Kavanaugh/Ford Trial: Looking Forward
by: Audrey Hsu
Today is the day the week-long FBI investigation report comes out with results for a nationally televised event: the Kavanaugh hearing.
On Thursday, September 27, 2018, judge nominee Brett Kavanaugh was put on trial for crimes of sexual assault to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford at the age of 15 in the summer of 1982 at a gathering in high school. The trial lasted around eight and a half harrowing hours for Kavanaugh, Dr. Ford, and their families. As the entirety of America looked on, Kavanaugh and Dr, Ford gave completely mind-blowingly earnest and heartfelt testimonies.
While Dr. Ford said that she had “one hundred percent” certainty that it was Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge who sexually assaulted her, she also gave a startlingly clear account of meeting a clearly discomfited Mark Judge six weeks after at a nearby safeway. When asked what she remembered most clearly from the experience, she took a brief second to reply before tremulously saying “the indelible laughter of two friend having fun.” She was able to provide a map showing exactly where the assault had taken place, and the house that she lived in. She firmly stated at the hearing that years of psychological harm had resulted from the experience: claustrophobia, a fear of flying, years of therapy.
There are some that claim that Dr. Ford may have been tipped off by the Democratic Party in order for political intentions because her claim about Brett Kavanaugh has come so close to the midterm elections. It is important to note that it is estimated that around only 35% of sexual assaults are reported because of fear of shaming, or social ostracization by the victim. In her case, Dr. Ford mentioned that she believed it was necessary to come forward only when she heard he was being nominated for office.
At around noon, nominee Brett Kavanaugh walked into the room, and provided a moving testimony for the second time that day. He came forward to state with absolute conviction, “I did not do this back in high school or at any time.” He provided high school calendars with excruciating precision to detail and time, which he claims was a stringent habit since childhood. Kavanaugh had no memory of, nor recorded any event that came close to the description of the party Dr. Ford says she was assaulted at, and says that he only knew of Dr. Ford in the passing, but never interacted with her in his high school life. He also stated that at no point in his high school career did he ever drink alcohol to the point of passing out with no recollection of his previous activities. “This has destroyed my family,” Kavanaugh said as he choked on the last word, hastily gulping water. He also states that 65 women whom he considered friends and family came to his defense in a matter of hours.
After both testimonies, today is the day that judgement is left up to facts, in lieu of the FBI investigation. Whatever the outcome, the entirety of America and the American future has been forever changed by the influence of such a divisive and bewildering hearing.