I've been told that there's going to be a backlash for putting Rapey Brett on the SCOTUS

[MrScorpio]

I’d love to believe that, but I need to see it first. In order for that to happen, we’d have to overcome basic white entitlement.

White MALE entitlement especially.

This is the only frame by which this entire Rapey Brett fiasco needs to be viewed. Everything points back to that.

Unfortunately, although a lot of white women have been victimized in many ways by white male entitlement, the harsh treatment against those victims is quite telling. If someone can explain to me exactly what it is that encourages so many white women to support Rapey Brett and his white male entitlement, I’d really appreciate that.

The way to fix this starts at the ballot box. But how do we get half the electorate, who refuses to even vote to care? How to we get people who don’t think that there’s a problem to understand otherwise? How do we combat the voices of hatred and bigotry?

If you can show me how to beat white male entitlement, I’d then believe that we’d win this thing out eventually.

[ProfessorGAC]

1. I'm Liking The "Rapey Brett" Reference

I've been using "Brett-boy" but your term is more to the point.

[lagomorph777]

50. Brett Badenov?

[blue cat]

2. I just can't even look anymore

I need a break from politics because I’m very 😡

[onecaliberal]

33. You're in good company.

[bdamomma]

34. not taking a break

but just watching Rachel and Lawrence is good for me.

We cannot do this

[Merlot]

3. I'll give it a try...

If someone can explain to me exactly what it is that encourages so many white women to support Rapey Brett and his white male entitlement, I’d really appreciate that.

Those women are republicans. They hate any and everything liberal. The believe abortion should be illegal (unless it's for them or their daughters). And that's their right. The media will give enough cover to kav that they will be able to support him with no problem. A few might get a little squirmy, but they will recognize that their conservative agenda is well served by having him on the court and that's good enough.

Weren't republicans asking how democratic women could support Bill Clinton? It still boils down to respecting woman's voting choices no matter how much we disagree with them.

[MuseRider]

4. I have a lot of friends from other states

who are white women Trumpers (needless to say we have little communication right now except for the one reason that we are friends) and they mostly support this nomination. The only reason I can tell, the only thing any of them has said to me was that they are not wimpy women who need to run to someone (the government specifically) to help them when something happens. **They were all abused, some badly, but being strong women they do not need help from anyone. Sure this happens so grow up and get over it and don't let them get you down. Of course our daughters are at risk. They tell them about it all and if it happens it will make them stronger.** While this makes no sense to me it somehow does to them. I think they are not strong but weak. I think this has been told to them from their Daddy and Mommy and now their husbands and boyfriends. Don't be a wimp, get on and get over it. Those who need all the guns cannot afford to be called a wimp even though not reporting abuse and needing to gun up seems pretty cowardly to me. It actually makes no sense to me but this is what they have been discussing.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

46. My neighbor voted for Trump and has done a 180. She is horrified by Kavanaugh & Trump and says

she's going to vote for the Dems in this election and the next. She usually searches me out when these things happen. I have been patient with her (other than rolling my eyes and saying 'Oh God" when she ashamedly told me she voted for him).

[Cosmocat]

56. Right, it isnt just males

55% of white women voted for Trump. And looking all around me, people I know on social media, neighbors and people I know, couple of relatives. They still support Trump stridently and are full on board with Kavanaugh.

[oasis]

5. Trump&GOP should pay a heavy price for their unwavering support.

Facts don't matter.

And Lindsey Graham.....

[Scarsdale]

21. I want to know how

McConnell has such a hold over the gop? We need to object to one man having that much power. Especially a man who is so partisan. Time to investigate his in-laws drug delivery businesses, and his wife's government "no show" lucrative job. That old guy seems to have more power than tRump for some reason. He says "Jump" and the entire gop says "How high?" Maybe Mueller has some information that will clip his wings, and THAT is why he needs Kavenaugh on the SC, to stop the Russian investigation where so many gop members have been flying back and forth to visit Vlad. The country is being destroyed by the government and we are told to sit down and shut up. Are there no republicans with courage to step up and do what they were elected to do - represent the people?

[rusty fender]

29. McConnell has that power over the entire GOP because

he is doing the GOP’s bidding. They love what turleface is doing. Don’t kid yourself if you think that any Repuke has an ounce of integrity, and if any one of them wouldn’t be doing exactly what McConnell is doing if they were in his position.

