The appearances of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh before the Senate Judiciary Committee involve not just the issue of belief, but also consciousness.

When I was a 10th-grader in high school, I attended a party with fellow male classmates where I drank alcohol. To this day, I have a total lack of awareness of what happened at that gathering after my second drink.

I believe the testimony of Dr. Ford, not just because I found her awareness of what she experienced to be credible, but also because of Judge Kavanaugh’s inability to acknowledge the possibility that he may have assaulted Dr. Ford while intoxicated.

Some of Judge Kavanaugh’s classmates have indicated he had a tendency to become agitated and hostile when drinking. When Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked Judge Kavanaugh if he ever drank to the point of blacking out, Judge Kavanaugh did not directly answer Sen. Klobuchar. When she asked him the question again, Judge Kavanaugh became angry and retorted, “Have you?”

Either Judge Kavanaugh’s inability to acknowledge the possibility of becoming unconscious at times during excessive drinking, or his refusal to accept that he may have been intoxicated while in the room with Dr. Ford, should disqualify him from a position on the Supreme Court.

If Judge Kavanaugh had acknowledged the possibility he may have harmed Dr. Ford as a teenager but did not remember because he was intoxicated, I suspect his accuser and most members of the Senate committee may have been more compassionate toward him. His admission would have also brought healing to our country even if he is not confirmed to the Supreme Court.

David C. Weiss, Ph.D.

retired marriage and family therapist

Westbrook

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