(A good article written by my granddaughter, Meadow Hall).
Here is my opinion regarding the Kavenaugh/Ford case:
I believe men who rape and sexually assault women are a huge threat to society. I know women who have been victims of rape and sexual abuse and what they have had to endure is truly sickening. Rape is a serious and evil crime. However, the "Believe Women" mantra that is being used to support accusations against men is not at all the way we should be handling these situations . . . This movement is dangerous.
To "Believe Women" is the notion that women (an entire gender) don't lie. But someone has to be lying, so this would also have to imply that men "do" lie. Not only is this idea extremely sexist, and a huge insult to men, it is entirely false. Women have been lying for thousands of years. This is nothing new.
Genesis tells the story of Joseph who was a slave in Egypt for Potiphar. Potiphar's wife took notice of Joseph and tried to seduce him to sleep with her. But Joseph, being an honorable man, refused her. Potiphar's wife persisted another day and "caught him by his cloak and said, 'Come to bed with me!' But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house." When she saw that he had left his cloak with her, she schemed to make up a false accusation against him. " She called her household servants. 'Look,' she said to them, ' this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
After she lied to her husband about Joseph, Potiphar was so angered, that he sent Joseph into prison for a crime he didn't do.
Like Joseph, there have been many innocent men who have become victims of a woman such a Potiphar's wife.
Just like rape has devastating affects on the life of the victim, so does being falsely accused of rape. The man could lose his reputation, his career, his marriage . . . and spend the rest of his life in prison. So just like a rapist is a threat to society, a woman who falsely accuses men of rape is a threat to society. Just like there should be severe consequences for a rapist, there should be severe consequences for someone who falsely accuses someone of rape.
It is very disheartening to see so many movements and causes such as "power to women,” "rights for women,” and "believe women." Society needs to stop caring only about women and start caring about "people.”
Women are not always the victims. Sometimes men are too. This isn't just about fighting for a culture that is a safe place for our daughters to grow up, it's also about making it a safe place for our SONS. Mothers should be just as concerned that there are evil women out there who could try to ruin her son's life out of the blue, without any evidence.
If we truly care about equality and the rights of "all" people, we should all be just as angered by a man who is falsely accused of rape as we would when a woman is raped.
Don't just "Believe Women". Believe truth. And believe evidence.
MEADOW HALL
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