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Monday, September 17, 2018

We believed her, then and now



Anita Hill was not the first woman we heard speaking openly of sexual pressure and abuse from a supervisor.  She probably was the most prominent and important woman to put her job on the line, to tell an important truth. But the supervisor to watch out for was common knowledge among all the working women of most any establishment, from the factory floor to the offices with windows.

We all recognized her words, and thought and said, “Tell it, Anita!” The disappointment at the confirmation of her misogynist “superior”, Clarence Thomas, to the Supreme Court of this country was our gut wrenching reminder that little had changed, except a brave woman had stepped forward. 

Thank you, Anita, for helping the trickle turn to a brook, a river, the loud thunder of #metoo.

The current administration has unprecedented opportunity to load the Supreme Court with lifetime appointments of men who believe only white men have rights. Brett Kavanaugh has a dodgy past and a proven present of antipathy to tolerance. We need an in depth look at his stands on abortion, guns, climate.

And from the not so distant past of Mr. Kavanaugh’s high school days, a fellow student is brave enough to tell the congressional committee considering Kavanaugh’s appointment, “this man sexually assaulted me!”

The congress should stop at this point and consider the accusation carefully and closely. I don’t know what will become of it, but it must be aired. The man’s inflammatory remarks on matters that concern women must be examined. Birth control as “abortion inducing drugs” must be examined.

I believe Anita Hill. I believe Christine Blasey. I believe their testimony should disqualify the candidate, then and now.

31 comments:

  1. it should but since I believe a majority of Republican men either have similar pasts or tacit acceptance of this type of male behavior I'm sure they will vote for him. they have certainly supported candidates with the same history. maybe things have changed.

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    1. No, he probably will be confirmed. But this will always be out there. We'll see.

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  2. Saw that on the news...apparantly the new info is not having any impact whatsoever...gee...there's a surprise.

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  3. I believe, too! Thanks, Joanne for writing this blogpost. It is time for a change and time for all people to admit that perhaps they should have made better decisions in their past. And maybe because of those past decisions and actions that they can’t be trusted in their future decisions. Kavan NO! Linda@Wetcreek Blogspot

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  4. I hear you, Joanne, and I hear Christine Blasey too. Great blog post.

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  5. Your post had me looking back at the number of Supreme Court appointees by each President. You need to go back to Eisenhower to get 5 by one administration.
    I would dislike any appointee by this can-you-believe-it President. One the reason can-you-believe-it won was his promising to change the court. He is and always will be playing to his base.

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  6. How many presidents and senators have done such?? It is scary to think about. JFK, Ted Kennedy, Clinton are three. The senators have their own numbers, silent of course. There is, apparently, a "fund" from which Senators may draw pay-offs.

    Politics. Waiting to hear what Christine Blasey and what Judge Kavanaugh have to say. Waiting for Sen. Feinstein to explain why she held back this news she has had since July.

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    1. The thing they have in common, Susan, is they are men and they believe they have the right to dominate those with less power. Into your basket of Democratic deplorables there, let's add Republican Hastert, speaker of the House and molester of a young boy. Not to mention our President Pussy Grabber.
      This is an opportunity to level the playing field. The opportunity surely will slip away; men are mighty determined and powerful.

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    2. Republican Blake Farenthold resigned for this behavior but not until after we taxpayers paid the hush money.

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  7. Dear Joanne, this president appeals to the fear in white men in our country--the fear that they are becoming the minority and will in the future no longer hold sway. And many of those white men are in Congress. They've ruled so long and believe it is their right and duty to rule because the rest of us are too dim-witted to do so. I applaud your posting. Only if we examine Blalsey claims and every woman's claims and find the truth of them can we ever home for a gender-free society. Peace.

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  8. Well said, Joanne. This administration truly makes my gut ache for us all.

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  9. Past behavior is an indication of future behavior. Now all of us have made missteps in our lives. What we need to do is learn from them. Assaulting another person is more than a misstep. However if it is proven to be true (and a lie detector is a pretty good piece of proof) Kavanaugh needs to be able to show that he has learned and not repeated. There are good men and women who would do good jobs. Why is it so hard to find them?

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  10. Joanne, I've been away from blogs for almost a month and I can't tell you how happy I am to be reading that you are out and about, and well. Yay!

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  11. Hari Om
    Politics globally are suffering from this disparity and old school habits... sigh... keep speaking up. YAM xx

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  12. Sigh. Power corrupts. Watching (and hoping) from the other side of the world. And well aware that our boys in power have brushed similar behaviour under the mat.

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  13. Evidence of abuse of power always needs to be seriously examined when the alleged abuser is applying for a position of significant power. To overlook it is to court disaster.

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  14. I believe them too. Speak your truth, sister!

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  15. I remember the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings. Anita Hill did go on to have a solid career, but Thomas got off blameless. Icky man.

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  16. I want to know what information is in those 1,000+ pages on Kavanaugh that they refuse to release. This is a lifetime position and we deserve to know as much about him as possible.

    I believe that the next shoe to drop will be Clarence Thomas retiring and a new, young man will replace him (40 more years).

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  17. I am so disgusted with our current "leaders". Nothing surprises me anymore.

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  18. Echoing Kathy's Klothesline here. Those who think they run the world (country) also think they can get away with far too much.

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  19. The only thing I find a little worrying about this is the notion of retrospective justice relating to times when morés were different and patriarchy was unquestioned. If men persist in bad behaviour toward women, then fine - punish them, but I don't think you can always treat offenders the same way as 95 year-old nazis.

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    1. But that's how they treat the people they oppress, yet. Their attitude does not change.

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  20. Good job. I thought i was reading an actual published piece. Well i am but you know what i mean.

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  21. I was surfing the AM dial yesterday and heard part of a talk radio show by a noted right winger. His rant was all about how the accusations were "ruining" the potential Supreme Court judge, and what teenager hadn't done the same thing back in the day.

    All rubbish.

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  22. It's a pity that the President usually intervenes in the appointment of these Judges since maybe he doesn't perhaps fully understand the subtelty?

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  23. My admiration for Christine Blasey Ford for speaking out against Brett Kavanaugh, where many women would be far too wary of the consequences to say anything. Too many predatory men reply on intimidating women into silence.

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  24. Bravo, bravo to you, my friend. The fact that sexual misconduct and assault happens now and before and before that and probably well into the future from the schoolhouse door to the front door of your home to the factory floor and the boardroom floor is something a whole lot of us know about . More than anyone can imagine, male or female. #metoo

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  25. It is always amazing to me that people who consider themselves religious can continue to support your government when the people in it seem like the opposite of Christ and his works.

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