An ode to self care
Illustration by Alex Hwee
Shaun Jackson
Staff Columnist
RLWR: Can’t Hold Us Down – Christina Aguilera
How can we address living in a world that allows for men in high positions of power to get away with taking advantage of women?
We address it as did Christine Blasey Ford and countless other women and femmes before her: by calling it out. Our culture tends to curtail the experiences of women and other minorities. This creates a narrative that not only reads as victimless but also makes survivors look as though they’ve baselessly accused someone — simply in an effort to tarnish their reputation — as part of some covert agenda. No one should ever be made to feel like such a heinous act was brought upon them because of their choice of dress, actions or profession.
What are your feelings about having yet another public movement centered around victims opening up about their past traumas, only to be subject to various attacks and character assassination?
As with any movement abetted by social media — whether it be hashtagging #MeToo or #WhyIDidntReport — the ever-infamous “internet trolls” always come out to play. Trolling aside, I think it is abhorrent that anyone thinks someone would willingly go back to a dark place to relive those traumas purely for attention. We’ve seen this recently with all this Brett Kavanaugh ridiculousness — if you want to throw up in your mouth a little bit, read an article about the whole ordeal and then go to the comment section. This woman took a monumental stand to call out Kavanaugh which could have cost her everything. Hell, Ford received numerous death threats to the point that she had to move. People refuse to acknowledge the problem here, and the responses Ford has received proves that precisely.
How do you feel about a man like Kavanaugh being a nominee for the Supreme Court?
It’s ugly and despicable given the recent light shed on him. Of course, my feelings don’t matter. The feelings of Ford and other survivors are what really matter, and I think the timing here is everything. While many have voiced suspicions about the authenticity of the survivors’ accounts for waiting this long to come forward, I believe it’s quite the opposite. If I saw my assailant rise to a position of power, I’d like to think I would have Ford’s courage to come forward.
