A Step Backwards

This was meant to be a blog for creatives. That is all I really want, to discuss creativity. It brings me joy. Though, as I sit here staring at my screen, I feel a cold fear tightening my chest. The world is a corrupt place. It’s a terrifying realisation. Do others know, I wonder? They must. And yet, still, it’s corrupt.

I get it. No one really wants to hear a straight, white male’s opinion on it. And that's what this post is. I’m also fairly confident that an extremely limited amount of people will read this, and out of those that do, it will hardly move them. However, I have to write this. I have to state how I feel, because this fear is eating at me and I don’t know what else to do.

Brett Kavanaugh has been appointed to the Supreme Court. I live in England, and even I know how much of a disgusting violation this is to the idea of justice. A lot of people don’t. Or they don’t care. And that scares me too. Politics aside, the man is an accused rapist. Others will argue, innocent until proven guilty. I understand the logic, that is how justice works. However, let’s just delve into him a little. In stark contrast to the dignified testimony given by Dr. Christine Ford, Kavanaugh rambled incoherently about the fact he liked beer, coldly dismissed Dr. Ford, and subtly threatened Democrats, warning them, “What goes around comes around.” Does that sound like an upholder of justice, someone who is supposed to be calm, decisive and impartial? No. It doesn’t. Nothing about him says elegance or morality.

Even the FBI report that the Republicans lauded did not actually reach a definite conclusion as to whether or not he committed the crime. In whole, the report is a farce. The FBI was given less than a week to carry out its investigation, and didn’t actually interview many people who said that they could corroborate stories of sexual assault, or who could comment on his drinking. In fact, Kavanaugh’s drinking habits were reportedly not even considered.

He isn’t fit for office. Kavanaugh appears to have lied under oath, multiple times. Which is, at best, a mockery of the system he has sworn to uphold. He claimed to have never once drank to the point of causing even slight lapses in memory. Multiple class-mates have accused him of lying about that, claiming he was a “sloppy drunk” that was “belligerent and aggressive”. When asked about Deborah Ramirez’s accusations against him, he claimed that the first time he’d heard about them were when they were published in The New Yorker. Lie. Private text messages indicated that he, and his legal team, knew about the accusations days before they were printed. Even if we put aside the idea that he’s an accused rapist, which is possibly the most bizarre sentence I’ve ever written, he has potentially committed perjury and lied under oath. A judge who would do such things is not fit for office.

He is not only unfit to be on the Supreme Court, he is dangerous to the freedom that America claims to have. He refused, on multiple occasions, to confirm support for gay marriage, side-stepping the questions by reciting old legal cases. We also know that Republicans are anti-abortion, and Kavanaugh is a Republican. This is troubling. The idea that we have an accused rapist in a role that will allow him to govern the laws that pertain to women’s bodies is disturbing. In fact, that very idea is disgusting.

I could go on about why Kavanaugh is an awful human being, but he is just a symptom of this corruption. Let’s keep it simple, Kavanaugh is a fundamentally bad person. He is an accused rapist. He is also a liar. He doesn’t respect women. He doesn’t respect the gay community enough to say if he respects them or not. He is corrupt. And of course, that’s why Trump loves him. Because Kavanaugh reminds Trump of himself. They’re all corrupt individuals with small minds, that don’t respect others, and are so self-entitled that they feel as though they have a right to the power they have taken. Be assured, they will use that power to better themselves, while hurting other people. That is what terrifies me. The corruption at every level. How do we survive and hold onto what is good and right, when men like this hold power and hurt those in need of help? I am unsure.

How do these people, Kavanaugh and Trump, look at themselves in the mirror? Are they happy with themselves when they’re alone? They can’t be. Surely, they know deep down that they’re vile? Probably not, sadly. That idea hurts. That they truly believe they are good, as shocking as that might seem. They are indignant in the face of questions. Not even because what they're being accused of is so farfetched, but because someone is challenging their power. They were born into money, given power, and they wrongly believe this gives them a right to it. It does not.

In the face of despair and anguish, we cannot allow ourselves to give up. For now, the simple answer is, for those who can, to vote against these people. In America, the mid-term elections are coming up and this will be a chance to get better people into seats of power, that can make change.

For the long term, I have no answer. I don’t know what to do. We need a way to secure equality, safety and fair treatment for all. When I spoke to my sister and told her I was upset about this, she responded by telling me that I wasn’t as upset as her. That was disappointing. Perhaps you are more upset. But, why the need to dismiss my feelings? Is it because I’m simply male? I can’t help that. Besides, can’t we all be saddened by this? The ‘liberals’ do that too often, push away people with the confusing competition of who has it worse. Don’t you see that this pushes us apart? We need to stand together.

It’s no longer acceptable to recognise the problem from your sofa. That is not good enough. It is time for every one of us to make a stand. Regardless of if it suits us or not. Laziness is not an excuse. We need to stand together and force change. That, at least, I am sure of.