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Sounds reasonable

Posted on: September 22, 2018 at 09:06:43 CT
Silas MU
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By SACHA ZIMMERMAN
SEP 22, 2018 | 9:45 AM

Brett Kavanaugh’s categorical denial that he assaulted Christine Blasey Ford bothered me. After all, if he drank a lot in high school, how could he know for sure what transpired? Imagine if, instead of implicitly calling Ford a liar, Kavanaugh took the time to honestly reflect on and wrestle with his past. His statement to the Senate might look like this:

“My mom taught me that judges don’t deal in abstract theories; they decide real cases for real people in the real world. And she taught me that good judges must always stand in the shoes of others.” Those were my words to the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month.

Then came the news that I had been accused of a heinous crime: attempted rape. My first instinct was to deny in absolute terms that I had ever done such a thing — even now, every fiber of my being wants to shout it: This never happened.
But then I think of my mother and what it means to stand in the shoes of others. I think of my wife and two beautiful daughters and how I want them to be treated as they make their way in this world.

“What happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep.” I once said that, too — and it was only partly tongue in cheek. The truth is my high school days were raucous, something my friend Mark Judge can attest to. We drank far too much at far too young an age. Today, many of our children still do. My lifestyle in high school teemed with alcohol — alcohol the 17-year-old version of me readily accepted. Like so many teenagers, I wanted to be on the inside, not the outside.
As I say, I want nothing more than to deny this charge unequivocally. I do not even remember Christine Blasey Ford herself. I do not recall pulling at her bathing suit, I do not recall turning up the music, and I do not recall putting my hand over her mouth. It galls me to even write that out — but I will not diminish her claims. I was raised to be a better man than that, raised by a mother who was also a judge — not just of the law but of character.

It seems impossible to me that I could have perpetrated this reckless act of violence and power no matter what condition I was in. But did I ever drink too much in high school? I did. And that is enough to foreclose any categorical denials.
Dr. Blasey Ford is obviously a smart and accomplished woman. That I linger in her memory as an attacker hurts my soul. From her perspective, I am the terror that altered her life. And so I say to her, I am sorry. And I am sorry I was the kind of teenager who cannot be 100% certain that I did or didn’t do this unspeakable act. I am sorry I cannot give you more closure than that.

What I can say with certainty is that since high school my behavior in and out of the courtroom has been aligned with my morals and values. I have dedicated my life to certain rules: the law and my faith.

For decades, I have lived by those precepts devoutly and I hope with integrity. Like my mother, I always stand in the shoes of others, and I always intend to. Even the worst transgressions are opportunities to be empathetic, to have compassion, to learn. Knowing this only makes me a better arbiter of justice. You will have to decide if it is enough to make me a Supreme Court justice.


That’s what an honest reckoning might look like. Of course, Kavanaugh can’t say anything like that now. It’s too late.
Isn’t it?

Edited by Silas at 09:12:55 on 09/22/18
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Sounds reasonable - Silas MU - 9/22 09:06:43
     If that sounds reasonable - 4TigersinMichigan MU - 9/22 09:26:28




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