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The Ethics of “Media Men” Lists, One Year Later

Photo of two people holding signs at a protest

Editor’s note: This article contains use of a vulgarity.

This article has a set of discussion questions tailored for classroom use. Click here to download them. To see a full list of articles with discussion questions and other resources, visit our “Educational Resources” page.


At around this time last year a Google spreadsheet titled “Shitty Media Men” began being shared by a group of women who worked in various positions involving the media. The document was intended to be a place where women could anonymously make reports about inappropriate conduct of men who they worked with, ranging from unsolicited advances or generally creepy behavior, all the way to accusations of sexual assault and rape. Moira Donegan, the creator of the list, explained her intention at The Cut as “an attempt at solving what has seemed like an intractable problem: how women can protect ourselves from sexual harassment and assault.” As Donegan goes on to note, “informal alliances that pass on open secrets and warn women” called “whisper networks” have been common for a long time. In creating a more widely accessible document, however, Donegan wanted to provide access to this information to a much wider audience, allowing those who might not have been part of a whisper network to gain information and share their experiences.

Once the existence of the list became public knowledge, however, it started to receive backlash. Some worried about the claims on the list being unsubstantiated, and that the men accused on the list were unable to respond to the accusations made therein. And there were repercussions for being named on the list, with some men having investigations performed by their employers into their conduct, and others being fired. The prominent worry, then, was that the accusations made on the list could be false, and the consequence of a false accusation is the punishment of an innocent man.

Recently, one man named on the list, Stephen Elliott, filed lawsuit against Donegan for damages, to the tune of $1.5 million. On the “Shitty Media Men” list Elliott was accused of sexual harassment and rape, amongst other things. In an extensive reply, Elliott has denied all accusations, and claims that as a result of being accused he has suffered in the form of reduced book sales, being cut off from professional contacts, and suffering psychologically.

The fear that innocent men will suffer from being falsely accused is becoming increasingly common in the wake of the #metoo movement, as well as with what appears to be a very gradual shift towards taking women’s accusations of sexual assault seriously. For instance, the response to the recent swearing in of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has been divided between those who believed that the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford ought to have been given much more consideration, and those who believed that to take the testimony of Dr. Ford seriously would be to risk derailing a man’s career on the basis of accusations that they thought did not meet the proper standards of proof. Recently, Donald Trump expressed that it was “a scary time” for men, even going so far as to act out a one-man show in which a falsely accused son explained melodramatically to his tearful mother why he had lost his job.

The ethical worry surrounding things like the “Shitty Media Men” list, then, is that it potentially puts innocent men at risk: merely being named on the list has potential consequences, and since anyone can make accusations anonymously, the worry is that not only will such false accusations be possible, but prevalent. Of course, the existence of such lists also have the potential to bring about a lot of benefits. As Donegan explains, it is often the case that “for someone looking to report an incident or to make habitual behavior stop, all the available options are bad ones”; notably, that “police are notoriously inept at handing sexual-assault cases” and that within a corporate environment, “human-resource departments…are tasked not with protecting employees but with shielding the company from liability.” The benefits of such lists, then, are that women can help other women avoid potential harm, and that women can have an alternative option to make a report. While those like Elliott claim psychological harms from being named on the list, the existence of such a list could also prevent a significant amount of psychological harm suffered by women whose reports are not taken seriously, or who feel that they really have no other way to name their accusers.

One way that we can evaluate whether it’s a good or bad thing to have a “Shitty Media Men” list is by weighing the potential goods versus the potential harms that could come about as a result of its existence. As many commentators have noted, the fear of men being falsely accused tends to be exaggerated: although it is difficult to get an exact idea of how common false accusations are, various sources have put the rate at around 5%, although that number might be as low as 2% or as high as 10%, at least in America. At the same time, while it is again very difficult to get a sense of the numbers, there is good reason to think that sexual assault is generally underreported. It seems likely that providing additional avenues for reporting would then help with the problem of underreporting, which would be a significant benefit to many women. If these lists result in significantly more potential benefits than potential harms, then, there is reason to think their existence really is a good thing.