[bdamomma]

36. McConnell is up to his eyeballs

in deceit and he has committed some illegal crimes to cover up this whole thing. But it's a matter of time, before they get back all the crap that they have bestowed on the American people. And after hearing his comments yesterday about letting Congress do their job, we have to do ours too. But again, the Repigs are only there for themselves they forgot who they work for. You think? I don't think we should let them forget.

[brooklynite]

6. So you've just indicted every white male?

Are you under the impression that NO white male will vote Democratic?

[MrScorpio]

7. Just the entitled ones...

I thought that much was obvious.

[brooklynite]

9. But then you suggest that we can't win because of that subset of voters.

If you can show me how to beat white male entitlement, I’d then believe that we’d win this thing out eventually.

We win with progressive/moderate white male voters, women voters and minority voters.

[LanternWaste]

12. Moving the goalposts again, eh?

[MrScorpio]

14. What was it about all those entitled white male GOPrs...

In the Senate that didn’t make it obvious? None of the white male Democrats had that problem, right?

White male entitlement is clearly a conscious choice. Especially by assholes and wing nuts. Of course, there are plenty of white guys walking around without any sense of it at all. Those are the ones who also see white male entitlement as a huge problem as well.

It’s easy to NOT feel guilty if a person doesn’t fit a particular description.

If anything, Rapey Brett is the poster boy for white male entitlement. It was written all over his face.

Why is this even controversial?

[davsand]

43. Not controversial at all unless it's somebody who falls in that group.

A desire to vote--for a large percentage of the population anyway--is strongly motivated by self interest. It's a brutal way to phrase it, but there's nothing quite like your own pocketbook or safety to motivate a percentage of the population to get up off the sofa and go vote.

Rapey Brett, as you call him, along with the Republican Senators are a terrible threat to women. Those assholes could give two shits if they confirm a lying rapist to a permanent seat on the court, and for a bunch of the "non-threatened white males" out there that issue is a non-starter. It isn't like they, themselves, will be directly impacted by an unplanned pregnancy with no access to safe abortion. Yes, their girlfriend/wife/daughter/friend might face it, but somehow, it isn't quite the same level of fear if it is somebody else facing a coathanger or knitting needle abortion. Sorry, guys, but this is visceral stuff to females. Think about how you'd feel about an exacto knife vasectomy, and maybe it'll come close. Same goes for LGBT folks, Brown people, non-Christian folks, and handicapped people, and even anybody with health insurance.

This last election was determined by the people who chose not to vote. Period. Yeah, there was the whole Russian thing, and yeah, Hil actually won the vote total, and misogyny, and racism, and vote manipulation, and voter suppression, and...fill in the reason. That's all there. So is the fact that the overall vote turnout was a fraction of the eligible voters. There should have not even been a contest there if voters had showed up at the polls.

I will give a hat tip to the idea that we saw an election that--to the mainstream public rather than political activists like the DUers--had two undesirable candidates running against each other. I GET that there were people who hated both the options. I also GET that not showing up at the polls allowed it to be close enough that this country incomprehensibly elected an amoral orange anus. We are in this situation precisely because that certain subset of disinterested/unmotivated folks didn't bother to vote.

This upcoming election is a courtesy flush. It has to be seen that way. IF we don't manage to flush this mess we will soon be swimming in the shit. Dunno if that will resonate with some folks, but I'd hope it will go a little way toward motivating the self absorbed and the lazy voters.


Laura

[LanternWaste]

11. Not merely obvious, but spelled out. Literally. nt

[Freestate_MD]

8. This one of the more intelligent

threads I've read since joining DU. An engaging opening post and thoughtful, clear responses. It gives me hope on what is becoming a bad day for many of us - or so it feels.

[PunkinPi]

10. Attempt at answering one of your questions...

"If someone can explain to me exactly what it is that encourages so many white women to support Rapey Brett and his white male entitlement, I’d really appreciate that."

I'd say it's internalized misogyny and that white women benefit from the patriarchy, they don't view it as oppressive. These women normalize and repeat tropes "boys will be boys", they buy into the idea men = dominant/women = submissive (possibly due to religion), etc. All the videos of entitled white women screaming at immigrants and POC and the like, show they are fully aware of the patriarchal hierarchy and are comfortable with it as long as they are beneficiaries of it.

