This morning, in the lees of my post about how the Senate GOP majority is likely to misplay their hand in regard to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford*, commenter dimmsdale asked the following question:
Adam, if you know, Id be curious to get an expert’s view of the kind of protection she should have. Thinking the sort of services Gavin DeBecker offers. do I have that right?
I’m generally familiar with DeBecker’s work, but cannot comment on exactly what his firm does as I’ve no first hand experience with it or him. I do hold a personal security and close quarters combatives tactical certification from a training course I took when I was in graduate school back in 1994. I took the course from one of DeBecker’s competitors. Other than working as one of the lead bouncers (coolers) at a large entertainment venue/nightclub for a few years in grad school, I have never actually been employed to do this type of work. I had the opportunity to take the course, decided it would be an interesting adjunct to martial arts training, and the added bonus was that British Special Operations legend Lofty Wiseman was one of the instructors!
Over the summer, I was contacted by one of our readers asking what I recommended for a friend who needed personal security protection due to an ongoing set of legal issues. My sanitized (references to location, person, etc.) recommendations are below as an answer to dimmsdale’s question.
- I’m not sure I still have enough details, so keep that in mind when reading the following.
- The first thing your friend’s attorney needs to do is contact the local police and get something documented on the record about: a) the harassment that’s already happened and b) the general concern for your friend’s safety. This may include needing to request a restraining order/order of protection.
- If your friend and her attorneys are seriously concerned, then professionals need to be hired. Have the attorneys check to see if they can hire local law enforcement off duty to a) stay with your friend and park their cruisers in her driveway while doing so and b) serve as a personal security detail.
- If local law enforcement where you’re at doesn’t do this, then the attorneys need to ask for increased police patrols in her neighborhood and at her place of work.
- If local law enforcement where you’re at doesn’t do this, then the attorneys need to hire professionals who work in work in your state. Usually these will be private investigators/private security professionals licensed to work in your states and often these folks are retired law enforcement, military, and/or intelligence personnel. They should be licensed, bonded, and insured. If the latter is not the case, then your friend’s attorney will need to ascertain the liability insurance that will be need to be purchased, and then purchased, in order to legally protect whomever you’ve hired to provide personal security.
- If they’re targeting your friend, change her appearance. If she’s got long hair, cut it short. If she’s got short hair, change the style and start letting it grow out or get a good wig. If she’s blonde, die it a dark color. If she’s brunette or has black hair, dye it blonde. If she’s conservative, style it provocatively and die it hot pink, purple, and green. If she likes to dress casual – jeans, t-shirts, button down shirts, pullovers, – put her in bonnets, sundresses, and sandals. If she likes to wear skirts and dresses, put her in jeans, boots, and button down shirts. If she dresses professionally, dress her casually, if she dresses casually, dress her professionally. Basically make it harder to quickly identifier on the street, in a restaurant or store, or in a crowd. The same suggestions apply to men using appropriate male attire.
- Get a dog and put it in her house as an early warning system. And make sure it isn’t unattended outside as pros, or knuckleheads who think they are, will try to bait and either sedate or bait and kill the dog to get it out of the way.
- If she doesn’t have it already, order a decent home surveillance camera system and have it installed. Something that uploads to the cloud and streams to her phone and her attorneys’ phones.
- If they’ve got a good target on her car, get her a different car with different tags.
- If possible, just get her out of town to some place safe where she can be protected. Or relocate her in town. Some place with limited access and clear sight lines with people she can trust. Don’t just stash her at a hotel or B&B.
- If you all are this worried about her security, don’t try to DIY this. Have it all done properly and professionally. Have the attorneys document everything they felt had to be done, have her and the attorneys and whichever professionals are hired document anything that might be suspicious or a concern, no matter how slight or coincidental or seemingly explainable.
- If she has a firearm: a) ascertain if she actually believes she can use it if she has to, b) ascertain if she’s got the training to do so under stress, c) and then it has to be on her person at all times. Home carry, bathroom carry, shower carry (make sure to protect against rust), on the nightstand when she sleeps, carry outside the home to work, the store, church, etc. Anywhere she can legally have it and carry it would need to be carried. And it has to be on body carry. No purse carry. No trunk or glove box carry. On the body where it can be unlimbered and brought to bear on target quickly and effectively. If she doesn’t really believe she could use it and/or is uncomfortable carrying it everywhere then it either needs to go into a proper safe and stay there for the duration or given to a friend who’s not involved in any of this mess for safekeeping. Otherwise it’ll be taken from her and used against her. Same thing if she’s got a “front closet” shotgun or rifle. It’s either always within arm’s reach when at home or it’s secured in a safe. She can’t be in the bedroom sleeping and the shotgun is in the front hallway closet where she can’t get to it.
- If you’re going to hire professionals, defer to their judgement on whether your friend should be armed.
Updated at 11:46 PM EDT
14. Turn off the geolocation on your devices and social media so you can’t be tracked through using your various social media accounts or through your fitness monitoring device.
