Melania Trump says Sexual Assault victims shouldn't report unless they have evidence

[LadyForCamus]

RR, we just had over half of the GOP state that they believe Brett Kavanaugh should still get to be SCJ even if he DID commit sexual assault.  That’s a problem that is staring you directly in the face. That is how a society implicitly condones rape.  Are you going to choose to see it, or cover your eyes?

If I remember correctly, I wasn’t crazy about the wording of that poll. What do you think they where saying in this?  I ask, because it seems that many seem to twist anything I or others here have said on the topic to get to there narrrative of a culture of rape.

I don’t think that they where saying sexual assault is ok; or to be condoned.  I think that in order to have a discussion, you need to listen, quit assuming the worst in everyone, and talk to them. Rather than so much identity politics and rhetoric ; which is what I’m seeing a lot of. It seems that people are not accurately portraying others, I was even accused of lying in this thread, just for stating my opinion.

It seems pretty straightforward to me:

The survey asked, "If it were proven that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a woman when they were both high school students 36 years ago, do you think that does or does not disqualify Kavanaugh from being a Supreme Court Justice?" 

Forty-eight percent of respondents overall thought it should disqualify him, while 28 percent said it should not, and 24 percent were not sure, according to the results from The Economist/YouGov. But among Republicans, a majority—55 percent—thought a proven allegation of sexual assault does not disqualify Kavanaugh from serving on the Supreme Court. About one-quarter, 27 percent, thought it does disqualify him, while 18 percent were not sure.

Do I really need to explain what is wrong about this, and what it says about our current culture?

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…we just had over half of the GOP state that they believe Brett Kavanaugh should still get to be SCJ even if he DID commit sexual assault.

The belief that a robust and fair criminal justice system does not punish people their entire lives for juvenile crime is NOT condoning rape any more than allowing reformed felons to secure gainful employment and housing condones robbery or man-slaughter.

We are taking about a seat on Supreme Court, here. Are you kidding me? If CBF’s allegations are true, they are horrific; targeting a young girl with his friend, ambushing her, holding her against her will and using her body as an object for entertainment and sexual pleasure. That you think a human being capable of such callous disregard for the suffering of another at his hands should ever hold a position of power in this country indicates that you are part of the problem.

The president of the United States is contributing to a rape culture right now, by 1)mocking alleged victims in front of large audiences, and 2) perpetuating false narratives about the length of time victims take to come forward.

-my numbering-

Yes, 2) is a false narrative and ignorant. He has no excuse. As for 1) apart from his tone of voice, Trump presented actual facts that came out during Ford’s testimony which was at best vague and inconsistent.

Actually, he lied about her testimony to the ignorant delight of his crowd. He said she ‘doesn’t remember if it was upstairs or downstairs’, which is patently false.  She explicitly testified to the location of the assault being in an upstairs bedroom.  And, he’s the POTUS.  Does tone not matter?  As far as human communication is concerned, non-verbal has more of an impact on your audience than verbal, by a wide margin.

And as for Trump’s mocking, of better or worse, social conservatives do not take Trump’s rhetoric seriously.

Do you know who takes his public mocking seriously?  Victims of sexual assault who are internally weighing the risks versus the benefits of coming forward.