It's absolutely heartbreaking & stomach-churning to read these stories of abuse from women in my TL.
I'm unfathomably lucky I was born a man & never had to spend a second of my life worrying about being alone in a room with a guy.
I have only a small story to share abt this.
I'm unfathomably lucky I was born a man & never had to spend a second of my life worrying about being alone in a room with a guy.
I have only a small story to share abt this.
The Kavanaugh-Ford story reminds me a little of something that I was apart of 18 years ago.
I had just started dating my now-ex wife. She had confided to me that she was raped at the college she used to attend in Vermont.
I had just started dating my now-ex wife. She had confided to me that she was raped at the college she used to attend in Vermont.
She was asleep in her bed when a dude opened her door, crawled on top of her, covered her mouth and raped her.
She left the college and state completely and that's how she ended up at the school I was at in New York.
She left the college and state completely and that's how she ended up at the school I was at in New York.
One day a few weeks after she told me I found her sobbing hysterically staring at her laptop.
I asked her what was wrong and she told me it was her rapist.
He was running for mayor. Of the same city she was raped in - Burlington.
I asked her what was wrong and she told me it was her rapist.
He was running for mayor. Of the same city she was raped in - Burlington.
I was working as a newspaper reporter at the time and I asked my ex if she wanted me to do something. She didn't know what I could do, so I suggested I call the local paper up in Burlington and say I was working on a story about him and allegations against him.
She was okay with me doing that, so I did. And then they started looking into it. Once they started looking into it they found other victims of his and after confronting him about the accusations, he dropped out of the race.
I know it's not much, but that just reminded me of how men can be so shameless they can commit rape and run for public office, thinking either there's no way anyone will be brave enough to confront them, or that if they do nobody will believe them.
In this case it was fortunate the local paper in Vermont somehow got access to his disciplinary record at this college. My wife wasn't the first or only person he hurt.
I don't know what happened to him after that. I don't even remember his name.
He could be in elected office somewhere right now, either in a different part of the state or another state altogether.
How many more like him are there?
He could be in elected office somewhere right now, either in a different part of the state or another state altogether.
How many more like him are there?
Too many. And the burden shouldn't be put on victims to come forward and expose themselves to questioning and harassment and retaliation to keep these people away from power.
But it does. And it sucks.
But it does. And it sucks.
