Emma Brockes - Anger is corrosive, but it’s a vital weapon for women in Trump’s America // Suzanne Moore - If Brett Kavanaugh makes it through, women’s anger will be unstoppable

By Dilip -
Kavanaugh can howl like a kid with his head stuck in railings; but to be heard, a woman must be demure and unthreatening.

I watched the Kavanaugh hearings with horror and a certain amount of detachment. While female friends texted to say they were in tears, I believed I had it under control; there is simply too much bad news to be undone by it daily. Well, ha. On Tuesday night, Trump addressed a rally in Mississippi and in one of his extemporised asides, poked fun at Christine Blasey Ford. “I had one beer, that’s the only thing I remember!” he jeered, citing her testimony, while behind him the crowd hooted and cheered. And there it was: the kind of adrenaline surge that in movies can only be illustrated by someone putting their fist through a wall.

Kavanaugh has revealed the insidious force in global politics: toxic masculinity
Republicans Will Rue The Day They Stood Behind Brett Kavanaugh

Anger is not a useful destination, but it is, in some circumstances, supposed to be a useful galvanising agent for political change. And that is surely beginning to happen; in the US midterms, more women are running for office than at any time in the country’s history and female voters are predicted to be “highly motivated” to turn out. American friends are spending their weekends canvassing in marginal seats, and most of the women I know are angrily revisiting their own traumatic experiences, questioning the extent to which they were made to feel culpable. All these actions are good, and right, as is posting angrily on Twitter. (Well, maybe not that.) But in my experience, rage needs to find more visceral outlets and they are never particularly rational... read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/04/anger-weapon-women-trump-america-brett-kavanaugh

Suzanne Moore - If Brett Kavanaugh makes it through, women’s anger will be unstoppable
Do you want to be arrested?” the cop asks Amy Schumer. “Yes” she says simply. She was one of the 302 women held after protesting at a Senate office building against the likely confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the US supreme court. They were arrested for “unlawfully demonstrating”. One of the chants in the crowd was: “This is what democracy looks like.” Indeed, this is what democracy looks like when trust in its institutions has been shattered and civil disobedience appears to be the only option. Women’s silence explodes into anger. Anger and disbelief. What does it take to be listened to many asked, after Dr Christine Blasey Ford, the “perfect victim”, gave her testimony in what was a job interview, not a trial.

What does it take to be believed?

The FBI did not believe it needed to speak to her again. It produced a 1,000-page report and senators had an hour to read it. Republicans are now reassured there was no hint of sexual misconduct. Indeed Kavanaugh got to write his own op-ed in the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal, where he self-servingly made his case again. He may have been too emotional he says. He may have “said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad”. Yes we understand very well, us daughters, wives and mothers. We understand now exactly who is allowed to be emotional and who isn’t.

We understand that it is entirely permissible these days for the president of America to parade his disrespect at rallies, to mock Ford’s testimony, to insult female reporters as a row of silent men stand behind him. As the US mid-term elections approach, he is mobilising his base once more. It’s a difficult and scary time to be a young man in America, he has told us. It is indeed difficult and scary to be accused of sexual assault. He should know.

If Kavanaugh is confirmed, though more than 2,000 law professors have signed a letter questioning his suitability in terms of temperament to be a judge at all, a very direct message is being sent out to women: that the ranks of patriarchy will close to block women’s voices. The next step is to close down women’s choices… read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/05/trump-assault-abortion-kavanaugh-women-voices-bodies


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