Thread by @kazweida

I want to address what some have critiqued about Dr. Ford's accusations.

Why doesn't she recall more specifics?

Some survivors say they don't believe her because she doesn't remember the same details they do about their own assaults.

Let's deal with this bullshit.
(THREAD)

(2) My first assault happened when I was 12 years old. I remember what pajamas I was wearing. I remember what movie we were watching. I remember what beer he was drinking. I can recall specific smells and sounds and almost every nuance of that interaction seared on my brain.

(3) I was assaulted by 2 men in my best friend's house when I was 17. I remember their names of course because I went to high school with them. But I don't remember much else. Not what movie we watched. Not what I was wearing.

I hadn't been drinking, but the details are fuzzy.

(4) I don't remember where the house was located. Probably couldn't identify it from a photo. But I recall the bathroom in detail. The pattern the porch light streaming in from the window made on the floor. The faucet dripped.

Does my lack of memory mean this didn't happen?

(5) It would make sense if I remembered LESS from the incident when I was 12 because I was much younger then. But in fact, it's the exact opposite. And I can't really say definitively why that is.

I do have a theory, though.

(6) I think because I'd experienced abuse and assault earlier in my life, my brain had already been trained to detach itself from my surroundings when threatened.

This may be why my sensory memories kick in when I locked myself in the bathroom. At that point, I was safe.

(7) I can't say what Dr. Blasey Ford's experience was like because I don't live in her head and I wasn't there.

But I can say this. Each survivor's coping mechanism during their assault is different. It's also dependent on other factors. Time, place, state of mind.

(8) Please don't invalidate someone else's memory or experience because it doesn't match your own. Your way of experiencing the world is not the only way.

Your experiences are not the sum of human existence.

Our memories are our own. And we each deserve to be believed.