[spooky3]

23. I'd add a qualifier-- "married white women" can benefit

From the patriarchy. I don’t see how unmarried women benefit, and they vote Democratic.

[PunkinPi]

26. True, I'll allow the qualifier. ;) nt

[Meadowoak]

27. Until one of them gets knocked up by the gardener, and hubby kicks them to the curb.

[MadDAsHell]

13. White entitlement seems like an entirely different subject than what's happened here.

Ford is white. Kavanaugh is white. As far as we know, nearly everyone involved in this thing, from the nominee, to the accusers, to the witnesses, to the most prominent Senators involved in the hearings (outside of Sen.'s Booker and Harris), are white.

Yet this is somehow about race?

[cwydro]

15. Thank you.

Male entitlement crosses all racial lines.

[MrScorpio]

16. White people are also the victims of white male entitlement

It’s the culture that white males have built for themselves as America’s ruling class. Rapey Brett comes out of that culture.

Clearly not all white males, who are raised in it, turn out as bad as Rapey Brett. But there are benefits handed to those who are raised it it. The promotion of white mediocrity is an obvious element.

Many of these are people who were born on third base and thought they hit a triple.

Rapey Brett is clearly unfit to be a justice, but hey, he was groomed in the network and thus we’re not supposed to notice why he’s problematic.

[leftstreet]

25. I think that's the point

Where are the investigations into the massive backlogged rape kits around the country? The uproar over rapes in prisons, impoverished urban communities?

The narrative seems to be: A white middle class female is 'entitled' to not be sexually assaulted. All the people debating this, from the senators to media to facebook people are looking at it through this lens

[Meadowoak]

30. Race to take us back to the 1950's before the mid-terms.

[meadowlander]

37. If Kavanaugh were black do you think this would have played out the same way?

I suspect if a black teenager groped multiple white girls at parties he would still be in jail, not being confirmed to the Supreme Court no matter who his parents were.

[7962]

54. Somehow, it always is at some point.

the go-to!

[JI7]

55. White MALE Entitlement . if a women had behaved like Kavanaugh there is no way she would still be

in consideration. even if she wasn't accused of such a serious offense.

[LBM20]

59. It's more RICH white male entitlement, but mostly just RICH entitlement.

[LBM20]

60. So how do you explain Clarence Thomas?

[JI7]

64. anita hill was black and clarence Thomas didn't behave like kavanaugh during the hearings

[MadDAsHell]

17. I think it's simple: a lot of white women don't feel victimized by white male entitlement.

We may want them to, but that doesn't make it so. In fact, telling anyone they're a victim, if they aren't a victim, or don't feel like a victim, is ineffective and occasionally insulting.

Same reason why 30% of the female vote went to the Orange Turd, even after all the ridiculous shit he said. Some of my female colleagues, women with seemingly great minds and great hearts, who are far better lawyers than I am, voted for him because, whether we like it or not, "what offends us is different than what affects us" rings true for them. They don't give a shit about his personal behavior or demeanor, nor do they apparently feel affected by it. If he signs the bills they want him to sign, they don't care. Us telling them that his tweets make them victims is a losing strategy.

[MrScorpio]

18. That explains a lot...

Thanks!

[reACTIONary]

47. Good observations nt

[moondust]

19. Like what, lawlessness for everybody?

(not just the pЯesident and the 1%)

Ignore the illegitimate courts? Wild in the streets? Whoopee!!!

[unitedwethrive]

20. We'll see, but

part of the repubs strategy is to keep the “masses” down by worsening their economic situation. This way, the day-to-day struggles of survival dominate all of their thinking, and politics becomes very secondary.

This is why things will have to literally reach a breaking point before we can get a true revolution.

[MrScorpio]

22. The nadir seems to get lower and lower

I just know that we’re not there yet

[spooky3]

24. Based on my observation of some relatives, I think the

churches play a big part. They tend to be patriarchal. And they influence both male and female members as to what is ok and what is not.

[Freethinker65]

28. Depends how fast individuals lose their rights

[BannonsLiver]

31. You'll "see it" next month

Whether you will believe it is up to you.

[C_U_L8R]

32. Why wait and see...

when you can be the backlash!

[budkin]

35. The GOP is over on November 6th

They are trading the court for their party.

[SunSeeker]

48. It is a rational trade. It assures them voter-proof control of the country.

Short of a Democratic president adding 2 seats to SCOTUS, raising it to 11, the GOP will be a ruling party as long as they have a SCOTUS majority.

