I was instantly hooked when watching the Brett Kavanaugh proceedings.
Kavanaugh is Trump's supreme court nominee and was accused of sexual assault by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and two other women. The proceedings to decide whether to have an FBI investigation and where to go with Kavanaugh were streamed live.
I was in class watching it with my headphones in and didn't care if the professor saw me. I was hooked because I was stunned and not surprised all at the same time.
Many of the Republican senators looked at Kavanaugh and apologized to HIM for what he's been going through since Dr. Ford stepped forward not to HER. Dr. Ford is the one who has endured thirty-six years of memories and trauma from that night. Her testimony was beautifully said, but more importantly, there are vulnerable details in it that no one can think is false.
Dr. Ford is brave and is a hero to all women. She was willing to come forward because it was her "civic duty" not because she wants something out of this. She is the one who has dealt with the trauma, bodyguards, and uprooting of her family since her story has become public.
Watching the proceedings made me realize how much America doesn't value their women. Women still aren't believed and they should be. Old white men aren't the future anymore and they need to stop acting like it. Kavanaugh hiring eighty-four women over his career doesn't mean he is for women.
Watching the proceedings made me realize that people in America who decide my fate don't understand women or have regard for them. This is not the America that I would want my future son or daughter to live in. One where men can do anything they want and be excused and one where women asked for it and aren't believed.
Watching the proceedings made me realize that women are crying out for change. The hashtags, the sharing of stories, everything. Women are done being treated like this. It's time for that change. A supreme court justice shouldn't even have allegations like this, if he does then he should be out. It says a lot about our country when he is still being favored by many regardless. A lot can be said about Kavanaugh when all he can talk about is his credentials and not the content of his character.
Finally, watching the proceedings and reading people's #whyididn'treport stories made me realize that the one in three women statistic is more accurate than ever and that's not right. Sexual assault has for women isn't the "I hope it doesn't happen to me" event anymore, it's the "when will it happen to me." That is all sorts of wrong.
I believe her. I am with her.
Sheetal Tadiparty
Flickr Creative Commons
