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.

He is denying it though. He is lying. His family are praying for 'the woman' so he is basically labelling her corrupt or unhinged with that dick move.

No way is he fit to be a judge.

Yes.

The issue is that a Supreme Court Judge is a job for life. They cannot be removed from their position unless they die or choose to retire.

You need someone who is of great standing and is a fit and proper person to hold that position .

Janice Turner has a column in The Times today on this- shared link:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kavanaugh-v-ford-is-litmus-test-of-our-times-6xrmt5v7w?shareToken=59d91bcfbf9f59e408766ba64daaf9a5

@Surfer..... they were consenting adults, i don't remember any allegations of assault on a child. ... and BC was impeached.

BK will be on the supreme court for the rest of his life, so for the next 20 to 30 years, he should be beyond reproach.

This is not a criminal court, it is a civil matter where the burden of proof is completely different, he does not face going to jail etc, many matters are resolved one way or another based on somebodies testimony.

His accuser has some credibility and needs to be listened too and the decision to delay and have a further investigation is the way forward.

Oh that’s ok then, take advantage of a young employee by getting her to perform a revolting sex act on you, cheat on your wife, embarrass your daughter ( for life )

........nothing to see here.

There is a firm list of alternative candidates with very vetted hard right conservative credentials ready to choose from. It's not like they don't know who to pick instead.

What on earth are you talking about?

Eesh.

What other crimes can you get away with because you're drunk and young?

If she had been drunk and young and had penetrated him with a bottle should she be able to be on the supreme court?

... the biggest legacy of Bill Clinton's poor decisions is that they probably lost Hillary the 2016 election. The suffering has been shared around on that one.

Surfer jet, I am not sure what you are arguing here. You seem to be saying the Clinton was in the wrong but remained President and therefore we can no longer criticise anyone else for inpropriety.

Clinton was an asshole. Kavanaugh appears to be one as well. Unfortunately, there are way too many men in that category.

Oh that’s ok then, ...

No, it wasn't...two wrongs never did make a right, you know.

@surf yes i agree, all very immoral but not illegal.

Sexually assaulting a child is illegal, hence why it needs to be investigated further but a nice try at diversion lol!

Am I the only one wondering if Surferjet finds all fellatio revolting or if it's just Bill Clinton's penis that prompted that assessment.

This basically

Bill Clinton was hardly a great man was he, getting a young employee to suck his cock behind his wife’s back.
What happened to him?
Nothing much.

Ah yes, when you’ve lost the argument, why not start on the whataboutery.

BC has nothing whatsoever to do with this.

As for why the victim didn’t raise this sooner who knows? Maybe because despite what’s happened to her she’s managed to put it to the back of her mind, build a successful life, and it’s only when he’s come to the fore, potentially in a post that will give him longer standing political power than the president, including over key women’s rights issues such as abortion, she’s thought “fuck that shit” and decided to speak up? For the same reasons other victims of historical sex abuse often take years to find the courage to speak up - Jimmy Savile’s victims? Barry Bennell’s victims?

The man is not fit for such high judicial office. Someone in that role should have an utterly unblemished record in all respects. But then the POTUS isn’t fit for office either. What a fucking depressing state of affairs for such a great nation.

YABU. Maybe better just not to sexually assault anyone at any age, don’t you agree?

Having watched almost all the Kavanaugh/Blasey Ford hearing on Thursday and then the Senate Committee "conclusions" yesterday (dh is fascinated with it and it was indeed compelling viewing), my over-riding impression is that whatever the facts of the case (and it wasn't a trial even if the Republicans treated it as such, using a prosecutor to question Dr Ford but not Judge Kavanaugh), he has shown himself to be temperamentally and intellectually unsuitable for the life time role of Supreme Court Judge

The Republicans in their statements kept on trying to cover themselves by saying "Dr Ford was a credible witness but......"

The fact that he got so angry, upset, obfuscated answers, tried to turn around questions to him into the questioner (what does whether someone enjoys a drink themselves have to do with the question asked about his drinking?), rambled, wanted written statements (but under pain of perjury ) without the ability for the people who wrote then to be questioned to be accepted at face value (I'm sure such evidence would go down really well in his court room: prosecutors and defence attorneys alike are going to have a field day with him in future) all show that he is fundamentally unsuitable for the role for which he has been nominated.

I agree that it's a bit ridiculous

Yes at 18 you are well aware what you are doing, drunk or not!

I'm feeling it ...

We must let young men and women know that how they act has consequences even if it is decades later. That you will be listened to if it has happened to you and you can be held accountable in years to come if you have been the perpetrator.
Whole generations of abusers should now, quite rightly, be fucking quaking... Abused young people grow up and this type of behavior will not be tolerated anymore.... The old boy frat club!! Some of them actually believe that they did nothing wrong and that is fucking scary.

Any further thoughts OP?

Or are you just watching the fireworks.

I applaud her bravery at coming forward, that must have been hard.

It makes me so fucking angry that people are equating attempting rape with a grown ass women performing a fully consensual sex act.

Don't you see how utterly insulting that is to people who've suffered sexual assault?

Yes yabu. People like Anita Hill, Monica Lewinsky and Stormy Daniels are treated awfully compared to the men in their stories. (I know the lady 2 were consensual but it's the same point)

Only minor crimes can be forgotten/forgiven. For example if someone scratched my car 35 years ago they I'd forgive but rape is one of the worst crimes out there and she was14/15, a child in most places.

I wish I was surprised to find surfer among the ranks of the Kavanaugh apologists. But I'm not.

And OP, come on! Surely Trump could find a conservative yes-man for the SCOTUS who doesn't have a dodgy past? Why is he sticking with this guy?