The More Things Change…
posted by Dominque Elliot | December 5, 2018 | In News, OpinionThe New York Times stated in “Flashback: The Anita Hill Hearings Compared to Today”: “As nominees to the Supreme Court, Judges Clarence Thomas and Brett M. Kavanaugh were both selected by Republican presidents to replace retiring justices. Both attended Yale Law School and were judges on the federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. And both were accused of sexual misconduct.” Both of these cases, past and present, have similar commonalities with very similar results.
In 1991, Clarence Thomas was nominated by George H.W. Bush for the Supreme Court position left open by retired Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
In 2018, Brett Kavanaugh was nominated by Donald Trump for the Supreme Court position left open by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.
In 1991, when contacted by a Senate leader who was investigating Thomas’ background, Anita Hill came forward with allegations that accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Anita Hill was a law professor at the University of Oklahoma. According to chnm.gmu. edu, “Hill had worked for Thomas years earlier when he was head of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. Hill charged that Thomas harassed her with inappropriate discussion of sexual acts and pornographic films after she rebuffed his invitations to date him.”
According to Business Insider, “On September 16, 2018, Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, wrote a letter in July to Rep. Anna Eshoo and Sen. Dianne Feinstein that said [Brett] Kavanaugh assaulted her at a party in Bethesda, Maryland, when the two were in high school.” One week later another letter was reported by the New Yorker, written by Deborah Ramirez. Ramirez was a Yale classmate of Kavanaugh who recalled a time at a party when Kavanaugh exposed himself in front of her face at a party. She was reluctant to come forward because she was drinking that night.
“One classmate said he was 100% sure he heard at the time that Kavanaugh had exposed himself to Ramirez,” Business Insider reported. “He independently recalled many details Ramirez had outlined, including that a male student egged Kavanaugh on.”
Eventually, Julie Swetnick had came forward as well. According to Business Insider, “Julie Swetnick signed a sworn declaration alleging that she witnessed Kavanaugh and [his friend] display ‘abusive and physically aggressive behavior toward girls’ during a series of house parties in the 1980s, where the boys would “spike” punch with drugs or alcohol to cause girls to lose their inhibitions or ability to say no.”
An anonymous letter, which senators are skeptical of, was also sent later stating that: “When they left the bar (under the influence of alcohol) they were all shocked when Brett Kavanaugh shoved her friend against the wall very aggressively and sexually.”
Both nominees were confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court for lifetime positions. The Senate voted 52-48 and confirmed Thomas as associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1991. According to CNN Politics, Senators voted 50-48 for Kavanaugh and confirmed him a lifetime seat.
So what could this mean for America?
Both cases had started heated debates about sexual harassment and victim-blaming. It also started a debate about how seriously sexual assault allegations should be taken. In 2018, this conversation was already being conducted with the #MeToo movement. In 1992, a year after Anita Hill made her public accusation against Justice Clarence Thomas, a record number of women were elected into political positions, 1992 was then dubbed “the year of the women.”
Kavanaugh’s case, paired with the current #MeToo movement, TimeUp’s initiative to stop sexual harassment in Hollywood, and the controversial sexist statements made by Donald Trump- has seemingly helped develop a new wave of feminist activism. If that’s the case, with the November elections, 2018 may be another historically notable “year of the women.”
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