This month, I will deliver my first born — a son. I have not even met him yet, but I already love him more than anyone in my life. I can only imagine how my feelings will be magnified in the coming months and years, but already I feel fiercely protective and hopeful and nervous for him.
I watched the national spectacle between Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh with dread. As a country, we are divided on so many issues, but gender violence, sexual assault, and what to make of public accusations like these affects people deeply on all sides. Battle lines are drawn, and rational thought escapes us as we defend our own — either based on political party or gender, or both.
On one side, people are celebrating Dr. Blasey Ford’s courage: naming all the barriers for survivors to come forward and tell their story and acknowledging the horrific impact this has had on her. On the other side, people are worried about the precedent of one person’s narrative being able to derail someone’s life.