The Internet Reacts To Brett Kavanaugh Crying His Way Through His Testimony

Absolutely no one has the time or patience for Brett Kavanaugh’s tears

In his lengthy opening statement in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh routinely altered between raising his voice and choking back tears. Within minutes, his composure was completely lost, whereas earlier in the day, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was able to maintain hers for nearly four hours while recalling intimate details of, arguably, the worst day of her life.

The double standard at play here is stunningly obvious. It’s not a stretch to assume that if Dr. Ford had grown emotional or angry at any point during her testimony, she would have been categorized as “hysterical” or “unstable” by the Republican senators in the room and Kavanaugh supporters everywhere.

But she didn’t, and she wasn’t. She was even-keeled, almost soft-spoken, and calm. For hours. While being grilled about the details of her sexual assault. The world was watching her, and she did not falter. Because she’s brave as hell, yes, but also because women in her position aren’t offered the luxury of falling apart in public.

Not so much the case for Kavanaugh, whose emotions fluctuated more in 20 minutes than Dr. Ford’s did in four hours. Naturally, plenty of people have a lot to say about that.

Okay, let’s get #Himpathy trending worldwide, shall we?

Guilt presents itself in a variety of ways. Angry defensiveness and angry crying are two of them.

Remember when Hillary Clinton was running for president (God, doesn’t it feel like a decade ago now?) and we repeatedly heard things like “women are too emotional to be President” and insinuations that her menstrual cycle/menopause symptoms would prevent her from remaining rational and level-headed?

Yeah. I’m sure a lot of us do.

Isn’t it fair to say that someone who sits on the bench of the highest court in the United States should present themselves in a far less volatile fashion than Kavanaugh did today? The man lost all self-control discussing his calendars, for crying out loud (pun absolutely, unabashedly intended). Is this the type of person who should be making lasting, Constitution-level decisions on the law? On the lives of everyone in this country?

Everything about this hearing is triggering for so many of us. We listened to it and watched it at work, in our cars, in our homes while making lunch for our kids. If anyone has earned the right to cry today, it’s Dr. Ford, Deborah Ramirez, Julie Swetnick, and the millions of survivors all over the world who were forced to watch a privileged white man accused of sexual assault rage and whine because he isn’t getting his way.