To all the doubters of Christine Blasey Ford: when you are raped or physically assaulted, whether you’re 5, 15, or 50 years old, unless the perpetrator is a complete masked stranger, and you say you know exactly who they are and what they’ve done to you, then there is no doubt.
I repeat: If you say you know, then you know. In fact, you cannot UNknow.
When I was nine years old, a male classmate I’ll call B, poked me in the crotch. It happened suddenly. I remember the purposefulness with which he swiftly jabbed his finger into my crotch and pressed. We were alone in our empty classroom while classmates moved desks to the gym for upcoming exams. Our teacher was in the hallway overseeing the shuffle, so for a brief time, we were unsupervised. This boy preyed upon me. Shocked, I couldn’t find the words to express my feelings at that moment.
That night, I found the words. I told my parents. They spoke with our teacher. There was a meeting with B’s parents. They were upset, and they even questioned the truth of it. My parents stood their ground, alongside me. His parents and the school dealt with B. Is he a better man because of the early intervention he received?
Today, I recognize that I acted at only nine years old—I told. No one doubted me. Swift action was taken to deal with this aggressive young perpetrator. I’m sharing this once again now because in the wake of the Ford versus Kavanaugh debacle reminiscent of the Hill versus Thomas proceedings, let there be no doubt about these women unjustly accused of seeking to destroy men of power. They don’t forget who assailed them—they are speaking out at a time when it feels right and crucial to do so: on the eve of an appointment in which the integrity of a man is as essential today as it was when he acted irresponsibly and irrevocably at 15 years old.
Brett Kavanaugh, this supreme court justice candidate, may potentially preside over the very cases in which he finds himself. Will he look the other way? Will he use his white male privilege to give someone else the same pass for which he’s campaigning so hard? Will he project onto others the punishment he deserves?
What about all the Blasey Fords out there, victims of abuse who’ll never come forward because they fear they’ll not be believed? You know who has assaulted you. You know what they did and how they made you feel. You cannot erase the indelible scar abuse leaves.
When someone chooses to assault you sexually they forfeit their right to the freedom they’ve stripped from you.