Calculating costs and benefits in this way, however, may not seem to be very satisfying. Indeed, we might think it would be better if the existing options that women had to report assault weren’t so bad, perhaps if police, human resource departments, and political leaders were better trained. And it may seem callous to suggest that men who are falsely accused are an unfortunate but necessary collateral damage. That being said, given the obstacles that women continue to face in having their reports taken seriously, the continued existence of such lists seems inevitable. In considering whether this is a good or bad thing, we need to keep in mind both the relative paucity of false accusations, and the benefits that the existence of the “Shitty Media Men” list could bring.

Opinion: Kavanaugh Was the Wrong Choice

photograph of Mississippi senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Brett Kavanaugh smiling while sitting on a couch

It’s a headline we’ve all probably seen in some form during the past month: allegations of sexual assault against nominated justice Brett Kavanaugh disrupted his confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States. Updates on the interruptions surrounding his confirmation have dominated news cycles since alleged victim of Kavanaugh’s forceful advances, Christine Blasey Ford, testified against him in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee last month. To quickly recap, here is a timeline of significant events that have transpired with Kavanaugh’s confirmation:

           

July 9: President Donald Trump announces his pick as Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court bench.

September 16: Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations of Kavanaugh sexually assaulting her while they were both in high school go public in a Washington Post report.

September 17: Kavanaugh issues a statement denying Ford’s accusations.

September 23: A second woman, Deborah Ramirez, comes forward with sexual misconduct allegations from when the two were in college together. Kavanaugh subsequently denies these allegations.

September 26: A third woman, Julie Swetnick, accuses Kavanaugh of targeting girls for sexual assault. Kavanaugh also denies these allegations.

September 27: Both Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

September 28: Senate Judiciary Committee votes to send Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Senate floor.

October 1: White House directs FBI to interview anyone deemed relevant in their investigation of Kavanaugh.

October 6: The Senate confirms Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

These events have brought the push against the #MeToo movement to a head, as Kavanaugh’s defenders elicited many similar arguments that were used in defense of the men who were accused of rape/sexual misconduct soon after the movement’s birth including Louis CK, Al Franken, and Matt Lauer. Perhaps the most commonly-used of these arguments is the presumption of innocence. Actor, comedian, and producer Jeremy Piven stated after being accused of sexual assault that “lives are being put in jeopardy without a hearing, due process or evidence.” In this, Piven refers to the subverting of formal legal processes in these accusations by publicly labeling men as sex offenders when there is no concrete proof or general consensus supporting the accusations. Thus, to Piven, the notion of “innocent until proven guilty” seems to have been wrongly undermined in these situations. More relevant to Kavanaugh’s case, Hans A. von Spakovsky of Fox News writes, “if you believe in the presumption of innocence, based on what we know now it would be unfair to assume that Kavanaugh is guilty of sexual assault and deny him a seat on our nation’s highest court based on uncorroborated accusations.”

Furthermore, Kavanaugh’s backers argued that the instances of sexual assault his accusers detail occurred in 1982, when Kavanaugh was only 17 years old and the culture surrounding sexual assault was much different than it is today. Rod Dreher, an editor at the American Conservative, tweeted, “I do not understand why the loutish, drunken behavior of a 17 year old high school boy has anything to tell us about the character of a 53 year old judge…This is a terrible standard to establish in public life.” In 1982, long before the #MeToo movement and American society’s mainstream prioritizing of sexual consent, forced sex between young people was merely seen as “fooling around” or “boys being boys.” The extent and severity of sexual assaults on young women had not yet been exposed to the public, so most people were not engaged in discourse about the issue. In fact, the first nationally-observed Sexual Assault Awareness Month was not until April of 2001. Therefore, as Kavanaugh supporters argued, how could Kavanaugh have understood the need for consent before discussions about consent were even being had in the mainstream?

