We are aware of significant evidence of multiple house parties...during which Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge and others would participate in the targeting of women with alcohol/drugs in order to allow a ‘train’ of men to subsequently gang rape them.
We don't know that he lied, and I certainly don't think a mere accusation is sufficient reason to assume he did. But the possibilty that he lied should be taken seriously, and this is ample reason to take both her and Kavanaugh's testimony seriously, and to obtain as much additional evidence as they can by pushing for a more thorough investigation. I think each Senator should make a judgment based on his/her view of the preponderance of the evidence: i.e. if they think it's more likely than not that he lied, then he should not be approved. That's a lower bar than in a criminal case, but it seems absurd to put someone on the court if we feel they PROBABLY lied, despite there being a reasonable doubt that he lied. — Relativist
If anybody can be declared a victim simply by making a claim, eventually none of the claims will be seen as credible. — Jake
But if she wishes to use her personal experience to comment upon public policy — Jake
No police report, no public statements about her experience until the very last minute of a highly charged political decision 35 years after the alleged crime etc. — Jake
Whether she is a victim or not we can wish her well, — Jake
This basic fact combined with the credibility of Blasey Ford's background, previous conversations with therapist, and request for confidentiality are why I tend to believe her. The idea that it's just 50/50 he said/she said is absurd. — Baden
The information was leaked by a third party so her insertion into politics at this particular moment was not of her doing. Please familiarise yourself with the details of the case before commenting. — Baden
Besides, I can prove I wasn't in America at that time, and you're definitely not my type — Baden
because I am claiming to be a victim, without any evidence at all, and thus everything I'm saying surely must be true. — Jake
Just want to reemphasize that of the four scenarios I outlined, I only proposed, with reasons, the one that she is telling the truth and he is lying as the most likely. Any fair observer should recognize the possibility of the others, and analyze them in context. What should be dismissed out of hand though are absurdities like Ford didn't accuse Kavanaugh of sexual assault; or that what Kavanaugh is alleged to have done does not qualify as a sexual assault; or that what he did no matter how it's considered legally was really nothing serious, that is was just misbehavior and so on. — Baden
I'm an upstanding citizen with no criminal record or other black marks against me, and I claim that Baden tried to rape me 35 years ago during a spring break in Daytona Beach. I have no proof, no evidence. But readers should believe me because I'm a nice guy claiming to be a victim. Given the above, there's no way we can accept Baden as a moderator on the forum, because when he rejects my claim he might be lying. — Jake
Jake, you need to go read the details of the case before commenting. — Baden
She told her therapist she was assaulted before any of the recent political events. — Baden
Plus, she asked Feinstein that the information remain confidential. — Baden
There's a difference between some anonymous person making a claim on the internet and someone publicly requesting an FBI investigation and agreeing to sworn testimony before the Senate. — Michael
As the mod of philosophy forum, and a normally sensible commentator, you should be able to realize that if we accept claims without evidence... — Jake
She should be respected as a person (unless it can be proven she's lying). But after that, she sucks as a witness, and is basically wasting our time. — Jake
She told her therapist, but nobody who could actually do anything to remove the alleged rapist as a threat to the public. This lack of action was a public statement that what maybe happened to her was not really that big of a deal. — Jake
No, if you bully the 95% of claimants who are statistically found to be telling the truth by unreasonably doubting them then not only will more of the public unreasonably think they are liars, but they will be less likely to come forward, and that will encourage more crimes against them. — Baden
One doesn't go to a therapist and speak about something that happened years before because its 'not really that big of a deal'. — StreetlightX
So, could there have been a woman silently almost raped in the midst of a party filled with people, with the only witnesses being extremely loyal to the rapist and refusing to turn him in? — Hanover
There were only five people attending this party according to Ford. There was only one witness, Mark Judge, in the room where the incident allegedly occurred. It's possible Judge was also inebriated and didn't (or would rather not) make a big deal out of the incident. If neither Judge, Kavanaugh or Ford told what happened to the other two people who weren't in the room, then Judge remains the only potential witness. That neither Ford or Judge (let alone Kavanaugh) would have told anyone is nothing out of the ordinary. — Pierre-Normand
Speculation is like creative writing. We are only limited by our imagination. — Hanover
Corroborating yourself with your own prior comments seems a bit flimsy doesn't it? — Hanover
Corroborating yourself with your own prior comments seems a bit flimsy doesn't it? There was a supposed attempted rape at a party, yet exactly one person has any recollection of it. Am I to believe that a there was a party filled with sociopaths, some of whom were aware of the goings on at the party, but none of whom were at all alarmed by the behavior? No one recalls what would have been an extremely distraught young woman literally running from the party? What have her parents said or her best friends said of that night? Wouldn't someone somewhere have seen or heard something or would have been a confidant at the time of the incident?
So, could there have been a woman silently almost raped in the midst of a party filled with people, with the only witnesses being extremely loyal to the rapist and refusing to turn him in? Yes, could be, I guess, but this approach I'm taking is the flip side of the coin you're taking, where you try to make the other person's story seem incredible.
It's no more crazy to question why Ford would tell her therapist about an incident decades prior that didn't happen than it is to ask how a violent crime occurred in a crowd of people where no did anything, said anything, or can remember anything. — Hanover
This paper gives a 5.9% false reporting rate for the US. — Baden
And you'll find the answers. — Baden
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