15. There are two options for what to do about online/social media. Either shut and lock everything down and go completely dark, or lock everything down as much as possible security wise, but continue to use it to give the impression that nothing out of the ordinary is going on.
Also, Anne Laurie sent this along from the ACLU:
If the #MeToo movement had caught on in 1997, the many people coming forward would still have had to worry about getting sued, in addition to the myriad other consequences of challenging their harassers. But because it caught on in 2017, they also have to worry about getting hacked and being subject to mass online attacks, trolling, and other forms of harassment that can unfortunately be the cost of speaking out.
I’m a technologist with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology team, but outside of my day job, I’ve been working for the better part of a decade with people — mostly, but not all, women — who have been targeted online. I’ve also been a sexual-misconduct whistleblower myself, so I know the personal cost of speaking out. People often feel powerless in the face of unknown threats from the internet, but there’s a lot that whistleblowers can do to stay safe while coming forward.
The digital defense tips below are for individuals. They address threats against specific people, not the systemic problem of harassment. There’s an important conversation happening about how institutions — from universities to software platforms to law enforcement — handle online threats. In the meantime, though, these are some concrete things that individuals can do to feel a little safer about speaking out and confronting power.
Much more at the link!
I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH that you want professionals involved if you are seriously concerned for her safety and well being!!!!! And I can’t stress enough that these discussions should be had with her attorneys and between them and local law enforcement and then whichever professionals are hired.
In the case of Dr. Blasey’s, there are a couple of other items to be considered. The first is that because a lot of the threats that have been made have been made online, and because her email has been hacked and she’s been impersonated online and in social media, her attorney needs to get the local FBI Field Office and the state police/state bureau of investigation involved. The former will also, partially, get around the White House’s refusal to ask the FBI to do a supplementary background check regarding her allegations against Judge Kavanaugh. The second, as I stated in item #11 in the list of suggestions above, is that Dr. Ford, her family, and her attorney should not try to establish their security as a DIY project. Given the political moment we’re living in, this is not the time to wing it. Unfortunately one of the prices of Dr. Blasey’s courage in coming forward is that her life as she and her family know it is now over.
* There was a robust discussion in the comments last night as to whether it is Dr. Blasey, Dr. Ford, or Dr. Blasey Ford. My understanding from the reporting is that she uses Blasey as her professional surname and Ford, which is her married name, as her personal surname. I’m using Dr. Blasey because unless/until it is otherwise reported, this is how she wishes to be professionally known.
Cheryl Rofer
Blasey. Christine Blasey Ford.
J R in WV
How often do you update B-J and see a new Sliverman thread with 0 comments? Not often. But Cheryl is first, congrats Ms Rofer!!
I’m probably 53 or so… nice, piece, Adam! As usual v. professional!
NotMax
In this case would suggest deferring to how she identified herself in the initial correspondence sent to Rep. Eshoo.
Steve in the ATL
Shower carry? That shit is HARDCORE.
Patricia Kayden
Dr. Ford is a hero. Unfortunately, I suspect that like Thomas, Kavanaugh will be voted onto SCOTUS. Republicans don’t care about sexual harassment/assault unless it can be used as a cudgel against Democrats.
HinTN
@Steve in the ATL: Yeah you right
Mary G
That doesn’t sound cheap. I am sure her biggest fears are for her kids, who have been taken out of school and had their lives upended.
Cheryl Rofer
It would be nice if Kavenaugh or Trump or any of his supporters in the Senate would state firmly that harassing Dr. Blasey is wrong and should stop.
Chetan Murthy
@Patricia Kayden: She’s a hero even if she doesn’t testify. If she does testify and bombs. She’s still a hero. She’s showing every American what they can expect from these goat-fuckers.
The person (woman) who posted that GoFundMe, I think she was surprised by the speed with which it filled-up. And then did so again when she reopened. She’s closed it for now, and I give her props for that — there are other causes, and maybe Dr. Blasey doesn’t want or need more than what was raised; if she does, it can be reopened.
But lordy, I think for a lot of people, being able to DO SOMETHING was cathartic. Sure was for me. [aside: one of these days, I’m going to end up donating money to a stupid cause (or to a con-artist) b/c of this tendency. But that’s OK — yesterday it was necessary.]
tobie
@Patricia Kayden: I think Michelle Goldberg has it right that the Republicans boxed Dr. Blasey in by announcing a public hearing before getting confirmation from her. Dems are losing the narrative by focusing on process. Some outrage and anguish would work might work better in slowing the nomination proceedings down. Every Democrat who goes on TV needs to stress, “Dr. Blasey is the victim, she has received death threats and her family has had to go into hiding. Her life has been put in danger merely because she spoke up. What kind of country have we become?”
BruceFromOhio
This post and prior post make me wonder how long the rule of law will actually hold up if rational peoples cannot regain the upper hand.
When victims must run and hide, the perps have the run of the place.