Whether for the sake of partisan politics, women’s rights, or molding the future of conversations about sexual assault, Democrats in Congress fought vehemently to block Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic Senator from California and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote in an article for The Los Angeles Times, “Supreme Court justices should not be an extension of the Republican Party…I strongly oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.” Feinstein’s argument raises a fair partisan concern, but there are other, more ethically-grounded reasons why Kavanaugh should not have been confirmed to the Supreme Court and why the previously-mentioned defenses of him fall short.

What Kavanaugh’s supporters seem not to realize is that Kavanaugh was not being tried as a criminal, although he and Ford’s testimonial process bore great resemblance to a criminal trial. Rather, Kavanaugh was undergoing intense scrutiny to deem whether he is worthy of holding one of the most prestigious and permanent offices in the United States’ government. Therefore, the presumption of innocence does not apply to this situation. There will be no verdict of “guilty” or “innocent,” but rather one of “fit” or “not fit” to serve on the Supreme Court. Being denied the confirmation would not have “ruin[ed] Judge Kavanaugh’s life,” as Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina believes it would have, rather it would have prevented a potential sexual deviant from holding one of the most ethics-centered positions in the U.S. Even if one holds a sound belief that Kavanaugh is innocent of committing sexual assault, why should our country take the risk? Especially in a political climate where sexual assault cases are at the forefront, we cannot afford to do so. Politics aside, President Trump and the Republican Senate could have nominated and confirmed a judge with similar politics and competency as Kavanaugh, but without his questionable past.

Should Kavanaugh’s past be allowed to affect his future? The short answer is that it shouldn’t matter. The extended answer requires us to step back and look at Kavanaugh’s confirmation from a broader view. Bearing the entire country’s already horrific rape culture in mind, Kavanaugh and his individual life should have no bearing on the nation’s future. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, approximately one-third of perpetrators of juvenile sexual abuse are themselves juveniles, with an overwhelming majority being male. By confirming Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the President and Congress have sent a resounding message to the rest of the nation that high school boys can sexually assault their female peers and still grow up to hold one of the highest offices in the nation. The danger of sending this message greatly outweighs threats to Kavanaugh’s individual future.

Unfortunately, the Senate disregarded these points and sided with partisanship over morality and logic to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court anyways. While the future of our nation looks bleak with the lifetime appointment of Kavanaugh, what can this debacle teach us about the intersection of ethics and politics? Perhaps the most important lesson to take is that public officials, especially politicians, should be judged based on the ethicality of all of their actions, and how they react to those actions. Kavanaugh, vying for the most ethics-centered position in the nation, was accused of an unethical action, and reacted with anger and brute denial rather than understanding and acknowledgement of a social climate in the United States that is dangerous for women. Whether he is guilty or not, his refusal to recognize the backlash that survivors of sexual assault commonly face implies that he does not see consent to be tied directly to ethics. In today’s politics where sexual assault is at the forefront of modern law, the U.S. needs a new justice who will view these cases with objectivity and poise, will set a good example for the rest of the nation, and will have a sound moral compass. Brett Kavanaugh is not that justice.

Sexual Abuse and the Rhetoric of Powerful Men

Photograph of Brett Kavanaugh with his hand raised in anger

Editor’s Note: The confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh, the allegations against him, and the subsequent congressional hearing interviewing Dr. Blasey Ford have spurred many difficult, complex reactions. This week, we will be publishing varied perspectives on the spectrum of topics brought to the fore by Dr. Blasey’s hearing. This is the third article of that series.   

Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination has been contested since Dr. Christine Blasey Ford alleged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her three decades ago. Since Ford, Deborah Ramirez and a third accuser, Julie Swetnick, also have alleged sexually inappropriate behaviour from Kavanaugh.  Initially, Republicans attempted to rush through the nomination. But on facing public outcry about their seeming disregard for normal vetting processes, the Republicans permitted Dr. Blasey Ford to testify at a congressional hearing this past week. Dr. Blasey Ford’s controlled testimony about her experience has triggered a nation-wide distillation of grief and rage from sexual assault survivors.

