The Ramirez Allegations Against Kavanaugh
Some criticisms.
(PJ Media isn't exactly neutral...but, then, they don't have to be.)
Maybe someone who's heard a lot of such accusations and seen them investigated is good at telling the true ones from the false ones, but I'm not that person. Nothing about it screams false accusation to me. OTOH, I've been to a lot of parties where booze and sex are the major themes...and I've never seen anything even a little bit like the act described by Ramirez. The perpetrator'd have gotten thrown out on their ass. His ass...
The UVa/Rolling Stone/"Jackie" accusations were obviously false. That was an easy case. Though, remember, the progressive consensus was not only It's true! But You are virtually a rapist yourself for even doubting it... Anyway. This doesn't scream false to me. Which isn't enough, of course. But it is a different kind of case.
But, then, I've also never personally heard anyone make such an allegation falsely. Nor, for that matter, truly. So this is just way outside anything I've got actual experience with.
I suppose the view that's coalescing in my head is: these accusations could be true. And, of course, I'm sorry they happened. And, of course, if they did happen, Kavanaugh likely has no business on any court. But here's the deal: if you want such accusations believed, you've got to make them sooner than 35 years later. You've got every right--and, perhaps, a duty--to speak the truth about what happened as you see it. But somebody like me shouldn't believe you. For which I'm also sorry if they're true. But all sorts of true things are said all the time about important things...which oughtn't to be believed. This is part of the human condition.
Anyway, if we were omniscient, we might see that Kavanaugh is a creep. Or we might see that he used to be, but isn't now, and that he's learned more from his youthful creepiness than you and I learned from our youthful non-creepiness.
What a mess.
(PJ Media isn't exactly neutral...but, then, they don't have to be.)
Maybe someone who's heard a lot of such accusations and seen them investigated is good at telling the true ones from the false ones, but I'm not that person. Nothing about it screams false accusation to me. OTOH, I've been to a lot of parties where booze and sex are the major themes...and I've never seen anything even a little bit like the act described by Ramirez. The perpetrator'd have gotten thrown out on their ass. His ass...
The UVa/Rolling Stone/"Jackie" accusations were obviously false. That was an easy case. Though, remember, the progressive consensus was not only It's true! But You are virtually a rapist yourself for even doubting it... Anyway. This doesn't scream false to me. Which isn't enough, of course. But it is a different kind of case.
But, then, I've also never personally heard anyone make such an allegation falsely. Nor, for that matter, truly. So this is just way outside anything I've got actual experience with.
I suppose the view that's coalescing in my head is: these accusations could be true. And, of course, I'm sorry they happened. And, of course, if they did happen, Kavanaugh likely has no business on any court. But here's the deal: if you want such accusations believed, you've got to make them sooner than 35 years later. You've got every right--and, perhaps, a duty--to speak the truth about what happened as you see it. But somebody like me shouldn't believe you. For which I'm also sorry if they're true. But all sorts of true things are said all the time about important things...which oughtn't to be believed. This is part of the human condition.
Anyway, if we were omniscient, we might see that Kavanaugh is a creep. Or we might see that he used to be, but isn't now, and that he's learned more from his youthful creepiness than you and I learned from our youthful non-creepiness.
What a mess.
posted by Winston Smith at
7:54 AM
6 Comments:
I think the real problem for Kavanaugh is one that is unaffected by the passage of so much time. He has been quite unequivocal in his denials (which are subject to all the scepticism arising from the passage of time as the accusations are). He could have said he couldn't remember, but he says it never happened -- and so implies that he never drank so much that he couldn't later remember what he did. This sounds implausible in itself, but if it's not true, then Kavanaugh's problem is that he's lying now, not that someone claims he assaulted them 35 years ago.
For what it's worth, I did see a group of 3-4 guys do something almost exactly as described by Ramirez when I was in college. It was very disturbing. That makes this having happened believable to me, but without more evidence I can't say one way or another.
Having been a member of the same fraternity as Kavanaugh (in another chapter at another august institution), I can vouch for the fact that these incidents were actually fairly common. In fact, there was quite a bit of bragging about it. (Our chapter often mingled with the Phi chapter at Yale).
Jesus, Anon and LC.
WTF? What kinds of savages were you hanging out with?
There were some pretty fucked up guys. Mind you, our chapter was pretty tame. Never had any problems with the university administration, local community, police etc the whole time I was there.
Yale chapter though, had a pretty grungy reputation (among several other chapters). We only mingled with them a couple of times, but it was pretty obvious. You kind of felt like you had to take a shower afterward.
Still doesn't prove any of the K allegations, but there does seem to be a preponderance of supporting evidence building up.
And I wasn't even in a frat! I was in my dorm room suite my freshman year and it happened in the room next to mine. I didn't know the guy who did it.
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