Throughout the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on September 27, there was a stark contrast between the behaviors of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Where Dr. Ford appeared respectful, genuine, and honest, Judge Kavanaugh came across as much more disrespectful and entitled. This contrast led to a change in perception of who the victim was in this process. While the hearing was intended to examine the allegation of sexual misconduct from Dr. Ford, Kavanaugh seemed to be trying to claim that he was the injured party in the situation.
From the beginning of each of their testimonies, the two displayed very different attitudes. Dr. Ford was clearly anxious, but despite her reservations, she came forward and told her story. In fact, she said early in her testimony that “I am here today, not because I want to be. I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school.” Conversely, Kavanaugh almost seemed as if he was trying to intimidate. He also came into the hearing with an air of entitlement that was striking — he didn’t appear to feel that he needed to answer questions or even be respectful towards the senators.
Dr. Ford acted respectful, polite, and deferential towards the senators, always waiting for her turn to speak and answering every question that she could thoroughly and completely. Kavanaugh was often rude, argumentative, and aggressive, interrupting often and even challenging his questioners, particularly the women. He avoided answering many of the questions, often changing the subject and referring back to one main piece of “evidence”: his calendar from the summer in question. Several times, instead of answering a question he turned it back on the senator who asked it. At one point, Senator Amy Klobuchar asked whether or not he had ever blacked out from drinking, and instead of answering the question, he replied “I’m curious if you have.”
While the hearings were supposed to determine whether or not the allegations were true, by the end of the day, Kavanaugh successfully changed the conversation to be more focused on the way he was “victimized.” While Dr. Christine Blasey Ford spent the whole hearing behaving respectfully and calmly, it’s almost as if Judge Brett Kavanaugh was in the mindset that if he spoke the loudest and most forcefully, he would get his way.