That is why I am a firm believer in the next Dem president packing the Court to make up for the GOP misdeeds on Garland and Kavanaugh.

[bdamomma]

38. k&r

enjoyed reading every post and a very informative thread.

[TygrBright]

39. Stockholm Syndrome. n/t

[tiredtoo]

40. Having at least three white women in my family that support Kavanaugh

I would say at least two of them support him based on their religion. The third is possibly just a racist and supports anything trump says.

[Cosmocat]

57. Yep

I know a good number of middle-aged to older white women who are unabashed conservatives. The general theme is religious indoctrination. Not all of them but most of them.

[saidsimplesimon]

41. MrScorpio, easy peasy

I support men, women and all people of color, including whites, with word and deed as my compass. Most Republicans have no clue when it comes to the consequences of failing to recognize this fact. We have already won, imo.

[BigGermanGuy]

42. as a white wealthy male

i'd like you to know i'm on your side.

i'd also like you to know that of the closest 20 white guys I know, they are against you.

we have our work cut out for us.

[TwistOneUp]

44. It's not all white males...

I mean, c'mon. Really. That's racist in a "pigeonholing" sense.

It's fundagelicalist religions. Fundamentalists and evangelicals Really Believe they have the answers, and soon *you won't have a choice* but to adopt their solutions. In a theocracy, if you sin, you go to jail.

Note that not all Christians are like this - I'm not condemning Christianity. Believe whatcha want, just don't tell me what to believe.

Finally, we should look to other countries who have dealt with this for a long time. France is entirely secular. One example: teachers cannot mention religion in school.. And in the French language, they refer to fundagelicals by a more explicit term: integristes, as in, "integrators". E.g., the Borg.

[Power 2 the People]

45. Eliminate Fox News. That's a start.

[Ellen Forradalom]

49. One of the best works is "Right-Wing Women" by Andrea Dworkin

Dworkin was unpopular in liberal circles--a measure, to me, of their underlying misogyny--but she was not afraid to keep digging until she hit rock. She's a necessary read.

Women know, but must not acknowledge, that resisting male
control or confronting male betrayal will lead to rape, battery, destitution,
ostracization or exile, confinement in a mental institution
or jail, or death. As Phyllis Chesler and Emily Jane Goodman
make clear in Women, M oney, and P ow er, women struggle, in the
manner of Sisyphus, to avoid the “something worse” that can and
will always happen to them if they transgress the rigid boundaries
of appropriate female behavior. Most women cannot afford, either
materially or psychologically, to recognize that whatever burnt offerings
of obedience they bring to beg protection will not appease
the angry little gods around them.

https://www.feministes-radicales.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Andrea-DWORKIN-Right-Wing-Women-The-Politics-of-Domesticated-Females-19831.pdf

[zentrum]

51. It's cult behavior. But

....also, many Repub women are mad as hell at Dem women for standing by Bill Clinton and Al Gore back in the day--when the latter was accused by his masseuse(s).

Both those situtations always seemed to involve Rightwing set ups to me---but now ----I don't know what to think. Anyway, they see us as indefensibly sticking by our leaders too. I don't think there's a real equivalency but the past gives me pause at this point.

[bucolic_frolic]

52. First you have to admit

that as shown in GOP Senate support it is older white male entitlement. If you miss the older part you've missed how these men have hung out together in clubs for 50 years and are totally out of touch with how ordinary folks live anymore. They barely remember what it was like when they were 25.

[C Moon]

53. I'm not really understanding why the founding fathers gave them so much protection. Made them gods.

Look at what is happening now.

[LBM20]

62. You are going back hundreds of years to DIFFERENT times. Don't like Kavanaugh? Then VOTE. Campaign.

[LBM20]

58. It is RICH WHITE MALE entitlement. And if you don't like Kavanaugh then CAMPAIGN AND VOTE!!

[LBM20]

61. How do you explain Clarence Thomas? And there are plenty of enititled WOMEN too, if they are RICH.

[MrScorpio]

65. Whose interests has CT been serving on the bench besides his own?

[disillusioned73]

63. The problem we have.. ( on leftward spectrum)

is that our positions/policies require engagement with the political process.. their philosophy only requires apathy and low information voters.. guess who wins in that equation?? - it is an uphill battle, and corporate media(owned primarily by white male corps) is NOT on our side..