"A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true."

"A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true." -Martin Luther King, Jr. 

I'm so sick of old white men making decisions for our country.

This week my heart has been so heavy. I've had renewed anxiety and dread after Christine Blasey Ford courageously spoke up about the assault she survived at the hands of SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavenaugh.

So I turn to writing it out to try to process it.

It's a pivotal point for our country. Have we grown at all in the 27 years since the Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas episode? Does the #MeToo movement have the teeth to force old white men to wake up to the reality of countless women's experiences? And believe them? And mete out consequences to the perpetrator?

They can't confirm Judge Kavanaugh. Period.

Boys will be boys. Boys will not be rapists.

Some of the more outlandish statements:

A female Republican panelist discussing the issue: "But we’re talking about a 17-year-old boy in high school with testosterone running high. Tell me, what boy hasn’t done this in high school?”  No doubt that woman was assaulted and has told herself lies for the last half-century.

GOP Congressman (N.D.) and Senate nominee Kevin Cramer: "If to the degree there was any legitimacy to Anita Hill's claims, and she tried and didn't prevail -- Clarence Thomas did and America did -- this case is even more absurd because these people were teenagers when this supposed alleged incident took place," Cramer said on the Jarrod Thomas Show on 1310 KNOX, a local North Dakota radio station. "Teenagers. Not a boss-supervisor-subordinate situation, as the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill situation was claimed to be. These are teenagers who evidently were drunk, according to her own statement. They were drunk. Nothing evidently happened in it all, even by her own accusation. Again, it was supposedly an attempt or something that never went anywhere."  From CNN. Let's hope this guy isn't raising children.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R- S.C.):  "Did y’all hear this latest late-breaking news from the Kavanaugh hearings? Ruth Bader Ginsburg came out that she was groped by Abraham Lincoln." From the Post and Courier. Sickening.

New York Republican politician, former judge, former district attorney, and current Faux News TV personality Jeanine Pirro:

JEANINE PIRRO: This is worrisome, it means that people will make up stories. 

SEAN HANNITY (HOST): My understanding is, didn't they say that this came out for the first time in couples therapy in 2012?

PIRRO: Yeah and what was that about, and when was the first time Kavanaugh's name came up? And what about, is this hypnosis? Is this confabulation? This is all stuff that is contrary to what the law calls for. 

Yeah, hypnosis to plant a SCOTUS nominee's name into her brain to sit for several years, just waiting for the day....

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview:  “What do you expect me to do? What am I supposed to do? Go ahead and ruin this guy’s life? I don’t know when it happened, I don’t where it happened, and everybody being named in regard to being there said it didn’t happen, Unless there’s something more, no, I’m not going to ruin Judge Kavanaugh’s life over this,"   Excuse me, sir? There is a witness, known as THE VICTIM, who can tell you when and where it happened.

Lawyer and conservative think-tank leader Ed Whelan, in a (since-deleted) tweet, put forth a conspiracy theory. His angle: the assault happened, but it was a case of mistaken identiy. He has since taken a leave of absence from his firm and apologized for the tweet. You gotta feel for Kavenaugh's classmate who he fingered.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) (who, by the way, has retweeted a Neo-Nazi tweet) at a Faith and Freedom dinner, said that no man will ever qualify for the supreme court if this is the "new standard," according to the Des Moines Register. He said:

“I’m thinking, is there any man in this room that wouldn’t be subjected to such an allegation? A false allegation? How can you disprove something like that? Which means, if that’s the new standard, no man will ever qualify for the Supreme Court again.”

And the worst, from our Supreme(ly ill) Leader. SCROTUS wrote in a tweet: "I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place."

And as usual, The Onion gets it right. He was simply attempting to rape while white.

The repercussions of these statements and attitudes, I think, is what scares me the most. What is this teaching our sons and daughters?  Why are women still second-class citizens? If that?  For eons, women have been afraid to come forward. Out of fear of retaliation, fear of being disbelieved, fear of being judged, shame, or just plain not knowing it was a crime, or who to contact, or not wanting to believe that it happened.

And the overwhelming reason. The criminal justice system fails.

Statistics from RAINN

The bright side, if there is one, is that women are coming forth with their stories, bringing these atrocities to the light. The tag #WhyIDidn'tReport has sprung up on Twitter with countless women sharing their stories and their reasons for not reporting.

As a dear friend reminded me over and over, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant." Listen to our sisters with love and compassion.

How to help?

Thanks, Syz, for the photo

Call your Members of Congress. Demand a fair hearing. Demand they vote against confirmation.

Register to vote now and VOTE in November.

And after that, run for office.

Talk about sexual assault. Share your stories.

Here is a suggestion from my Sister Resister Anne:

I don't know if it would help, but it might in enough cases to make it worth while- if you are a person who was assaulted, write down everything you remember and mail it to yourself. When it comes in the mail, tuck it away so that there is a paper trail. If the person who damaged you has continued to victimized people, and is caught, you can be a witness if you desire. A college friend of mine was raped but said nothing. I stand ready to speak his name anytime.

Believe others' stories and support survivors in their recovery. Speak about it.

Teach your sons and daughters.

Volunteer or donate to RAINN, a resource for survivors of sexual assault.

Change the things you cannot accept. 

Breaking: New allegations are emerging about a second and a third victim of assault by Kavanaugh.