Letter: Justice Kavanaugh, in context

While I have no desire to propel division on campus, I believe it is important to understand the facts of who Justice Brett Kavanaugh was in context. I do not dispute the justice’s actions and desire to help women. Logic dictates, however, the character of the justice sober cannot predict his actions while drunk. 

Witnessing my share of Saturday nights, I and common sense share the same sentiments that those drunk behave differently than they would when sober. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford did not suggest that a sober Kavanaugh assaulted her. Far from it. She stated that he was drunk during the whole ordeal. While the possibility of a sober Kavanaugh assaulting a woman seems impossible given the testimonies to his character, the probability that a drunk, teenage Kavanaugh would assault a woman is considerable. 

From both the mouth of Kavanaugh and those who knew him, Kavanaugh likes his beer, and lots of it. I agree that both parties in the hearing truly believed what they were testifying. The only problem is that when you’re blacked-out drunk, you don’t remember what you did.

It is not my intention to give a rebuttal of a wonderfully written, but unfortunately inaccurate, column in merely 300 words. Nor is it my intention to argue that the justice lied under oath or that he misrepresented evidence and is thus unfit to be a justice regardless of the truthfulness of Dr. Ford’s account. What I want to point out are the facts.

A study by the National Institutes of Health cites studies saying that 50 percent of college women have been sexually assaulted and 27 percent have experienced rape or attempted rape. 20 percent of American men have reported having perpetrated sexual assault and at least half of assaults involve alcohol consumption one or all parties. Given these tragic yet all too familiar statistics and the drinking culture on campus, Duke, more likely than not, already has too many young men like Brett Kavanaugh.

Mochen Ma is a Trinity sophomore.