+3
I sympathize with the reductios ad absurdum that are being thrown around here. That's why I also repped Nostromo's post. It's definitely true that minors are generally way more awkward when it comes to sexual activities than adults and it would be weird to let all those childhood moments surface again when people are applying for important public jobs.
Many boys have been forced to kiss a girl in primary school while being held by their mates and many girls suddenly feel a guy holding their hips from their back during dances in high school because most teenage guys don't know how to talk to girls and just "go for it". Those early experiences are often awkward, weird and tense, but it's very unlikely that people actually get traumatized by them.
However, as Yoda already pointed out, the allegations against Kavanaugh are of a different kind. The story that Dr. Ford described really implicates that the two 17(!) year old guys planned to force or were consciously forcing a 15 year old girl into a deeply sexual and intimate situation, even making sure nobody can hear her scream (by turning up the music and holding a hand in front of her mouth). It's not at all comparable to a common "awkward" sexual approach, at least not during the years I was young. I assume this was also not the case during the '80s. The fact that someone would do something like that at the age of 17 definitely says something about that person's character.
Also, I think agressive sexual approaches by men towards women are inherently more dangerous and violent than the other way around.
I also sympathize with Cricket's warnings against naivety. That's why I repped him as well. I know PLENTY of girls that seem respectable but who indeed would or have tried to destroy a guy's reputation because he left/cheated on/was rude to/used to bully her. Friends of mine have been accused of rape (not in court, but through gossip) while I know for a fact that it can't be true, girls have told friends of mine that they were pregnant by them when they weren't just to get into their heads and there are many other mean lies which girls use to ruin the reputation of guys they don't like. Just like men, women can also be manipulative, mendacious and sociopathic.
However, apart from the fact that this case is on a totally different scale, there are, as I've already mentioned, a couple of elements to this particular story that steer me towards believing her instead of him, or at least make me believe that something out of the ordinary happened: the 2012 mention of Kavanaugh (and the incident) to her therapist, the weird unhelpful details to her story that she wouldn't add when she was rationally lying and her overall credibility as a person.
This doen't mean Kavanaugh is guilty or that the accusation an sich is enough to deny him the seat on the Supreme Court, but I do think the accusation is believable and grave enough to incite further investigation. After such investigation, if no indications are found that Dr. Ford's story is true, he should then always be given the benefit of the doubt and get a yes-vote from all the senators who think he's fit to serve based on all the other elements.
Last edited by Cobpyth; 09-29-18 at 09:11 PM.