Dr. Christine Blasey Ford

Yesterday one of my daughters sent a powerful piece by Trevor Noah about we white male “victims”.  You can watch it here: “Trump Weaponizes Victimhood”.   See Joni’s comment at end of this post.

A friend sent an e-mail this morning: “A new show has been added to my Cable..Jimmy Swaggert. As I am going thru the stations I hear him say “ It is a Sin to not Vote in the upcoming elections” Then he was defining Sin thru the bible readings.”  So, now it is a “sin” to not vote…?  I thought “sin” was only for Catholics.  “Jesus saves” used to be the mantra for the Evangelical side of things.

There have been other pieces of data.  These will suffice for now.

I have written about this specific issue three times: Sep 19, 26 and 28.

Where I stand:

1. I stand with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford; and all those who stand for equal justice under the law.  It took great courage for Dr. Blasey Ford to come forward.  I commend her.
2. I stand with the Democrats.  The Republican Party has completely morphed into a Radical Party and now it seems just another of Donald Trump’s properties, and as everyone should know, all Donald Trump cares about is Donald Trump.  All else be damned.

Those who follow my musings will note over time that I have always supported the process to find truth, elusive and uncomfortable as that can be.  This comes from a long career of having to solve problems with often difficult searches for evidence.  In the present, where there is a tendency to rush to judgement, due process has taken a hit.  Unfortunately, all ideological sides have a tendency to “shoot first, and ask questions later”.

In one of my previous posts, I used the words “show trial” to describe what was ahead in the Senate Judicary “hearing” a week or so ago.  This was before the hearing and the sham FBI “investigation” which followed.  The “hearing” and subsequent were, indeed, a “show trial”.

I have thought a great deal about this and other issues over time.

As I have said, I used to represent people, and I know people who were convicted and sentenced without benefit of trial:  the accusation was the trial.  This has happened recently with people I deeply respect: Al Franken and Garrison Keillor: the conviction was the accusation.  This is now happening with Dr. Blasey Ford – she is being punished for the courage to speak up.

Still, I’ve taken to heart one of my Dad’s many utterances over the years: “two wrongs do not make a right“.  I seek solutions, not polarization.  For the pendulum to wildly swing from one pole to the other is not healthy for our society.  Unfortunately, to find a middle ground especially in these polarized times is to be considered weak.  In the Trump world, now tragically ascendant in our country, the goal is to win at any cost:  The loser is everybody but Trump, or, in this case, the radical fringe of the Republican party.  To be losers is the only role available to the rest of us..

As a good friend likes to say”this isn’t going to end well.”

But, we can be the solution, but it will take lots of work.

*

Joni’s comment on Facebook:

I hope you take 10 minutes and watch this. For the record, I do not feel that this is a “scary time” for young men in America. In fact, I think it’s quite the opposite.

Side note…John and I have two boys who are now 16 and 18. We are far from parenting experts, and we have made plenty of mistakes along the way. In spite of this, I believe that we have raised two boys who are “good kids”. However, I also know, accept, and even expect that “good kids” can make very bad choices for which there will be very real consequences. One of the things that I do think we got right as parents is that we have taught our boys that all actions have consequences (positive or negative), and that they must take responsibility and not place blame for the decisions that they make. The messages we’re hearing right now from those in positions of great power and influence contradict this message, and honestly, that scares me more than the thought of any “false accusations” against my sons.

COMMENT: Joni is also a Middle School Principal, and a great one.  I’m very, very proud of her.

I think I’ve told Joni the story about the phone call I received 30 years ago, from a teacher, Sandy, who said she had been denied an equal opportunity for a high school assistant principalship, and the only reason seemed to be her gender.

Those were the days when Principalships, especially secondary, were a man’s preserve, and management, after all, had the right to hire who they wished for such positions.  Women mostly didn’t fit.

Sandy never did get her opportunity as an administrator, but fought the good fight, with the help of a then active organization Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL) and, of course, her teachers union, local, state and national.

The case was made and if you look at the composition of education administrators these days, you see a stark difference between now and 1978.

All is not lost.  All of us must continue.