I believed Anita Hill, Desiree Washington, Dr. Ford, and R. Kelly's accusers-and I think OJ did it.

But not one of those conclusions did I reach within days of first learning of the allegations nor did I decide what I thought based only on an accusation unaccompanied by any corroboration or other evidence.

I don't have enough facts right now to decide whether to believe that Justin Fairfax is a rapist or if Dr. Tyson has made a false accusation against him, or something somewhere in the middle. I do know that I have no reason to think she's lying. Just as I have no reason to think he's a sexual predator.

I don't believe that my commitment to the #MeToo movement means I must immediately believe every single woman's accusation of assault just because she said so any more than my commitment to Black Lives Matter requires me to believe that every black man accused of a crime is innocent.

We may learn more facts about this case and, if and when we do, I'll assess them and may decide whether to accept Dr. Tyson's version of events or Lt. Gov. Fairfax's - or maybe I'll accept neither. But I'm not going to be bullied into allowing my support for women to lead me assume this man committed a crime any more than I will allow myself to be shamed into assuming this woman falsely cried rape.

So, anyone who wishes to infer that a willingness to wait for more facts to come out before passing judgment is somehow a betrayal of my gender or a betrayal of my black brothers (although I've been repeatedly and often nastily accused on this board of the former but not of the latter) can please go take a seat. I'm not having it.

Speaking of raggedy oppo research, shouldn't Elizabeth Warren's team dug up everything that

could possibly cause her a problem connected to her representations of her heritage?

I can understand why she wouldn't remember every document she signed. But a bar registration is a public record that her team should have found. And especially under the circumstances, they should have been particularly vigilant about this.

It seems like she was really badly served.

No words for this AOC Meme

If this isn't the best meme ever - or at least in the top 20 - I don't know what ...



https://www.facebook.com/snarkydemocrat/photos/a.475161255873159/2065864866802782/?type=3&theater

Let's go over the definition of "Blackface" again

In case anyone thinks Nancy's not grooming young leaders to take over

I survived Stacey Abrams' rebuttal without spontaneously combusting with joy and pride

But just barely ...

NANCY!!!

Is he hoping that Stacey Abrams will give up and go to bed without giving her rebuttal?

What if Barack Obama had been accused of rape?

What if, in 2007, a well-respected professional woman said that Barack Obama had raped her in his apartment in 1992 when he was attending Harvard Law School? She hadn't mentioned it to anyone at the time and there were no witnesses or other evidence to corroborate her claim. Sen. Obama said he knew the woman and that they'd had consensual sex but denied there was an assault.

Should Obama have been presumed to be a rapist based on this allegation?

Should he he have been forced out of the presidential race?

Would the fact that he had an impeccable reputation with no history of ever abusing or assaulting women matter? What about the fact that there was absolutely no evidence that he had committed the act other than the woman's claim that he had?

Is there any reason that he should or should not have been given any benefit of the doubt?

And is there anything he could have done at the time to prove that he was not a rapist once the allegation went public?

Elephant in the Room: Falsely accusing black men of rape is an old tactic, especially in the South

That's not to say that every black man accused of sexual assault is innocent or that every accusation is false. Certainly that's not the case.

But we can't consider the Justin Fairfax accusation, especially with its flimsy support and curious timing, in a vacuum without understanding the history and dynamic of innocent black men being taken down and destroyed because a woman pointed at him and said "he did it."

I can't help but wonder if this accusation against Fairfax is being brought forward at this time with an assumption that some people - especially those who dismiss and defend proven past racist behavior as no big deal that can be overcome by just not doing it again - would be receptive to an uncorroborated sexual assault charge when leveled at a black man.