Thread by @DrDannielle

1) Starting a thread to review #BrettKavanaugh with respect to his conduct towards women. Since that is what is under attack.

Let’s go there.

(Full disclosure: I am biased in favor of his confirmation, not because of his record per se but because I want military tribunals now.)

2) I guess you could consider this citizen activism or volunteer PR.

Call it what you want, you aren’t going to convince logical people of anything unless you look at both sides.

3) So we are going to look at everything it is possible to find using publicly available data. Within the span of an hour or so.

4) It is possible we will not like what we see.

5) Logically, a good place to begin (since he’s mainly under attack for allegedly trying to rape a sophomore in high school, then lying about it) is the attempted rape allegation.

6) As far as we know, there is only one such claim. Basic story: It was summer 1982. Christine Blaseley was going into 10th grade at the elite girls’ school Holton Arms. Brett Kavanaugh was going into 12th at Georgetown Prep.

7) Other threads have examined the social context (heavy partying at people’s houses, peer pressure to drink and have sex, culture of rape and silence) so we won’t go there as a way of explaining anything about this.

8) We aren’t going to blame Democratic (or Communist) operatives right now.

9) We aren’t going to consider whether someone implanted the memory, in whole or in part, in Dr. Ford’s brain.

10) We are eliminating from the discussion any obsession of vengeful campaign on the part of Hillary Clinton.

11) We will also not consider the problematic nature of forcing someone to defend himself against an accusation that never actually went to the police.

12) Finally, we are not going to consider whether #BrettKavanaugh might have been there, gotten drunk, and now cannot recall his actions.

This is because he has issued an emphatic denial. More than once.

13) Briefly, Dr. Ford says Kavanaugh:
1. pushed her into a bedroom as she was headed to a bathroom upstairs.
2. pinned her to a bed
3. ground his clothed body against hers and groped her
4. turned the music up so nobody would hear her scream
5. tried to pull her clothes off

14) To my best knowledge, as a result of this incident, Dr. Ford says she:
1. Has a fear of airplanes & perceived “enclosed” spaces generally
2. Moved to CA to get away
3. Felt fear as Kavanaugh succeeded professionally

15) Ok. Well I feel pretty damn upset reading that.

Taking a deep breath.

16) OK I’m back.

17) Let’s just think logically.

18) Let’s use their first names to make this easier.

19) I am going to base the following set of questions and answers on my own personal experience, observation and common sense.

20) Let’s talk about gossip.

21) I went to a small, religious girls’ school for high school. A yeshiva, which is like Catholic school, except Jewish.

22) We had a boys’ school about 2 miles away.

23) The principal of our school was just like Mrs. Garrett and the students were a lot like that TV show “The Facts of Life.”

EVERYBODY KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYONE.

24) We were a very awkward crew. And then in 9th grade, an absolutely stunning girl joined us.

25) By then we were already separated into class levels based not only on our academic merit, but also on how observant our families were. (Personally I think it was mostly the latter.)

Everyone knew EVERYTHING, inside school and out.

26) Anyway, this stunning girl was so stunning - remember “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?”

Yeah. She looked like Ferris’ girlfriend. Mia Sara.

27) In those days we did not have a thing called “diversity” or “inclusion” or “tolerance” or “safe spaces” against “microaggression.”

If you were a problem, you were out.

28) Well this girl — who was so stunning, and genuinely nice, that everyone wanted to be friends with her — will forever be engraved in my mind, for three reasons.

29) Number one, she threw a massive sleepover party, and I walked right into her plate glass terrace door, it was so clean.

30) Number two, my friend got drunk, and I sat there in front of the toilet with my friend while she barfed her head off.

31) (My other friend. The stunning girl was just an acquaintance.)

32) Number three, rumor had it that they kicked her out of school, not because of anything she did per se. But because the boys at the boys’ school saw her every day on the bus, and pretty much went insane.

33) So high school gossip is a compendium if he-said, she-said; exaggerations; hypotheses; embellishments; and stuff you say because it makes you sound good to say it.

“Well *I* heard that...”

34) If I had to guess (based on the leaked yearbook) Holton Arms (where Christine aka “Chrissy” went) sounds a lot like the movie “Private School” (1983).

You have a bunch of girls sitting around talking about (figure it out) all day.

imdb.com/title/tt008614…

35) It’s noteworthy that with all that has come out after Dr. Ford came forward, not a SINGLE person has said—even anonymously—“Brett was there.”

36) I can tell you that in my high school, we knew exactly who was going out with who. We discussed everything constantly. Including all parties, events, happenings, sights, and outings.