In the wake of #MeToo, women are rejecting silence about their abusers en masse. Men are starting to get alarmed. Here, I focus on men as accused and women as accusers in part because it is reflective of the norm – one in five women are raped in their lifetime, while one in seventy-one men will get raped. Also, men are overwhelmingly represented in powerful positions, and are beneficiaries of social machinery that operate to keep them there. The suggestion that this gendered distribution of power could be challenged is raising serious anxiety for the Republicans, the party with an overwhelmingly male face. As one anonymous White House lawyer summed it up: “If somebody can be brought down by accusations like this, then you, me, every man certainly should be worried. “

Previously, the burden of responsibility for rape allegations has always been borne by the victim. Women are routinely scrutinized for being the recipients of sexual assault, while men’s actions are diminished as ”horseplay”, or drunken, youthful antics. Here, too, there are gendered laws as to how drink affects agency: a man who drinks automatically has reduced culpability for his actions, while a woman who drinks is de facto responsible for what a man does to her.

Now that the winds appear to be shifting slightly to ask more accountability from men, men are reacting with outsized emotions. Brett Kavanaugh’s petulant tirade following the testimony of his accuser, Dr. Blasey Ford, implied that he was owed one of the highest offices in the land without being subjected to scrutiny. And yet this appears to have worked for Kavanaugh – righteous male rage is an effective strategy to redirect narratives, empathy, and power to male perpetrators rather than to victims of sexual assault.

This indefatigable entitlement also characterizes a broader backdrop wherein men who have been accused by numerous women of misconduct are seeking returns to their former prominence.  Jian Ghomeshi, the Canadian media personality who was accused of sexual abuse by twenty women, was recently given a prestigious platform in the New York Review of Books. Ghomeshi’s self-indulgent essay came under fire for its mischaracterization of his offenses (for example, Ghomeshi said ”several” women had come forward rather than the actual number of twenty, and he characterized his actions, which included punching women in the head, non-consensual choking, and workplace harassment as being ”emotionally thoughtless”). Ghomeshi also expressed claims to newfound empathy, an empathy which seems misplaced in its primary fixation on other accused offenders rather than for the victims of his actions. Widely derided as an editorial choice, the publication of Ghomeshi’s essay triggered the departure of NYRB’s editor, Ian Buruma.  Rather than concede poor professional judgment in publishing an article that was neither fact-checked or published with journalistic due diligence, Buruma mourned that he simply wanted to hear from Ghomeshi after he was tried by a ‘court’ of social media, but found himself ‘pilloried’ in turn.  

This example reflects a common strategy of the sexual politics surrounding #MeToo: men rhetorically adopting the position of hapless victim of hearsay and public shaming, asking for ‘due process’ – whatever that is supposed to mean outside of a judicial system.  Surprisingly enough, judicial-sounding tropes of ‘courts’ and ‘due process’ in the context of public opinion have been rejected by none other than Mitt Romney.  In 2017, Romney tweeted in support of Leigh Corfman against Roy Moore, sayingInnocent until proven guilty is for criminal convictions, not elections.” Mitt Romney has a point. This rhetorical strategy may seem persuasive on its surface, but does not hold up to scrutiny. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ and ‘due process’ are concepts which reflect a high standard reserved for criminal and civil prosecution, because inflicting punishment by the state is reasonably held to a high standard of proof.

Public opinion, on the other hand, does not and need not operate beyond the shadow of a doubt. Most of our decisions about people’s characters in everyday life and politics are made with reasonably plausible levels of certainty, rather than courtroom levels of certainty.  What these pleas for impossibly high standards of proof in talking about rape truly advocate is preventing any outing of powerful men as sexual offenders. But powerful men do not need our continued support. They need it least of all in a world where only six out of every 1000 rapists will ever end up in prison and it takes sixty female accusers to persuade a court that one powerful man is a rapist. And yet, these same men who rail against their accusers should be the first to seek to clear their names by formal avenues.  If Brett Kavanaugh were truly convinced of his own innocence, he should have pleaded for an FBI investigation, rather than Dr. Blasey-Ford.

