(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . As a rape survivor, I am so proud of E. Jean Carroll, Christine Blasey Ford, and Anita Hill. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-28 I also believe that Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh are guilty of alleged rape, and Clarence Thomas is guilty of alleged sexual harassment. I never thought I’d write this diary, but ever since E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan filed a rape lawsuit against Donald J. Trump on October 24, 2022, I have been been waiting for this trial with great anticipation, and deep dread. My problem is twofold. First, I am a rape survivor. Although the incident happened 51 years ago, and I told my late husband about it decades ago, I had told no one else (other than a therapist, also decades ago) about it until a few weeks ago when I emailed one of my oldest friends, whom I’ve known since high school. It’s something I dealt with and moved on from, and rarely think about. But, for an inexplicable reason—it reared its ugly head when I first read about the E. Jean Carroll case against Trump. Second, like some of you, I am a veteran of two SCOTUS sexual misconduct hearings. In October 1991, when I was 41 and Anita Hill was 35, she interrogated by an all-male Senate Judiciary Committee led by Senator Joe Biden, because she had said that Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her in two jobs. I watched her interrogation alone and silently, but stopped after an hour (she was grilled for eight hours), because I felt the behavior of the committee was reprehensible. In a 2018 article in POLITICO, the authors note, ”The committee members tore at Hill’s credibility in terms so deeply personal that the hearing is now regarded as an embarrassment for the chamber.” Thirty years later, I watched Christine Blasey Ford receive similar treatment from the Chuck Grassley-led Senate Judiciary Committee, another all-male committee. This time I was 68 years old and she was 48, and I wished I could protect her, as I watched the sexist hearing with my beloved late husband, and spent the entire time shouting at the television. Ever since, I have hated Lindsey Graham (who rescued Kavanaugh’s nomination during the hearing and had a ridiculous temper tantrum, as did Brett Kavanugh), Chairman Chuck Grassley, who disallowed a number of other accusers from testifying, was rude, and allowed outrageous behavior from male participants, and Brett Kavanaugh, whom I still believe is guilty. (There are other Republicans I despise for their behavior during the hearing, and when they privately met with Blasey Ford, but the list is too long to share.) During and after the hearings, both Hill and Blasey Ford received tons of hate mail, death threats, and threatening phone calls. Blasey Ford and her family had to move to protect their safety. But, I believe both women demonstrated an unprecedented level of courage and bravery in the worst of all circumstances, and, in their own way, empowered other women by their heroism in telling truth to lies. But, perhaps it is due to the abusive behavior of the Congressional accusers in the hearings; as well as the terrible behavior, bullying, and insults by Donald Trump before, during, and after his presidency; the willingness of both the Barr and Garland DOJs (through at least June of 2021) to represent Trump in the alleged rape case, that had nothing to do with his presidency; the behavior of opposing lawyers in sexual abuse cases; and the unhinged and angry behavior of Republican politicians and voters against anyone who speaks out against Trump, that 79 year old E. Jean Carroll is the only woman, of the 26 women who accused Trump of sexual misconduct, whose case has made it to trial. While there is a lot I could write about the Carroll trial and Trump’s reaction on social media, what I believe I learned in the Thomas and Kavanaugh hearings, during the Me Too movement, and throughout the three years since Ms Carroll wrote about Trump’s alleged rape, is that when women are questioned about sexual harassment and/or rape, they need to remain calm, and they can’t let the opposing lawyers, the press, or politicians get to them, or it will feel like they are being victimized all over again. Moreover, in this case, I believe E. Jean Carroll needed to present her story in a simple and unemotional way, so that she could let people know what happened...despite all the lies and noise that Trump, his son Donald Jr., and other misogynists (both male and female), and Republican politicians and Trump supporters generated. So, I wrote this diary to applaud Anita Hill, Christine Blasey Ford and E. Jean Carroll for their courage and bravery. And, to congratulate Ms Carroll for the quality of her messaging. In this case, Ms Carroll had to tell the story of an alleged rape incident with the former president that was so heinous and violent that she never had sex with any man afterwards. But, I don’t believe that message would have been truthfully broadcast. So, what she said to the Manhattan jurors instead, using just 19 words (there were more, but this is the guts of the argument), was a simple statement of fact, that has been broadcast throughout the Internet and perhaps throughout the world: “I am here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn't happen.” ~ E. Jean Carroll I, for one, hope with all my heart, that the jury believes E. Jean Carroll, and Trump is forced to pay millions of dollars in damages for all the pain and suffering he caused her. Since, this is a civil case, it’s not about guilt or innocence, it’s about money. But, it is also about the kind of man Trump is, and the kind of people who support him. And, since I believe in karma, what I daily say aloud, and will continue to say until the jury presents their verdict, is this: “May Trump’s reputation and the reputations of all of the people who support him, and have lied on his behalf, be tarnished forever. And, may they all get what they deserve for their actions and their words.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/28/2166416/-As-a-rape-survivor-I-am-so-proud-of-E-Jean-Carroll-Christine-Blasey-Ford-and-Anita-Hill Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/