Isabella Manzo – Contributor
In a vote that surprised everyone and absolutely no one at the same time, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in last week after a narrow 50-48 Senate vote. This vote happened amidst allegations that he sexually assaulted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in the summer of 1982.
Last week, President Trump made a bold claim, stating that under the presumption of innocence, Kavanaugh never sexually assaulted any of the women who made claims against him.
“Those who step forward to serve our country deserve a fair and dignified evaluation,” Trump said during Kavanaugh’s swearing-in hearing on Oct. 6, “not a campaign of political and personal destruction based on lies and deception. What happened to the Kavanaugh family violates every notion of fairness, decency, and due process.”
In my opinion, regardless of whether Kavanaugh has committed sexual assault, this entire process has been incredibly unfair, and the stakes were in his favor from the beginning.
Ford testifying before the Senate was not an actual trial, and it carries no verdict. People like Lindsey Graham want to get red in the face and shout about how the investigation is out to “destroy this guy’s life,” but the hearing was simply Kavanaugh’s word against Ford’s.
The entire proceeding has brought out a lot of emotion in people, and I think that staying neutral on a topic like this is being complacent. Taking no stance means you do not care that women are at risk of being harassed with their persecutors get away with it. Alternatively, you do not care that men are being falsely accused of crimes that have the potential to ruin their lives.
Regardless of one’s feelings on the trial, it seems it was in favor of Kavanaugh before Ford even publicly came forward. It could have been handled in a more serious manner, that could have produced a real result. Instead, it was a few men, hiding behind a woman, raising their voices at one another, accusing Ford of destroying Kavanaugh’s life.
Just so everyone is aware of how the hearing turned out: Ford still is not living in her own home, due to the death threats she has received.
Kavanaugh is now a Supreme Court Justice.
How is a victim of sexual assault supposed to handle this, when news like this keeps happening? A man who has been accused of sexual assault is now on the Supreme Court. Another is the President of the United States.
If this truly was intended to be a fair trial, the FBI would have had all the time they need to properly handle it. Instead, they were allowed a week.
Lindsey Graham claimed that his fellow Senators were trying to “hold [Kavanaugh’s] seat open and hope you win in 2020,” which I believe is so far fetched from the issue at hand.
The main problem is that a man has been accused of violating a woman, and justice can not properly be delivered if those allegations are true.
It is important to remember that as of now, Ford’s claims are merely that: claims. It is also important to think about how she is getting absolutely nothing out of this. She has been threatened, called a liar and now has to live with the fact that the man who allegedly assaulted her now holds a seat in the highest court of law in this country.
This is not about trying to achieve a majorly Democratic Supreme Court. Political affiliation does not matter in this case; it just so happens that the man accused leans to the right. If a Democrat was nominated and had allegations against him, it would be incredibly unfair and hypocritical to still support him.
What really matters is this: This case, has been a failure in terms of justice. It was not a fair investigation from the start, and all it has done is prove that victims of sexual assault still tend to not be taken as seriously as they need to be.
Photo Credit: Office of U.S. Senator David Perdue