Today, op-eds abound asking whether high-profile sexual offenders have finished their time-out yet, or ask whether #MeToo is ‘going too far’, revealing a strong identification and concern for powerful men who have abused their power. Surprisingly, these same voices show a complete lack of curiosity and vision regarding the present and future of victims who have come forth in the tidal wave of confessing their experiences, often at great personal cost.  When do they get to reclaim their power, productivity, joy, and carefree lives?

In this pivotal historical moment, it is important to reflect and critically scrutinize the use of hyperbole as a rhetorical power play. Misapplied uses of language can obfuscate who are the real victims in an imbalanced state of affairs.  Misleading rhetoric can even re-victimize those who have already been violated, while reaffirming the status quo. As Aristotle proposed in the first book of the Rhetoric, citizens and thinkers must peel beneath rhetorical performances to evaluate where the better case for justice lies. It may not necessarily rest with those who are protesting the loudest.

 

Disrespect for Women—Indelible in the Hippocampus

Two women holding a sign that says "I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford"

Editor’s Note: The confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh, the allegations against him, and the subsequent congressional hearing interviewing Dr. Blasey Ford have spurred many difficult, complex reactions. This week, we will be publishing varied perspectives on the spectrum of topics brought to the fore by Dr. Blasey’s hearing. This is the first of that series.

On Thursday, September 27th, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss her allegation that Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her at a high school get together in the early 1980s. Judge Kavanaugh also testified at the hearing, denying the allegations without qualification.  When asked repeatedly if he would support an FBI investigation that might potentially clear his name, he dodged the question.

By Friday morning, it seemed all but certain that the Kavanaugh nomination would be approved by the committee. There had been some speculation that Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) might be a holdout, but a statement released by the senator Friday morning indicated that he would vote to move the candidate forward after all.  Then something remarkable happened. Two passionate women approached Senator Flake with a message: “You’re telling all women that they don’t matter. That they should just stay quiet because if they tell you what happened to them, you’re going to ignore them.”

For many women, this nomination is, essentially, a litmus test for misogyny.  What’s more, it is taking place in a political context in which women already have reason to feel that they aren’t being taken seriously.  In this case, it’s up to a primarily male committee to decide which violations of a woman’s body and dignity deserve to be heard and investigated.

Navigating one’s relationship to one’s body is a challenging and ever-evolving existential feature of being human. No person lives a life untouched by this—we all experience scarring and blemishes, weight loss and weight gain, aging and wrinkling.  Looking on with very little control, our bodies often feel less like who we are and more like vessels in which we are trapped. Current cultural norms exacerbate this existential challenge to maddening levels in the case of women in particular because we are made, in countless ways, to feel as if we are reducible to our bodies.  Nevertheless, when we try to assert any meaningful sense of ownership over them, we are met with resistance. We are told whether and which violations of our bodies matter, and how much they matter. We are not only told that we are reducible to our bodies, we are told which features of our bodies we are reducible to.  

Aristotle argued that virtue is a social enterprise. Successful societies encourage and assist in the development of virtuous citizens.  Young citizens learn good habits by watching the behavior of role models in their governments and communities. We can only hope that today’s young men and women aren’t modeling their traits of character with respect to how to treat women on the behavior of contemporary politicians. Aristotle’s own attitudes toward women weren’t worthy of emulation either, but he was right that young people look to older people to determine how they should behave. They need better role models when it comes to the treatment of women—role models who understand that women’s interests should be taken seriously and their dignity should be respected.

Respect for the dignity of women dictates that women are treated always as autonomous beings, not as prizes in the alpha male Olympics. This goal is, of course, undermined when future presidents brag about being powerful enough approach women and grab them by the genitals and nominees to the Supreme Court boast about female conquests in high school yearbooks and then tell obvious lies when asked about it years later.

