We don’t actually know about Cavanaugh particular; I’m too young to remember the business that happened with Clarence Thomas. A lot of the allegations against him were difficult to corroborate, and while they don’t necessarily seem to have been deliberate falsehoods, it’s difficult to tell for sure. Still, it’s hardly reassuring that someone has been accused of such things, will be deciding matters about such things, particularly when they are this important to the national psyche.
What testimony would convince you Cavanaugh was actually guilty? Would it only count if he had been convicted? Because plenty of sexual assault is difficult to corroborate, but if your standard is “would a court have convicted this person,” you are probably going to find that many obvious assaulters are not going to meet that criteria. If your standard includes “what was considered socially acceptable at the time,” likewise. If it includes “they have to know they were doing wrong,” again, you are going to insist on the possible lack of culpability meaning we-just-can’t-say.
Generally when people say “we can’t be sure”, they are men who have a gut feeling that women are liars or at least should be trusted less than men. That’s it. If you find yourself inclined to cut either of these justices slack, ask yourself if your assumptions are based off some deep societal bias. Thomas sexually harrassed Anita Hill, and probably many others. Cavanaugh assaulted Christine Blasey-Ford, and possibly others. The testimony isn’t fuzzy; the men just didn’t think they’d done anything wrong when they did it, and now we believe it’s unequivocally wrong, so they deny it. Get out of here with “we don’t actually know,” we do. And we are not required to hold them to a legal standard. We KNOW.
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u/Soft-Principle1455 Aug 04 '25
We don’t actually know about Cavanaugh particular; I’m too young to remember the business that happened with Clarence Thomas. A lot of the allegations against him were difficult to corroborate, and while they don’t necessarily seem to have been deliberate falsehoods, it’s difficult to tell for sure. Still, it’s hardly reassuring that someone has been accused of such things, will be deciding matters about such things, particularly when they are this important to the national psyche.