Cynthia McKinney on the Kavanaugh furor

I don't know if Dr. McKinney's essay, has been referred to here yet or not, but it does deserve a separate thread.

https://www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com/rich-white-kids/

She also identifies the complaint as a psy-op, which, as I have said, I also think it is.

Please, everyone, notice that wild times in HS did not stymie the careers of either Kavanaugh or Ford, both of them pampered children of privilege.

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k9disc's picture

I was not a latch key kid. I was at home on my own after school since about 3rd Grade.

My point about the latch key kids was that their parents had no choice but to take that route. Wealthy parents and private school kids have no such requirements on them to be hands off parents. It is completely a "choice".

I think the kids know about that aspect of reality. I knew my mom had no choice but to be at work. I'm pretty sure that rich kids know that their parents totally had a choice to spend time with them or not. But not being a rich kid, I really wouldn't know.

And I also know that all choices are not cut and dry true choices. But the feeling and vibe must be different with busy parents based upon income.

@HenryAWallace

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“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

gulfgal98's picture

@k9disc My take is less upon the "latch key" portion and more on the fact that most of these kids from families of privilege are coddled and bailed out all their lives which is why so many of them have this sense of entitlement.

I posted on another essay that Kavanaugh gave me the creeps in a very similar manner that Peter Strzok did. His smirking demeanor oozes the hubris of entitlement.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Bisbonian's picture

@k9disc , at least at the school I went to. Shoe polish, or more likely "edge dressing".

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

@doh1304 is the responsibility of the parents, so I don't think McKinney was off base to discuss bad parenting.

I am inclined to think that three things are true, Ford's testimony is more or less true and also was brought up right now as a psy op and K is a jerk, although possibly not a predator.

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Mary Bennett

I'm disgusted by this thread.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@crescentmoon

...with a different take. I sense a group of independent and unaffiliated people with very different lives and histories, and with an uncertain and untrustworthy political ideology that they cannot count on to hold them together.

I see them struggling to process a culture that is mutating and transforming with a speed that causes the same kind of social dislocation that is experienced when a country is occupied by a foreign army that is changing the rules. (A deserved fate that may or may not be karmic.) These people are well aware that any developing thoughts that they express could expose them to social marginalization or self-exile — neither of which is a hoped for outcome. But they are driven to deconstruct the destabilizing cultural dilemma before them — in front of witnesses. I would describe the dilemma as the nation's unfinished business that has tendrils embedded into many aspects of public understanding. For some, those very same tendrils reach into areas of their private lives, areas that may remain unresolved. For most, there is a strong identification that feels vaguely threatening, one way or another.

This social experiment in this forum is a risk they will take to get a grip on their changing world. It's notable and troubling. Disgust may be your own sincere take on the situation, and that's notable, too.

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Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
Centaurea's picture

@Pluto's Republic Thank you.

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"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi

"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone

I appreciate your thoughtful response, Pluto's Republic. I don't have the energy to give respond in such a way at this moment. That said, I believe she risked her own and her family's safety because she could not live with herself if she remained silent any longer. She couldn't come forward until she couldn't stay silent. So many women, unfortunately, understand this. Now, the stakes were too high.
Even here, look at the response. I think the article raised good points. It takes a political turn when it weaponizes those good points to try to discredit Dr. Ford's account. No matter what the circumstances, it is morally reprehensible and criminal to have perpetrated this assault. He has already been shown to be a liar, multiple times. Yes, I believe her. And I still believe Anita. Tear me down. I don't care.
Long ago, I gave up on the Democratic party. I don't think it can be changed for the better from within. I wonder if that animus is blinding some here. Where is your compassion. You are no friends of mine.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@crescentmoon

I don't notice that these happen to be women, either. Lately, we've been seeing older men stand up for what happened to them in the Catholic church 35 years ago. Whatever sex they are, it takes courage and forbearance to do so. No one does it for fun, let alone in front of their grown children and extended families and co-workers. I suppose they must go through this examination for credibility, since the Judge would never stipulate.

For me, the only question is whether the US will decide to punish someone for a not uncommon assault or sexual bullying, as a teen. I say "not uncommon" because it happened at my school, and it continues if Facebook is to be believed. The American culture is rife with this sort of thing. I suspect that among the house and senate, there are more than a few who got away with a similar humiliating assault — then grew up and went on to live a life free of such crimes. I wonder what they're thinking.

At any other time, I believe the Judge would be advised to pack it up and go away. Then the politicians would look very moral and ethical, and they could move on to the next candidate. But this is a very different sort of time when there is complete panic. The Republicans must absolutely confirm someone before the midterms if they hope to wedge a nightmare judge in the Supreme Court who will criminalize such human behaviors as anti-war protests or boycotting Israel. Of course, considering those two issues, I can see the Democrats putting him over the top, as well.

There's no moral to this story.

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Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
mhagle's picture

@crescentmoon

. . . that is revealed in comments. I try not to pay that much attention and just let people vent. Even though I may not agree with their assessments.

I believe victims in circumstances like this. Why else would they subject themselves to the embarrassment of these memories? They believe it is important to do so.

Makes me glad my teenage kids are introverts and prefer to hang out at home. I was the same way. Years ago I thought I was missing out, but not anymore, hearing stories like this.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

There are other women who have reported assaults. There may be others. Who would come forward under these circumstances? He has lied during the hearing prior to Dr. Ford coming forward. The confirmation has been a farce since the beginning with the refusal to release his record. I am disgusted. I will vote for Leslie Cockburn this November. Other than that, I will tend my garden and sing in choir.

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mhagle's picture

@crescentmoon

Other than that, I will tend my garden and sing in choir.

Yes.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

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