Respect for the dignity of women requires the acknowledgment that men and women alike are the authors of their own narratives, and female stories are successful and compelling even in the absence of physically stunning leading ladies.  Our success or failure as women has nothing to do with what we look like, how old we are, or how much we weigh. The understanding of women as creators of their own destinies is undermined by comments like the one then-candidate Trump had for his opponent, Carly Fiorina, in the Republican primaries: “Look at that face, would anybody vote for that?”

Respect for the dignity of women is undermined when we are treated as if we are epistemic inferiors—like we don’t know good evidence from bad evidence—especially when that evidence concerns our bodies. Dr. Ford, a well-respected college professor with dozens of publications, was treated as if she might simply just be confused about the attempted rape. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee were quick to acknowledge that she was a good, credible witness.  During a break, after Dr. Ford had offered her testimony, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) told reporters that he found her to be a nice, attractive woman.  On the topic of whether he believed what she had to say, he said, “It’s too early to say. I don’t think she’s uncredible. But it’s way early.”  Credible, nice people don’t typically invent conspiracy theories to unfairly affect the machinations of government, so what is Hatch trying to say here?  Similarly, after Dr. Ford’s testimony, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “I think something happened to Dr. Ford. I’m gonna listen to Brett Kavanaugh.”  After Kavanaugh’s testimony, Graham said, “I am now more convinced than ever that he didn’t do it, that he’s the right guy to be on the court.”  President Trump got involved in similar speculation.  He indicated a willingness to listen to what Dr. Ford had to say, but also said, of Kavanaugh, “I can only say this, he is such an outstanding man, very hard for me to imagine that anything happened,”

There is a decent amount of speculation that Dr. Ford is not lying, she’s simply mistaken.  This may be one way of interpreting the seemingly contradictory message that Dr. Ford is nice and credible, but that Judge Kavanaugh should be confirmed and is being treated unfairly.  Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh are making statements that can’t both be true. All things being equal, the appropriate response seems like it ought to be suspension of judgment until more facts are known.  That isn’t what happened here. Instead, the conclusion is that Dr. Ford must be mistaken. Knowledge by acquaintance is fairly easily won in our day-to-day lives. For some reason Dr. Ford is being treated as if identifying her rapist in this case is tricky, even though she knew him before he raped her. Women get the message—when the word of a woman is in conflict with the word of a powerful man, it’s probably the man who remembers the event correctly.  In fact, it’s so likely that it is the man who remembers the event correctly that there is no reason for any additional investigation.  

A woman doesn’t have to take the harrowing step of testifying in front of a Congressional committee to have the experience of being treated as if she doesn’t know how to assess evidence.  Legislation across the country forces women’s hands when it comes to access to family planning, contraception, and abortion services. 38 states have “informed consent” laws in place according to which women seeking an abortion must be given a packet of information selected by the state legislature.  They must then wait some period of time during which they are supposed to reflect on the information given to them, often 24 hours. The information on which they are being asked to reflect is not information they sought out, it is unsolicited, and often unwanted, advice from the state legislature on what type of evidence women should take seriously when it comes to their bodies.  The implication is that women don’t know which considerations to take seriously on their own.

In a surprise turn of events, Senator Flake was moved by the words of the women who expressed that they were feeling marginalized.  He changed his vote. It didn’t affect the outcome in committee, but all parties involved know that Judge Kavanaugh is unlikely to win a vote on the Senate floor without Flake’s support.  Flake indicated he would vote no unless an FBI investigation was done into Ford’s allegations. Perhaps all is not lost, maybe some senators are proper role models after all. Then again, the investigation has been limited in scope and is not supposed to last longer than one week. Women’s interests should be given consideration, but not as much consideration as political interests.

