Thoughts on How We Treat Women

The Kavanaugh hearings. A spectacle so depressing to the human spirit that I almost can't write about it, but it's what's weighing on my mind today.

Honestly, the most disheartening thing about the last two years is not the Trump presidency (oh, believe me, it's on the list) or a multitude of other things I could mention. I always knew there were dishonest, racist, cruel, homophobic, misogynist people in the world. But they were generally somewhere else, lurking on the internet or on the news. Yes, I understood that institutional racism existed and that subconsciously we all have racist tendencies that we need to address but I had hope for the future and a belief in the general goodness of others.

Over the past two years, social media has shattered that naivete as I've seen many people who I've looked up to and admired for their decency, compassion, empathy, and reason take hard stances that I cannot understand or condone. They support individuals who lie with impunity, have utter disregard for underprivileged groups, and who seem to value money above all else. Again and again, they dismiss the lies and the corruption and the pure hate and do so from a false moral high ground which makes it all the more infuriating. By and large, they are willing to put up with anything as long as they can elect someone who will repeal Roe v. Wade and “stop abortion.”

However you feel about abortion, I wish we could look at the situation with a little logic. First off, abortion in this country won't stop even if the law is repealed. Doctors will still perform abortions illegally like they did before the law and women will still find themselves in desperate situations, just with unsafe options. You know what will stop abortions? Free access to quality health care for women! The countries with the lowest abortion rates are not the most religious, but the ones who provide free birth control and easy access to it. In this country, one of the only places women can go to get free or inexpensive birth control is Planned Parenthood, which lawmakers are trying defund, even though those federal dollars cannot be used for abortions only healthcare for women. Even if you have such a moral opposition to Planned Parenthood, do something to replace it! Open clinics for women with access to birth control, mammograms, cancer screenings, pregnancy tests, prenatal care, that don't perform abortions. Fund the heck out of those clinics. Fundraise like crazy and make sure that every woman in this country has the healthcare, education, and support she needs. Don't take away the only access to affordable healthcare many women have and then blame them for making poor choices.

Now back to Kavanaugh. His demeanor in the hearing was belligerent, unprofessional, and definitely unbecoming of any judge let alone a judge with a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. On the other hand, the woman who brought forth accusations of assault was calm, helpful, professional, and believable. She had everything to lose and nothing to gain by coming forward. Yet people are so hell-bent on pushing through their nominee that they would abandon the principle of Occam's razor in favor of conspiracy theories, completely ignoring the apparent nature and personality of (generously speaking) an unpleasant heavy drinker (ungenerously an alcoholic sexual assaulter) because they are blindly, partisanly focused on one vote.

Trying to push through a poor choice in a supreme court Justice (or president) because you want them to vote one way on one topic is myopic, illogical, and downright bad for our nation. We are a literal laughing stock and I believe we will be judged for how we are treating our most vulnerable populations.