37) Remember the movie “Grease” (1978) when “Rizzo” (who seems about 35 years old and is playing a high school senior) thinks she may be pregnant, and tells her friend not to tell?

What does that friend automatically do?

38) Remember Christine’s story: She locked herself in a bathroom, waited till the guys had left and gone downstairs and were talking to other people, and ran out the front door.

39) Assuming there were 2 other guys at the house, and they stayed there, her absence was remarked upon by the group.

40) “Hey, where’s Chrissy?”

“I dunno. Chicks.”

“Didja get lucky?”

“Well whaddyu think?”

Like I hate to be gross, but the therapist had written down that there were 4 guys with her.

Then it became 2, and others in the house (2-3).

Nobody mentioned any girls.

41) So according to Ford’s own version — this would mean that Brett and Mark and Chrissy were there, plus at least 2 other guys, in a house, getting so drunk she called it “stumbling drunk.”

Okay...

42) In the vernacular of high school, what is an exiting 9th-entering 10th grade girl doing going out to a pool party at someone’s house, with 4 guys there and no girls? And they at least are getting totally wasted?

43) I would imagine that a party like that would generate gossip, even in the summertime, eg — “Did you hear that Chrissy went to X’s house with three other guys last night???”

44) This is the kind of story that would spread like wildfire through the halls of HA and Georgetown Prep, if only for a few weeks till the next party.

Everyone would know the names of who had attended.

45) But magically, and especially with so much at stake and with DC being a Democrat-dominated town—nobody is willing to say that Brett Kavanaugh was present at this party?

Remember: Nobody got raped. That isn’t even part of this conversation.

46) What I can imagine is that those who were present at the event know the others who were there.

47) Ford insists it was Kavanaugh. But there isn’t any gossip based evidence available to support that contention. Not even a Facebook post.

48) A separate thread discussed that Mark Judge, the other named party present, has evidenced a preoccupation with consent/rape over the years, young girls, sort of extreme sexist statements (including calling former President Obama a female).

No it isn’t proof; he denies.

49) But circumstantially people are saying “yeah, something happened” and circumstantially Judge is writing about related topics.

Mark Judge however is not up for confirmation to the Supreme Court.

50) I am getting a little tired of this, but I did promise to do a thread just on evidence surrounding Kavanaugh’s conduct toward women.

51) Is he accused of any other stuff like this?

Nyet.

52) Is he known to be a habitual liar to cover himself?

Also — haven’t seen that.

53) Is he married and does his wife look normal and not like a satanic Stepford freak?

She looks fine. In fact to me she resembles Laura Bush a bit.

54) Laura Bush

55) (I am not going to demean this thread by microscopically examining the expressions on his kids’ faces. They are off limits.)

56) I will say this. If you look at the body language. He has his hands protectively on his younger daughter’s shoulders and she is not cringing. The older one and his wife are looking at something past him, but turned toward him. They are standing very close.

57) You see this pattern over and over.

58) And again.

59) If you watched the interchange between @LindseyGrahamSC and Kavanaugh about military tribunals (I DID) you saw that Kavanaugh simply stuck to the law at every turn.

60) He didn’t say stuff like: “I agree.” He didn’t amplify. He didn’t change topics either. He simply answered the questions as they were asked — proving to be a good foil for Graham, who was clearly relishing playing his part.

61) If psychologists r right about drunk behavior correlating to sober behavior (makes sense: you lose your inhibitions - you’re more you) then it doesn’t add up to say that Brett Kavanaugh turned into a raging rapist wannabe when he had a few too many.

qz.com/996104/drinkin…

62) I have only gotten drunk once or twice in recent years. And I am usually somewhat reserved but blunt and have a loud laugh.

The alcohol made me louder and happy.

63) I can sort of picture Kavanaugh drinking like everybody else drank, glad to get rid of his responsibilities, and sort of puking on the sidewalk after a long night.

64) I can believe that Ford knew Kavanaugh, but have a feeling she drank more than she’s admitting. Someone clearly did something, but (let’s face it) Kavanaugh is sort of bland looking. The behavior of “pushing” “grinding” and “groping” just doesn’t match. It was someone else.

64) What else is Kavanaugh accused of with conduct toward women?

(If you think it’s painful to repeat over and over that he didn’t do anything...I know.)

65) How about the accusation that he only wanted clerks who looked like “models,” “looked a certain way,” etc. theguardian.com/us-news/2018/s…

66) Nobody can even say what the “way” or the “type” actually is. The woman who allegedly spoke for him...was the lady known as “tiger mom” and was due to send her OWN DAUGHTER to be his clerk.

