AIBU in thinking a drunken 18 year old boy should not be called to account for behaviour 35 years later?

[longwayoff]

I'm conflicted. Brett Kavanaugh, nominated by Trump as a Supreme Court judge, has been accused of locking Dr Christine Blasey Ford in a bedroom and sexually assaulting her. This happened in the early 1980s when they were teens at a party and he was very drunk, she hadnt been drinking. She says she is 100 percent certain he did this. He says wasn't me guv.
Her televised evidence was upsetting and convincing. I believe what she says and feel she should have whatever she needs to help her. BUT. Drunken 18 year old boy/man. All these years later? Is that fair? To wreck his career now? Personally, I loathe Trump and all his works, so politically I'm glad to see a fail. But this is not sitting well with me. I feel I should feel better about this. Convince me please.

Yes.

Why should he get away with the lasting implications it would have had on her? He can ruin her life but it's unfair for her to bring it up when she feels strong enough? When she presumably doesn't want to see him in a position of power that will allow him to possibly do it to more women.

If he has any kind of power or influence people deserve to know who they are really dealing with.

Why should he get away with it. It's never too late for justice to be done.

Why is age and time an excuse to get away with assult?

The accounts coming in indicate this is something he did repeatedly throughout his college years. That to me tells you it is who he is, it is baked into the fabric of the man.

Especially if he refuses to own his past and look his victims in the eye and apologise, then I feel the only conclusion is that this is still who he is. Therefore he isn't fit for the position

Yeah you're right. Men should just be allowed to forget sexually assaulting women if they're successful in later life

How many years do you think should be allowed to elapse before sexual assaults are written off?

Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were 10 and are being held accountable for the rest of their lives. What would your cut off be in terms of age committed, time passed, offence committed etc?

Lowri Turner on Jeremy Vine was very depressing to listen to, seemed to be suggesting that learning that you don't sexually assault women was some sort of learning curve for young men. I certainly expect more from my sons and hope they expect more from themselves.

I wasn’t aware being drunk acquitted you of sexual assault

I don't know anything about this case but in general i can't see the problem. There are millions of victims out there whose trauma lasts a lifetime. If it takes them 35 years to speak up about it then so be it.

Really? . It’s ok to rape someone as long as they keep quiet about it then.
I am not a fan of the he touched my bum in the 70s he should be shot Approach but this man tried to tape a girl and has likely been involved in the gang rape of she was so wasted and easy we all he’d her girls.
Come on no wonder the patriarchy always wins

What if he'd murdered someone?

Being a sexual predator should wreck your life and career.

Perhaps if this happened to more men / if more men feared this happening to them things would be better for women.

Old enough to get drunk and sexually assult sone One old enough to he tried as an adult!! No wonder no o e ever reports rape there's always some pathetic excuse why the man should be let off. Age, job, sports talent, success, drugs, drink etc.

rape not tape

Being a sexual predator should wreck your life and career

Couldn’t agree more, Its

Of course he/they should be accountable, why shouldn't he ?
Where do you draw the line, a drunken murder by an 18 year old where evidence is found 30 years later ? or is it just sexual assault that is ok to forget about after a period of time ?

And had not he’d bloody angry posting makes mistakes

Yes we should tell all our sons that if they are under eighteen and drunk they can assault women all they like and we will turn a blind eye. Then we can tell our daughters that if they are assaulted that is less important than a man's career and they will have to learn to live with it.

It’s not just being called to account though is it. No one has the human right to be a life time appointment to the Supreme Court and wield huge power. Especially over women’s reproductive rights. If you are not exemplary and pretty spotless jog on.

You do realise that its is sexual assault that he is being called out on and not puking on the carpet and not cleaning it up. Is it ok for people to be sexually assaulted if the attacker is young and drunk?

Funny that. So many men get drunk at 18, but most of them manage not to attempt rape. Does that mean the decent men are defective in some way? 😒

Simple answer is yes. The more complex answer is that this is an appointment to the most powerful court in the US which holds massive sway over the lives of those of us who live here. It's also an appointment for life which could easily be 40 years. If there is even a shadow of doubt over the moral code of someone being put forward that needs to be fully Anna independently investigated. This has not been done in this case so the vote should be held until this can take place and the results be properly examined by those voting.

Alleged behaviour please remember. There is no proof as of yet.

It's not going to send him to prison. It's not even wrecking his career; he's had a very successful career. It's just hopefully going to stop him from holding one of the most important and influential positions in the federal judiciary. He has no automatic entitlement to this position, and the standards for attaining it should be really, really high.

So yes, YABU.

Are you on glue OP?

If he'd got drunk and was sick on his mum's carpet, fair enough, let it go. You are never too young or drunk to know that locking someone in a room and sexually assaulting them is disgusting, illegal behaviour.

The fact he is up for Supreme Court judge when he is accused of illegal behaviour and really poor judgement is ridiculous. Surely he is the epitome of 'wrong for the job'