Believe Women.

Normally, I am not one to post political beliefs or arguments online. Normally, I cannot stand debating with the social-mediaverse because I simply cannot fathom the level of close-mindedness that pervades our country. Normally, I keep my opinions to myself and let things roll off of my shoulders.

But in the midst of Brett Kavanaugh’s trial and the backlash that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has received from the public and the media, as a woman, my heart is filled with so much anger, resentment, and flat-out distaste toward our judicial system in this country.

The argument against Ford’s testimony that makes my blood boil the most is: “Why did she wait so long to report?” And, conversely: “How can she remember that if it was so long ago?”

LET. ME. TELL. YOU. why she remembers it, you incompetent asshats. It’s called TRAUMA, and TRAUMA stays locked in your brain for your body to take out whenever you see something that reminds you of that TRAUMA so that you never forget it, and it sends your emotions and well-being into a downward spiral. Clearly, no one involved in this trial seems to understand this concept, and when Lady Gaga spoke about this on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, I almost jumped up from my bed where I was watching and cheered. FINALLY, someone spelled it out for all of these idiotic cretins so they can be educated. As a sexual assault survivor herself, Lady Gaga’s response as to why Dr. Ford had waited so long to report it (and I am paraphrasing here) was that Dr. Ford had locked her trauma away in a box in her mind, and when she saw Kavanaugh get sworn in at the White House into one of the highest positions in our judiciary system, her TRAUMA came flooding back after being locked away in her brain for all of these years, and she realized that our nation should know what kind of person Kavanaugh truly is, so that we could keep our country from being governed by such a man. It is why women came out with allegations against Trump after all these years (even though he has done plenty to condemn himself, in my opinion), and why women are now speaking up about their assailants who currently hold powerful positions both in politics and entertainment in this country, hence the Me Too movement. It is about time these misogynistic, disrespectful, and disgusting people were removed from office, and if you believe that sexually assaulting women shouldn’t have anything to do with your job appointment, you’re the exact type of person who perpetuates this issue in our country.

In 2010, when I was in college eight years ago, I went to a party with my group of friends. Yes, I had been drinking. And no, I do not remember much of that night except for when I got there and when I left, and one other thing. That one other thing happened when I was standing outside in front of the house, against the wall by the front door. The party was winding down, people were starting to leave, and I was waiting for my friends. I do not remember why he came up to me, but a guy who I had only maybe ever exchanged ten words with approached me as I was standing against this wall. He stood directly in front of me, and he said, “Let me get a kiss.” I turned my face and laughed nervously and said, “No, I’m good.” His response to that was to put his hands on my hips and say, “Come on, just one.” I rolled my eyes and tried to move, but he kissed me anyway, even though I had said no. If anyone went to this guy and asked him if he remembered doing this, I guarantee you he would say no, because he was drunk; because to him, this was just another night of being a drunken “player” and I was just another girl he wanted to make a move on. But to me, it was the first time a guy had ever truly made an advance on me after I had told him no. Traumatic? Not nearly on the level that countless others have suffered, in my own opinion. But enough for me to still remember it in a haze of alcohol and eight years after the fact. I can still see the cocky smirk on his face like he was the man of all men that night for kissing an unassuming girl minding her own damn business and not asking for anything from him to begin with. Are you going to tell me it shouldn’t reflect badly on him because he was drunk and might not remember? Are you going to tell me I must be lying because I was under the influence and therefore must not be remembering this correctly? Are you going to tell me that he was just “a boy being a boy?” Are you going to tell me that I should just get over it? Are you going to ask me why I didn’t report him? Because all of those questions/statements are absolute horseshit and have ZERO to do with the issue. You want to know why women don’t report? Because of things EXACTLY like what is happening to Dr. Ford. You cannot keep asking that question and then continue berating, belittling, and discrediting each woman’s story when she finally does decide to report.

So why am I telling this after eight years of not telling anyone else? Because if I don’t even consider that “traumatic” by definition, but remember it that clearly, I can only IMAGINE what Dr. Ford feels when she looks at Brett Kavanaugh. I can only imagine the level of fear she felt when these boys held her down and what ran through her mind in that moment, knowing what was potentially about to happen and listening to their laughter at the expense of her fear. Because if I can remember a mildly traumatic event that clearly despite the alcohol and years in between, you can bet your ass Dr. Ford remembers her INTENSE TRAUMA and isn’t going to lie about it. “But she’s trying to ruin his career!” YEAH, BECAUSE HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED A WOMAN AND LAUGHED WHILE DOING IT AND NO SUPREME COURT ASSOCIATE JUSTICE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO HOLD THAT TITLE IF THAT IS IN HIS HISTORY. CASE CLOSED. NO FURTHER DISCUSSION SHOULD EVER, EVER, EVER BE NEEDED.

As a woman, as a woman with friends who are victims of sexual assault, as a woman who has been innocently dancing with her group of girl friends and been randomly grabbed and had her ass pulled against a random man’s crotch and grinded on, as a woman who has been catcalled and then degraded right after for ignoring the catcall from the same man, as a woman who has been groped in bars and called a “bitch” for turning down unwanted advances, and as a member of the human race, I implore you to believe women.

BELIEVE. WOMEN.