Pardon my openly biased opinion but I have two beautiful granddaughters, four lovely sisters and marvelous nieces who live up and down the East Coast. There are and have been other important women in my life including one very special one. This preamble is necessary because it is important I speak up and pledge to defend these women, whenever and wherever possible. What got lost in the Kavanaugh saga, with talk of Tuesday weight lifting with Tobin, and an assortment of spoiled prep school brats, was the awful crime of sexual assault and rape perpetrated against young, scared, and embarrassed women all over the world. America got to see a middle-aged, flaxen-haired, accomplished woman tell the story of a 15-year old’s night of terror and secrecy that thrust her into a world of fear that has lasted throughout her life. We heard about double doors for escape and safety installed at her home and the incessant laughter that has haunted her since 1982 or ‘83. Despite delivering visibly emotional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dr. Blasey Ford was resolute and totally believable. Another testimony, of sorts, was given by the ex-wife [ Andrea Kelly] of singer/composer Robert Kelly known to his fans as just, R. Kelly. Mr. Kelly, whom I will admit is a musical genius with a once in a lifetime voice, is as much known for his rumored sexual manipulation of young women as his song, I Believe I Can Fly. The link I found between the two women, that made their stories “credible” was the minimization in the recounting of events. Andrea Kelly, on a recent View appearance, described her alleged near-death attack by Mr. Kelly and talked about him holding her down with his forearm against her neck and said, “He did not [realize] his forearm is on my neck...”
Similarly, Dr. Blasey Ford described Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged attack with the phrase, I thought he was going to “accidentally kill me.” After two such horrific incidents these two women could have easily described their attacks in the grisliest of terms and used the most descriptive, vicious and unapologetic language possible, but I think it was important for their recovery that they told the absolute truth using the best memories of their emotional state. For me those descriptions closed the argument down. They could have said, he tried to kill me, not accidentally, or he put his forearm against my throat, not that he did not realize. Contrast that to the claims by R. Kelly that it was mistaken identity, a claim also used by Judge Kavanaugh. Kelly and Kavanaugh tried hysterical ranting and accusatory language of conspiracies and racism toward those investigating the claims and employed them as a tactic to prove their innocence. The two women of diverse backgrounds and cultures one a professor, the other a dancer and mother told similar stories of men out of control, also of diverse backgrounds; sexual assault does not discriminate. This leads me back to the women in my life from ages 2 to 73. They all are loved by me and as a senior member of my family, I feel a personal responsibility for their safety. My two granddaughters, one a college student the other a small business owner, are in worlds that surround them with young and aggressive men. If anything were ever to happen to them I hope they know I would believe them. Vote in ’18 for Change, the time is now.