Holding High Schoolers Accountable

I WAS A POPULAR KID in high school, way back in the day, as we all like say say these days, partly because I was intelligent and a good student, whch back in teh day counted for something, partly because I had come out of my shell, and had a warm, friendly personality, and partly because I was a class clown, always trying to be funny. haven't change much; we don't, after they age of five, so they say.This was in the early seventies. I can easily remember my classmates, some of whom I occasionally communicate with, many of whom I see at reunions. I can easily imagine what would have happened to me had I ever done anythign remotely similar to what Brett Kavanaugh is accused of having done. never much of a joiner, I was a peripheral member of three distinct cliques: teh cool jocks, the pure party boys, beer, no drugs, and the artsy intellectuals, with whom i felt the most empathy. I attended many smallish, wild Kavanaugh-esque parties, mostly in wheels, in cars packed to the gills with kids. Only the cool jocks dated much. Most of us just hung out and partied in our respective groups, in activities which often included both genders. mostly it was fun, and harmless. It was dangerous, but we didn't know it, and we didn't care. In those days, many teens could be sardined into the back seats of the then large cars, as could at least one case of ill gotten beer. All my friends shared in common this; had pulled a stunt like his honor is "alleged" to have, I would have been killed, or severely ass kicked - by my best friends. They would have found out about it, and they would very definitely held me accountable. At my very average American high school nobody tolerated abuse of girls, so nobody did it. In general, that is the case everywhere, then and now. Actual rape, on a percentage basis, is still quite rare in America, even though the criminals get the attention, which they should. In the mainstream right wing media, they typically say he didn't do it, or it can't be proven, which is irrelevant, but that if he did, it was a youthful indiscretion, a rite of passage, and not indicative of Kavanaugh's true character, which is absolute bullshit. hardly anyone, if anyone, who is nominated for the Supreme Court is ever accused of anyone of attempted rape; it may have never happened before. The very fact of being accused is of the greatest concern, and grounds for rejecting the nominee. The current circling of conservative wagons is beyond appalling. Protecting their kind, like they protect Trump the often accused sexual offender, one might expect America's right wing to next begin quoting scripture, something about a woman's obligation to be submissive to men.