Brett Kavanaugh is President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee who has recently been accused of sexual assault by three women.
I feel that it’s wrong to make any assumptions about Kavanaugh’s guilt given that I live in a country built upon concepts like “innocent until proven guilty” and the right to a trial; however, I think the way this situation is being handled is appalling.
The various reactions to Kavanaugh’s rape allegations are very revealing of America’s current idealogical fissures. Many right leaning social media personalities immediately threw their support behind Kavanaugh, which is especially concerning because it means they do not care if he in fact a rapist or not; this has to do with the patriarchal power structure prevalent in American politics and American life in general. Here at Rutgers, much of my academic life is ruled by the power structure and politics of the group of people in charge. The way the board of governors is oriented plays a direct role in the way policy is effected. For example, if all fifteen non-faculty and non-student governors were men, it is logical to conclude that decisions about policies surrounding women’s health would be misguided at best. Rutgers might not best be able to implement change to address things like sexual assault, which mostly affects women. Thus, if these male governors maintained heir power structure, they could really block the female perspective from reaching certain issues. In this same way, people in politics seek to implement and maintain certain power structures; in this case, the power structure is a right-leaning Supreme Court. They stop at nothing to get what they want– even if it means standing behind an alleged rapist.
Another group of people go as far as excusing and normalizing Kavanaugh’s alleged behavior.
Sexual assault is the second most common violent crime committed on college campuses, according to the Rutgers Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance. Can you imagine if instead of trying to solve this problem at the root– holding the actual rapists accountable for their actions– we excused the behavior as something that all people do? In what world is it normal to harass others?
Beyond the very serious topic of holding rapists accountable for their actions, I also want to talk about the way Kavanaugh acted in court. Keep in mind that this is a man who is essentially interviewing for a job.
“I like beer! I like beer! Do you like beer, Senator? What do you like to drink? Senator, what do you like?”
My freshman year, I had to have a meeting with the Office of Student Conduct because I violated Rutgers’ policy on alcohol. The situation was obviously low-stakes compared to a Supreme Court nominee’s national trial. Yet, if I were to repeatedly ask the person conducting my meeting what kind of beer HE liked to drink and how drunk HE liked to get at parties, I guarantee I would face some serious repercussions. Kavanaugh behaved like a child, and whether he is found guilty or not, I strongly oppose the nomination of someone who lacks this much composure to the highest court of the land.
This one’s for you, Merrick Garland!
Worst in Politics 
When you talked about how is all men would make decisions surrounding women health, I thought it really relates to the issue of planned parenthood and abortion. I think a bunch of men are trying to decide what women can do with their bodies. As far as Kavanaugh goes, I totally agree with you about the whole ideology of being raised in a certain mindset, where it is believed to be innocent until proven guilty. But the way he acted during this interview was just very unprofessional and seemed as if he didn’t really care too much about it. I also really liked that you gave a personal touch by sharing one of your experiences!
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The world we live in….. I also strongly oppose the nomination of Kavanaugh. Thank YOU for this post. #KavaNOPE
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hahaha love the hashtag
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You chose an extremely topical and salient news item to write about this week, and that is commendable. You articulated the background facts and made some precise and interesting points. I do feel, though, that you had a hard time wrapping it all up and figuring out how to conclude the piece. It feels as though it ends a bit, and your “shout out” actually is where this post could have gone for an ending: you could have juxtaposed it with the treatment (or non treatment) of Garland, given your particular point of view. Remember that a strong finish is fundamental for an overall strong piece.
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I think that your analogy with the board of governor’s is very relevant, but I missed the point, and only understood it after you had kept on writing. The way I read this post was that it was a little spotty, although it is a great topic and you have the right political views. I would have liked to seen names, a more direct approach to political talk, i.e. mention the three woman (I have only seen Ford), name some of the Rutger’s board members, make it polemical.
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I think given this was a post related to one of the most controversial issues taking place right now, you did a good job with giving your unbiased opinion. I think that you not sharing what side you believe was a perfect way to have many people continue to read the post. If you were to give your opinion on whether you think he is innocent or guilty, those who don’t side with you could have skipped by your blog without a second guess. By providing more of your general thoughts on the topic of rape and how one is presenting themselves in regards to those accusations, you provided a platform to let others gain information and hopefully, become more interested in the outcome of the case.
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Reading this post was very interesting. I have been following the Kavanaugh story for awhile. In my opinion, I don’t really know who to believe. Both sides seem shady to me, mostly because of situations related to the hearing. Kavanaugh was very shady during the hearing at times but I also found how the apparent victim wanted the hearing arranged to be very suspicious. I enjoyed reading your thoughts about this situation though. Can’t wait for your next post.
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America has three branches of the government, and ideally their powers are distributed equally, but in my perspective, the branch of the judiciary has the greatest power as it able to interpret the constitution, deny the executive order from the president , and the judges can take the position for a relative long time. The nominee of the supreme judge should be considered seriously since the potential power of the position is huge. Perhaps, Americans need somebody better.
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I really like reading your blog each week, I’m not the most politically informed although I do have a general idea of what goes on in the News each week. I really like the way you try and write to deliver facts with your own blunt opinion I would be the same way especially talking about a topic like this. I feel like never in my life have I heard so much in the media and the news about sexual assault until the recent years. I don’t understand how Kavanaugh is even able to be a supreme court nominee with allegations like this hanging over his head? Like if any average joe were to apply to a job and he was also being accused of sexual assault at the same time, I would think he wouldn’t even be considered it just blows my mind it kind of makes you feel a little unsafe as a woman. But I love reading this every week it makes me feel a little more politically informed and you did such a good job with a topic like this this week!:)
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