was a judgment call she made to honor Dr. Ford’s request to remain anonymous. That judgment call had nothing to do with the merits of the charge. As for not publishing negative comments. That is false. Go back through my blog comments and you will find plenty of negative posts. I have two rules. You get your say so once, maybe twice, but after that I will not let someone else use my blog for their own. Second, I don’t publish comments that have suspicious sources. One email address (pulczinski1985@gmail.com) keeps showing up with different names. I responded that I would not publish any more comments until they explain why that is the case. That was months ago and thus far no reply. So this charge you make is like many others. A general claim with no evidence or facts to back it (or them) up. I am quite willing to respond to specific examples when the claim is supported and related to the topic. Otherwise, I won’t.