 

How Should We Consider Brett Kavanaugh’s Sexual Assault Allegation?

photograph of a woman holding a sign with the slogan "kava-nope" and a picture of Brett Kavanaugh

For several weeks, coverage of the already-controversial proceedings surrounding the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has been dominated by the possibility of sexual misconduct on the part of the nominee. Prior to Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegation, Kavanaugh was already regarded by many to pose a threat to women’s rights. Those voices have now redoubled, resulting in the nomination committee delaying a vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation until after Ford has testified before the committee. Kavanaugh has denied the allegation.

Given a standoff between two conflicting individual claims—and, as of yet, no formally presented evidence—there is no point to arguing about the validity of Ford’s allegation. Nor would it be fruitful to delve into anecdotes reflecting each party’s character: such a discussion may be interesting, but ultimately comes down to hearsay. Instead, let us take this moment to consider the full ramifications of Ford’s allegation. How should the nomination committee proceed to maintain its ethical integrity?

It seems clear that the decision to delay a scheduled vote in light of the allegation was a sound one. An appointment to the Supreme Court is a decision that will affect politics, policy, and therefore the lives of millions of Americans for years if not decades to come. Unlike the winners of elections, members of the Supreme Court are appointed for life; they will not be removed from their position except in the most extreme cases, let alone in the next election cycle. This suggests that any decision made by the Senate in this situation should be a deliberate rather than a hasty one. It is true that the United States government does eventually need a full Supreme Court to be operating as was intended, so there is a good reason to avoid indefinite delay, but the Court has managed for more than a year with only eight justices, and the court’s role in the government is rarely especially time sensitive—there is no reason to begrudge the committee another few weeks or even months in order to be sure of the correct decision.

When the committee has heard Ford’s testimony, allowed Kavanaugh to respond, and examined the available evidence, what should its reaction be? Perhaps more importantly, what should our reaction be? What are the circumstances that would justify denying Kavanaugh’s confirmation? The most extreme case would be if Kavanaugh were convicted of sexual assault. In that situation, most people would agree that appointing him to the court would be unethical. But it is worth investigating exactly why one would hold this view. Is it a problem to have committed any crime? Some would say yes, especially considering the Supreme Court’s role in interpreting laws for the national legal system. But should that include all crimes, including traffic violations? Most people would not hold themselves to the same standard. A compromise might be to take only felonies or violent crimes under consideration. And would this edict have a statute of limitations? The allegation against Kavanaugh is from when he and Ford were both in high school; can we entertain the possibility of dramatic changes in personality over the span of several decades? Then again, the case is mounting in favor of a pattern of unacceptable behavior on the part of Kavanaugh: a second allegation has been brought to bear, this time from Kavanaugh’s Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez.

Furthermore, should all public officials be held to the same standard? Is it only because Kavanaugh’s potential position involves the administration of law, or is it a matter of putting any kind of criminal in any position of power? The answer to this question would have major implications outside of this case, as allegations of misconduct are brought up in elections around the nation.

Another way of looking at this problem is to ask what is achieved by keeping someone off the bench because of a past crime. There are two distinct possibilities: either the crime compromises the ability of the perpetrator to carry out the duties associated with their position, or the denial of the Supreme Court seat is an extension of the punishment for the perpetrator’s crime. The goal is either to protect the American people from a dangerous agent, or to mete out retribution for a crime.

This conclusion informs our decision about less extreme hypotheticals around Kavanaugh’s case. He has not been convicted of a crime, and the assault alleged by Ford would have taken place when Kavanaugh was a minor, meaning that even if he had been convicted at the time, there would be no continued legal consequences in force today. If keeping Kavanaugh off the Supreme Court were only a form of retributive justice, it would be a difficult argument to support. However, if the aim is to judge Kavanaugh’s overall fitness for the court, taking Ford’s allegation under consideration might be prudent. While it could be argued that Ford’s testimony is very convenient to a perceived liberal political agenda, this fact alone should not be enough to disregard her testimony altogether. Her speaking out is no more politically expedient to the left than her silence would have been to the right. In a case outside of the political sphere, we would not assume ulterior motivation from an alleged victim of sexual assault.