Thread by @asymmetricinfo

My latest column on Kavanaugh is now up: washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-par…

A couple of points to make that were brushed on, but which I didn't have the space to develop more fully.

First, on the possibility of misidentification.

When @EdWhelanEPPC posted his now-infamous tweetstorm, I saw a lot of reactions that seemed to assume it was simply lunatic to think that this could be a case of misidentification.

@EdWhelanEPPC But many of those same people had been retweeting the absolutely terrific piece my colleague @ebruenig wrote about a horrific acquaintance rape in her hometown:

washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/…

In which the victim apparently misidentified one of her attackers immediately afterwards.

Does this prove misidentification happened in the case of Kavanaugh/Ford? Obviously not. It simply establishes that it is possible to believe that a victim is telling the truth (for the record, I believe that the victim in our story is), and that she nonetheless misidentified

Even in a case where the attackers were people she went to school with.

So yes, as anyone who has been following the Innocence Project knows, women do, tragically, sometimes misidentify their rapists. That certainly doesn't mean the rape didn't happen.

Memory is not a video camera. And it can be degraded by, among other things, alcohol, trauma, and time.

This also goes, by the way, for the people claiming that Ford *must* be lying or mistaken because she doesn't remember when/where it happened. That's not true.

I pause to remind you that you really have to read Liz's piece, because it is haunting and important and terrible:

washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/…

The other point I wanted to make, but didn't really have room for is: we don't vote down Kavanaugh to avenge the savage wrongs that were done to many women in the past. No person should be punished because someone like them once did something. Collective guilt is bad justice.

What's the right standard to evaluate the charge against Kavanaugh? I confess, I'm still working through that. But I know it's neither as high that of a criminal trial, nor as low as "Lots of men like him got away with stuff like this so vote him down *pour encourager les autres"

And with that, the column is here, which, as I always remind you, is *not* summed up by this tweetstorm, but contains *entirely new material*. Please read it, and happy Sunday.

washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-par…

Actually, no, let me say one more thing about this column, which is that everyone seems to have forgotten we're talking about human beings.

We're talking about two human beings who are suffering through some of the worst moments of their lives. And *no one* can be certain that the party they disbelieve is lying; the evidence is simply not that strong on either side.

The sort of abuse I've seen some folks on this platform heaping on Ford is inexcusable in any case, but even worse when you consider that you might be saying those things *to a victim of sexual abuse* to punish her for going public.

Shame on you. Shame on you all.

On the flip side, people callously talking as if this is just NBD for Kavanaugh, so he doesn't get a Supreme Court job, NBD.

He's getting the same death threats & abuse as Ford. And for the rest of his life, no matter what happens, many will brand him an attempted rapist.

Before you're tempted to say anything about either one of them, I want you to stop and imagine that you are in their position, and telling the truth. And then think about the compassion you'd deserve.

Yes, obviously, Kavanaugh is up for a big job, and the good of the country may require that he be denied that job even if we aren't certain he did anything.

But fer goshsakes, say that with compassion. You should never be flip about anyone having a life crisis of this magnitude

Sorry. Had to get that off my chest. Have a good Sunday, everyone.