WS Chronicle

By Bill Fletcher

I did not intend to watch Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding her allegations of sexual assault on the part of Judge Brent Kavanaugh. I was busy preparing to head out of town. I figured that I would get the relevant parts of her testimony later in the day online. And, at the end of the day, I knew what she was going to allege.

For reasons that I cannot explain, something led me to turn on the television to watch the testimony. I found myself glued to the screen. Everything else seemed to get blocked out as she spoke, very convincingly and very passionately, about her experience. I fumed when she was asked questions by Republican hired gun and prosecutor Rachel Mitchell. Despite her pretend appearance as a sympathetic inquisitor, at the end of the day, as demonstrated Sunday, Sept. 30, in her memo on the case, she turned out to be anything but sympathetic.

Due to my schedule, I was unable to listen to Kavanaugh’s response. Yet what struck me was the immediate response to Dr. Ford’s testimony by so many people across the political spectrum. Several commentators immediately noted that her testimony was devastating for the Republicans. Despite that, and true to form, the Republican propaganda machine went to work at once attempting to reverse the current, suggesting that Dr. Ford’s testimony and other allegations against Kavanaugh were aimed at destroying the reputation of a good man.

But what about the good woman? What about someone who is facing death threats for coming forward? What about the person who has been ridiculed by the political Right?

The continuous suggestion that there must have been something wrong with Dr. Ford and others who have brought forward allegations against Judge Kavanaugh because they failed to raise their concerns earlier is specious. It is an allegation that can only be made by someone(s) who has not faced ridicule, harassment and self-doubt in response to their experiences with sexual harassment or assault.

And, to top this all off, [President Donald] Trump worries that the #MeToo movement and those who aligned with it, constitute a threat to powerful men.

Maybe Trump is correct. Indeed, maybe rich and powerful men who believe that they are the masters of the universe and masters over the bodies of women should be worried.

Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the former president of TransAfrica Forum. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and at www.billfletcherjr.com.