Over the last several days, in the days before and after the Kavanaugh hearing, Facebook and Twitter has been alight with arguments for and against Kavanaugh’s confirmation. One familiar lament is, “How can any woman not believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford? Surely every women, even if she herself has never been harassed/assaulted/raped, knows a woman who has been. How can a woman just dismiss another woman’s assertion that this has happened to her?” The answer, in my admittedly cynical mind, is pretty simple. There are a couple options.
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The first truth is that there are people (senators and representatives absolutely included) who don’t care about anyone but themselves and what they want. These people know they don’t want foreigners in the country; so they don’t care if children are separated from their parents at the border. These people know they’re personally opposed to abortion; so they don’t care if a women they’ll never meet may have a medical need to get one. These people know that they think homosexuality is “icky,” or that their god tells them it’s bad; so they don’t care that gay people are entitled to the same rights as every other American citizen. And these people know they want another conservative justice on the Supreme Court, so of course they don’t care if Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Dr. Ford, and aren’t particularly interested in even pretending to investigate it.
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The second, less bleak view, and the theory that led to the title of this post, is that there are other people who aren’t complete sacks of shit, but who still treat politics as a sport. But it’s not a friendly competition, or an exhibition game. It’s not even just a rivalry. It’s a blood feud. It’s gouging eyes when the ref isn’t looking, it’s fans fighting in the stands, it’s letting the air out of the visiting fans’ tires. With these people, it’s not that they don’t care about other people, necessarily. It’s just that they need their team to win. Someone like this might feel bad for Dr. Ford-- they might even believe her-- but they’ll insist that it’s not disqualifying for Kavanaugh. Because they can’t let their hated rival win. It’s not about what’s best for the country or its people, it’s Us vs. Them. This mentality also gives us people like Ben Saase, who talks a good game, and makes sure to make himself look good, but eventually spinelessly falls in line like everyone else.
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So... there’s no good news here. Arguing on social media might be an outlet-- alternately a stress-reliever or stress-causer depending on your personality-- but it won’t solve anything. No one will change anyone’s mind, because people either don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves, or have a visceral need to see their team win. But that’s not a reason to stop engaging. Apathy is bad, mmmkay? Injustice needs to be called out, Nazis need to be punched in the face, and politicians who put Party and Self over what’s right need to be voted out of office. Don’t let the bastards win.
bookcouple:
Agreed