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Brett Kavanaugh Missed his Moment to Shine
For a minute, let’s give Brett Kavanaugh the benefit of the doubt. Let’s say he was misidentified as he asserts, or that he was correctly identified by Dr. Ford but genuinely doesn’t remember the incident. After all, humiliating girls is a common and favorite pastime of many boys and has been viewed as a normal part of growing up; something girls expect and to which boys pay little mind.
In the wake of Dr. Ford’s allegations I had several male patients in my clinical psychology office dissecting past behavior they now deem racist, sexist, or homophobic. They expressed regret and struggled to understand how the culture they grew up in and their need to fit in contributed to their wounding of fellow human beings. Perhaps it was the courageous self-examination of these men that led to my fantasy of how Brett Kavanaugh might handle the hearings.
In this fantasy of mine Judge Kavanaugh is not confessing — it’s a fantasy, not a delusion — but is showing compassion. He is using the spotlight on him not to tantrum about conspiracy theories and the victimization of the privileged, but instead to enlighten others on the ubiquitous threat to women’s safety. I imagine him still denying he was Ford’s attacker yet adding something like this: “But I believe Dr. Ford was assaulted, in part because she has nothing to gain and a lot to lose by coming forward in a world where women are often blamed for these crimes against them, and also because sexual assault is all-too common and must be eradicated”. Or better yet: “I hope beyond hope that I never hurt Dr. Ford. It’s hard for me to believe I would do anything of the sort but I am not naive to…fill in the blank…bro culture, rape culture, frat culture and the way that excessive adolescent drinking can alter one’s judgement. Just as I want my daughters to feel safe in the world, I want all women to feel safe. Yet I know that isn’t the case. I sincerely apologize if I was part of Dr. Ford’s trauma in any way.”
As we all now know, Brett Kavanaugh chose instead to come out with guns blazing, shooting everyone in his midst with pointed words. This brings to mind his earlier refusal to shake hands with Fred Guttenberg, the father of 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg murdered in the Parkland, Florida school shooting. It was re-watching the video of him turning his back on the…
