I wish I could make more folks understand the degree of similarity between the handling of this nomination and the shared experience of so many assault victims. It looks outrageous, but it’s not. It’s institutional. This is the standard in many jurisdictions across America.
I think maybe that’s part of why it’s so enraging. For so many, it’s a real time reliving of the most painful experience in their lives. It’s like watching a horror movie and screaming “not up the stairs!” at the screen.
What makes this one different is the transparency. The willingness to admit that no law enforcement effort will be made, that nothing she says will be believed, that what is just is less important than the preservation and advancement of powerful men.
And they are mocking us. With the flippant speeches, the dismissive phrases, the hey buddy tweets talking around her like she’s not even real. It feels like being disemboweled. It’s a painful, fearful rage that’s hard to describe. This can’t be allowed. Not this time. Not again.
