September 28, 2018

Voices of Anguish and Hope from the Supreme Court Protests Today

“I’m horrified. I’m absolutely horrified.”

Hundreds of protestors gathered at the steps of the Supreme Court on Friday, September 28, to protest the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.Kara Voght/Mother Jones

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Less than a block from the hearing room where the Senate Judiciary Committee was voting to send Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the full Senate for confirmation, hundreds of protestors rallied at the steps of the nation’s highest court to express their discontent with Trump’s SCOTUS pick. Kavanaugh made a second and explosive appearance before the committee yesterday after it heard the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor who says Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when the two were in high school.

Survivors of sexual violence and their allies have erupted in outrage over Kavanaugh’s nomination since Ford’s allegation—and two others against the nominee—came to light. That fury boiled over after yesterday’s hearing, when Republican Senate Judiciary members did not indicate that Ford’s testimony did anything to change their minds about Kavanaugh’s qualifications for the court.

Outside the Supreme Court, women stood on a podium to share personal stories of sexual assault and lead the crowd in chants. At one point, folk singer and protest icon Joan Baez even stopped by to lead the group in “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,” one of her classic protest songs from the civil rights movement. After the vote, the crowd organized into a march around the US Capitol.

I spoke with some of the women who had come to show solidarity with Ford. Here are their stories:

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

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If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

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