I am willing to listen, but this just does not make any logical sense.

67) Esquire has rounded up a bunch of nasty allegations in one article. Let’s take this one at a time. esquire.com/news-politics/…

68) Apparently the “type” he liked was not only “model” but also “outgoing” 😂😂😂😂😂

Forgive me.
Oh pleeeeeaaaase.

69) Isn’t “outgoing” on a massive percentage of job descriptions...since work involves dealing with people?

If we are talking about clothing, o have never actually heard the suggestion “dress outgoing” in my entire life.

refinery29.com/how-to-be-outg…

70) I mean they’re saying “It’s not great!” So, mano a mano, what is the issue?

esquire.com/news-politics/…

71) “One thing we have learned as things have spun out of control completely is that Brett Kavanaugh, in his own prep-school, Ivy League, highly credentialed way, is one strange dude.”

“Strange dude?”

How so?

72) Reading this, It seems like the tiger mom is the strange one. Not Kavanaugh.

73) Esquire mentions Kavanaugh’s connection to Alex Kozinski. Let’s go over to The Intercept for more detail.

theintercept.com/2018/09/20/ale…

74) Basically the problem here is that Kavanaugh worked for Kozinski (who was forced to resign after the Washington Post exposed him as a sexual harasser of multiple women who clerked for him) and denies being part of it or even knowing. washingtonpost.com/world/national…

75) The problem, notes Akela Lacy, is Kavanaugh’s habitual “categorical denial” of a bad behavior that is well known by others.

theintercept.com/2018/09/20/ale…

76) Even more strongly, blanket denial “in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.”

77) But his colleague is on record exonerating him.

Manuel Miranda: “I never told him that I got this from the Democrats....I can tell you for a fact that Brett didn't know, because no one knew” (article adds: “aside from some other staffers.”)

chicagotribune.com/news/nationwor…

78) Kavanaugh denied being on his mentor’s smutty jokes list.

But is that so implausible? Kozinski targeted women, and probably perceived BK wasn’t interested.

theintercept.com/2018/09/20/ale…

79) So we’re 79 tweets in.

80) Isn’t the entire premise of the #MeToo movement the idea that harassers are very good at covering their tracks?

Why is Kavanaugh responsible if he worked for a pig?

81) Why is Kavanaugh responsible if his female colleagues were being abused and shamed?

It’s terrible, but sexual abuse is the carbon monoxide of polite society.

Nobody wants to talk about it, even the victims.

82) Literally even the hit job has no content to work with.

“But in Kavanaugh’s time, the fraternity was relatively tame, according to undergraduates who attended the University in the 1980s.”

Oh, and he joined another club that had an obscene nickname.

esquire.com/news-politics/…

83) When you think about the fact that we had a literal accused rapist occupying the White House and none of these Democrats say a peep...

My God, his wife even chimed in to attack them!

84) “Time and again, Hillary was a party to demonizing women as liars, bimbos, trailer trash or troubled souls when it seemed clear they were truthful about her philandering husband.“ nytimes.com/2017/11/18/opi…

85) How much does it cost for us to sit around and debate basically nothing?

86) Well for you and me, it’s probably just time and attention.

87) But what about the death threats that both the Kavanaughs and the Fords have had to deal with?

88) What about the distraction and diversion of our Nation’s lawmakers from doing the people’s business?

89) When the Democrats obstruct and fraudulently delay a perfectly qualified Supreme Court candidate from taking the bench, they are compromising our combat readiness.

90) Like my mother says, “I think we’ve beat this horse to death.”

91) It’s time for the obstructionists to step aside. And #ConfirmJudgeKavanaughNow.

Let Dr. Ford have her say anytime.

But there doesn’t need to be any more delay.

92) If you stick around for this whole odyssey, have a good night :-)

(And remember not to worry.
God always wins.)

@threadreaderapp unroll

Correction. A woman has denied being at the party. So Ford apparently named another female.

Importance: This changes some of the narrative above re gossip. Two girls with three guys means something altogether different than one girl alone.

https://twitter.com/kimstrassel/status/1043680606171713536?s=21

Making sure folks see this correction. Another female was apparently named and has denied being there.

https://twitter.com/kimstrassel/status/1043680606171713536?s=21

https://twitter.com/thelastrefuge2/status/1043700327114055680?s=21

https://twitter.com/cbseveningnews/status/1043685629714944001?s=21

“She didn’t always get along with her parents because of differing political views. It was a very male-dominated environment....she didn’t get the attention or respect she felt she deserved. That’s why she was in CA, to get away from the D.C. scene.” washingtonpost.com/local/christin…