Thread by @everywhereist

Alright, Steven, and anyone else who's listening, I'm going to tell you some of the reasons why women don't come forward sooner.

Let's consider when Kavanaugh allegedly attacked Ford: the 1980s.

I was in high school in the 90s. And believe me, date rape was not a thing then.

https://twitter.com/StevieMills87/status/1042381139061686272

Let me be clear: it existed then, but it wasn't called rape. Rape was like, a stranger breaking into your room or attacking you in an alley.

Date rape, or assault, or anything like that by someone you knew? That just meant that you messed up.

You weren't the right kind of girl - the kind of girl that guys respected, and that was your fault. You hadn't cultivated the right kind of reputation.

Or you didn't so no clearly enough. You didn't fight back hard enough. You gave in.

You were such a little weakling.

You probably think I'm exaggerating or kidding. I'm not. This was the fucking 90s and this was how it was. 20 years ago.

Imagine 15 years before that what things must have been like.

For a lot of women, they see what happened to them as something awful that was THEIR fault. It's hard to retrain your brain to see it otherwise. Even decades later, when the general population has started to regard things like what happened to you as assault, you don't see it.

It's still YOUR fault. Emotionally, you still carry the pain and guilt and shame, even if logically, you know that's wrong.

And you know if you do say something, the consequences will be severe.

For you.

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has been accused of lying, of being drunk and misremembering, of being a spurned and angry women (that one is thanks to Megyn Kelly salon.com/2018/09/17/meg…), plus, you know, it was decades ago.

The thing is, we remember trauma very clearly. That's part of why it's, you know, traumatic. Because it's so clear. It's like reliving it.

Blasey Ford mentioned all of this to her husband in 2012. I didn't know who the eff Kavanaugh was in 2012, and you didn't either.

She mentioned it because she saw him rising to the federal bench.

That scared her. Imagine: you think that you're never going to see your attacker again. But to know that this person - who had zero regard for you or your well-being - is now holding a huge amount of power ...

It's not about revenge. It's about letting people know that someone who has no regard or respect for power is about to get more of it.

So you put aside all the shame for a second because you feel like you have an obligation to let people know what happened.

And yeah, this usually happens decades later. Because that's how ascent to power goes.

You might not report a rape, but if your friend was about to go out with your rapist, you'd stop her and tell her what happened.

It's that same principle. But on a very big scale.

And when you finally do say something, you are scrutinized and attacked. All those things you told yourself - how it's your fault, how you were worthless, how you didn't fight back, are now coming at you 1000 fold.

She's received death threats. She's been called a liar.

Kavanaugh? He'll be fine. Look, he has so many defenders (like Steven, here).

But women who speak out are punished, and we know that.

So we often stay silent. We'd rather listen to the call coming from inside our own heads. It's just as bad. But it's quieter.

So yeah. That's why women don't come forward sooner.

You dipshit.

/thread