In a deeply upsetting but sadly entirely predictable turn of events that perfectly illustrates why women in America don’t report their sexual abuses, the woman at the center of Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault scandal has become the target of a vengeful harassment campaign.
The New York Times is reporting that psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford, who wrote a letter to her Congresswoman alleging that Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge attempted to rape her at a party in high school, has been forced to leave her home, hire private security, and go into hiding after being barraged with death threats and vile messages from right-wing fanatics.
"The woman," as President Trump referred to Dr. Blasey today, has been forced to move out of her house, NYT reports. https://t.co/KF9FdxU8yi pic.twitter.com/ghroKFnM7a
— Nathaniel Meyersohn (@nmeyersohn) September 18, 2018
The vicious outpouring of hatred and the threats to her life are by now a universal common tactic used by Trump fans to bully and silence anyone that might cross President Trump and his agenda, be they reporters exposing the president’s lies, the dozens of women who have accused him of heinous sexual assaults and harassment, members of Congress who opposed his plutocratic agenda, or even union bosses who warn their comrades about Trump’s fake populism.
Someone has already posted Christine Blasey Ford's address, home phone, & cell phone. She has been attacked all over social media. People are saying crude, sexist, & demeaning things about her. And men still wonder why women are scared to come forward?
— Lisa Wetzelberger (@LisaWetzelberge) September 16, 2018
As conservatives vacillate between their two standard responses to sexual assault allegations — It Never Happened and Even If It Did It Doesn’t Matter— and the right-wing propaganda machine kicks into full slut-shaming smear mode, we are reminded that conservatives fundamentally believe this sort of behavior is acceptable.
But it also discredits their favorite accusation against women who come forward to accuse powerful figures of sex crimes — that the women simply want their 15 minutes of fame or are simply doing it for attention or possibly money.
I personally would never name my abuser unless he ran for office. That’s a line I’ve made for myself, and that line is the balance between “reporting would ruin my life” and “not reporting would ruin other people’s lives.” https://t.co/MPKOLHIRhU
— lady, a. (@LadyLovesTaft) September 16, 2018
What woman would voluntarily put herself through this, to paint a target on her back for the hooting and baying swine to hurl toxic smears and death threats at? Nobody would bring this upon themselves if it weren’t for the prospect of their abuser being given the power to abuse the American people on a grand scale.
Original reporting by Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Nicholas Fandos at the New York Times
Let me say one thing about this Kavanaugh bullshit: I never reported my rapist. I was young, scared, & convinced nobody would side with me. But if I saw that person running for public office, I would come forward 13+ years later & do everything in my power to stop them.
— Madeleine Roux (@Authoroux) September 16, 2018
