Editor’s note: This commentary is by Lucia Gagliardone, of Sharon, who is a student studying sociology and dance at Bowdoin College.
[L]ast weekend has proved to be a devastating time for the integrity and security of our highest court, as the Senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacant seat. Kavanaugh’s untouchable “right” to a presumption of innocence was central to the destructive narrative surrounding his confirmation and speaks to a broken system of justice that only protects the elite white man.
Briahna Gray from the Intercept calls attention to the reality that black and poor Americans are frequently presumed guilty and consequently denied due process or exposed to extrajudicial violence, a reality which forms the backbone of the Black Lives Matter movement. Donald Trump has been an outspoken advocate of presuming most non-white, non-Christian people guilty of criminality (here are all the times he’s spoken out against Mexico, for example). During the trial of the Central Park Five, whose charges were later vacated when the actual perpetrator was discovered, Donald Trump took out a full ad in the New York Times that read “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” This is a presumption of guilt so strong, he advocates for the execution of minors.
However, for Brett Kavanaugh, Trump and the Republicans seem appalled that he is even being questioned for an assault that he has not been convicted of, victimizing him as an innocent man falsely accused, whose life is being ruined by the accusations. Trump laments that we now live in a state of “guilty until proven innocent,” as someone could ruin your life in a second with a false accusation. This is painfully ironic given how strongly an advocate Trump was for the death penalty for those minors who were falsely convicted. He said at his rally, “It’s a very scary time for young men in America.” Oh Trump, what he really means is it is slightly less comfortable to be a white man, but still incredibly safe and unregulated. It is, however, dangerous to be a man of color living in our racialized legal system.
I would also like to point out that the presumed guilt of survivors is a key narrative feeding rape mythology, perpetrator safety, and the rampant sexual violence epidemic in our country. Survivors are never presumed innocent in their assault or their accusations, all the way down to placing blame for their assault on their clothing, their behavior, their substance consumption. They were “asking for it,” they cannot be innocent. Reminder: only 2-8 percent of accusations are false.
But back to Kavanaugh. How could this elite, well-educated, rich, white man, ever have committed a crime? To Trump and the rest of the Republicans, it’s unfathomable. Gray writes: “Trump is angry on Kavanaugh’s behalf not because Kavanaugh earned a position on the Supreme Court, but because he sees infinite privilege as their shared birthright.”
The whole Supreme Court vacancy process has been rife with white male privilege. If Kavanaugh were a black man, he would be assumed guilty before any evidence were brought forth, but because he is who he is, he now holds the most powerful government position in the country, perhaps even the world.
