Snake In The Grassley

There is something hideously poetic about slithering Senator Chuck Grassley, a fixture during the heinous treatment of Anita Hill during her testimony about Clarence Thomas, being the head viper in the heinous treatment of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford during her testimony about Brett Kavanaugh.

Age has not educated him.  The years have not opened his eyes.  If anything, he is nothing more than the caricature of the old man screaming "Get offa my lawn!"  Only he is in a position to do more than shake a fist at mischievous tweens.  He is in the position of actively attacking a sexual assault survivor, and by extension, the millions of sexual assault survivors watching.

His glee in what is nothing more than an emotional re-raping of millions is sickening.

As I commented earlier on FB, awake in the middle of the night, I found my way to the opening statement Dr. Ford would be making to the committee.  Pure text, black and white, it still made tears sting my eyes.  This morning, while watching her read the statement, I was not prepared for the anxiety, fear, trembling, and nausea.

Hers and mine.

I am embarrassed to say I was even less prepared for the treatment she would endure by the Republican faction on the judicial committee.  I should know better.  They proudly wear their misogyny 365 days a year.

The rage I wrote of yesterday?  What I feel, what I know millions of others are feeling now, could power the Titanic furnaces straight through the iceberg.

It is shameful.  Hiding behind a female prosecutor (Rachel Miller), a la Aunt Lydia in Handmaid's Tale, because they could not trust themselves to ask their own questions without being misogynist pricks.  Trying anything to turn her memories and testimony into Swiss cheese.  And Grassley, hissing at every turn because he was being loudly, directly called out by Democrats?  Well, Chuck, you certainly did not help your side.

While watching her answer questions, I also watched as comments rolled in a Live Stream.  This country may not be saturated with malcontents, rape apologists, and complete pieces of shit with eyes, but there are enough of them, happily typing out their own forms of assault to feel their sickly weight.   The Cowardly Keyboard Commandos - threatening Ford, Ramirez, Swetnick, other commenters, you name it.

I particularly enjoyed their desperate attacks on Ford's answers that used big words, an understanding of how a brain works, how memories are stored, how traumas attach themselves.  SHE'S A DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, you feeble minded halfwits.  I have news for you.  My daughter is 24 years old.  She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology.  She is currently enrolled at Harvard getting her Master's.  She will go on to earn her own PhD.  She speaks in these big words, too.  She understands how a brain operates, knows the clinical, correct terms for areas of the brain, behaviors and how they are formed, informed. 

It's called education.  It is not a party trick.  And your inability to understand, your eagerness to demonize?  It speaks to your stupidity, not against their intelligence.

Grassley did no favors for himself, his fellow misogynistic committee members, or his Hefty Bag In Chief.  And he certainly did not help Kavanaugh.  The bottom line here is there is no reason other than his obstruction for not requesting an FBI investigation.  There are now multiple women and men who have stepped forward about Kavanaugh, about his character, his behaviors, and his attacks.  There is no Constitutional time limit on getting a nominee voted upon.  I do believe the words Merrick and Garland put paid to any notion of that.

The only clock they are up against is the one ticking ever closer to the midterms - they all can see the writing on the wall.  Their hold on power grows more tenuous every day, and consolidating it is all they care about.

To them, and all the Armchair Warriors hiding behind your computers, enjoy your ignorance.  Your words, your accusations, your threats are born of a privilege of not knowing, of never having been attacked.  And while it would be very easy to wish personal, painful knowledge to come your way, I won't.  Yes, I believe in karma, but I also know my story, the stories of my friends, and I would not wish these horrors on anyone.  Not even you.  Just know they are real, they are lasting.  You may not see the scars, feel the memories seared into our souls, or understand our silence, but then we do not need your approval, your empathy.  We have each other.  We are stronger together, and we only grow stronger with each jab, demonization, slur, and threat.

Bravery is contagious.  This is the saying repeated by Senator Patrick Leahy to Dr. Ford this morning.  He is right.  Evidence of this is everywhere as more and more victims step into the light of truth, finding their voice and sharing their stories of assault.  That Dr. Blasey Ford and all the others who have stepped up about Kavanaugh have absolutely ZERO to gain and everything to lose, yet did it anyway?  That speaks loudly to the world - not just those of us who know sexual assault firsthand, but all those being confided in by their friends, mothers, daughters, sons.  We cannot be drowned out.

Not even by a snake like Grassley. 

Comments

[Nikki in nyc]

They are all ancient, outmoded, outdated lizards who need to retire. Dann disgraces.

[Kathy]

This day has been so emotional for me on so many levels. One minute, I’m at my desk, bawling my eyes out while watching Dr Ford’s testimony. Her play by play brought up some horrendous memories and I relived my rape as I listened to her relive hers. The next minute, I’m yelling at my iPad telling Grassley and Graham to STFU. I am in a fit of rage, then crying, then afraid. My boss knew that this was important to me, so even though we sit next to each other, he let me keep the lynching on my iPad, he watched me today and said nothing. Then, finally, when it was time for Kavanaugh to have his turn, my boss looked at me and said, “I don’t know what happened to you, but I know it must’ve been pretty bad, so on behalf of all men, I’m so sorry.” Then he asked me if I wanted to just call it a day.

I can’t remember a lot of things about the day I was raped, but I remember how his office smelled, I remember every word he said, I remember wondering what I DID to provoke him, I remember the pain, I remember having to climb back on the back of his motorcycle, and put my arms around him afterward, so he could drive me home, and I remember wanting to throw myself off that motorcycle going 60 mph down the freeway. I remember him telling my dad that he took me to see his office and that why we were gone so long. Are those tears on her face? It must’ve been the wind making her eyes water...

Anyway, all I was going to say here was #metoo.

[chris k]

Can't stand the man!