Kay
Why doesn’t she get free protection from federal law enforcement? My God, we’re paying tens of millions of dollars for Trump’s low quality hires to get huge security details, and no one would even recognize half of them. How much were we paying for the crooked EPA director who did absolutely no work other than enriching himself and had to resign? Flushed that money right down the toilet.
Give her 1/4 of Betsy DeVos’ ridiculously large security detail. Re-assign some of them.
It’s not her fault they chose yet another low quality hire and she had to blow the whistle. The Trump team can donate a few of theirs.
Patricia Kayden
@tobie: I watch MSNBC and have heard many Democrats say that Dr. Ford is a victim and deserves an FBI investigation into her allegations. Republicans don’t care. They’re going to get Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court come what may.
debbie
@Cheryl Rofer:
Never. Trump sees that as proof he is loved.
Elizabelle
@Patricia Kayden: I am going to guess they don’t get Kavanaugh on to the Supreme Court.
It ain’t over until it’s over. GOP acting like bullies. As usual. It will not play well, in the runup to midterms.
Mainmata
@Cheryl Rofer: Great point! But somehow I don’t think that will happen, sadly.
jk
Adam,
The Republicans are on the verge of ramming this nomination through, so It doesn’t appear that they’ve misplayed anything. Even the so-called reasonable Rethuglicans, such as Corker, Flake, and Collins, are in lockstep with McConnell and Grassley.
tobie
@Patricia Kayden: I haven’t been watching much TV because I’ve been too upset since Kavanaugh repeatedly lied during his hearings and the Republicans basically shrugged their shoulders and said, “Meh.” But from the little coverage I have seen there’s been a lot of discussion about procedure, such as who can call on the FBI to investigate, and this strikes me as too complicated for the average voter. Something simpler like, “This woman is receiving death threats because she spoke up,” expresses the outrage of the moment a lot better. It also reestablishes quickly and directly who the real victim is.
Frankensteinbeck
@Patricia Kayden:
On the contrary. Republicans think it is a man’s right, and that it is despicable to object to harassment up to and including rape. In fact, this is a major cause for them.
Am I wrong?
Kay
What a clusterfuck this is. The judge’s rabid fans are attempting to intimidate the witness. The witness who may testify against the judge. Just to make it more ludicrous, the judge gets a free security detail but the citizen-witness does not.
Kavanaugh works for her. Is he aware of that? That she’s paying for his security detail? I’m not really clear on why this citizen is being treated like she’s somehow inconveniencing these “public servants”. It’s ridiculous that these senators are protecting the nominee rather than this ordinary person. Is this a club? Members only?
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: Fixed. Thanks for catching that.
Adam L Silverman
@J R in WV: I only hit publish at 10:16 PM EDT. So…
Adam L Silverman
@Steve in the ATL: Don’t want one’s bullets to get dirty…//
Raoul
@Chetan Murthy: I donated to women running for office as my way of doing something (besides tweeting, and emailing Sen Gardner – I use my CO address in corresponding with him).
I gave at the local and national levels. I want the MN House back under DFL control! That’s a start, anyway.
J R in WV
@Kay:
Yes, it is the Republican Rape Club, founding members Clarence Thomas, Donald Trump, etc, etc. “Judge” Kavanaugh is an associate member, so far.
Despicable, all of them, Hatch, Grassly, all of those motherfuckers, which is the proper term for Republican Rape Club members.
Adam L Silverman
@Steve in the ATL: @HinTN: More seriously, that’s the problem with this type of thing. If you’ve got serious threats you’re dealing with and decide that one of the solutions is going to be getting and carrying a gun, then you have to be able to reach the gun at all times. If you’re in the shower and your gun is in your safe it’s not doing you any good. I’m not advocating that people should get a gun, get proficient, and carry, but if that’s the decision you make you need to make sure you’re proficient and that it is to hand at all times. Otherwise you’re kind of failing the purpose of having it and being proficient with it.
Kay
It’s disgusting that the GOP senators have set this up as adversarial, that they see this as them and the judge versus this ordinary citizen. They’ve completely lost touch with what they are supposedly doing there. They’re not there to protect the federal judiciary from uppity citizens.
Adam L Silverman
@jk: Lot of time between now and when they plan to hold the committee vote next week. And even more time between the committee vote and the vote before the whole Senate.
Aleta
@Cheryl Rofer: “state firmly that harassing Dr. Blasey is wrong and should stop.”e
Kavanaugh’s early circle of fellow operatives and colleagues seem unlikely to do that…. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/i-knew-brett-kavanaugh-during-his-years-republican-operative-don-ncna907391
Some of them have been open participants in the harassment this week too: Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, Ann Coulter, Matt Drudge.
J R in WV
@Raoul:
I / We quit donating to committees and such, and give directly to candidates. So far we’ve contributed to a number of women running for congress and the senate. We do contribute to the local Democratic congressional candidate, who is a retired Major in the Army Airborne, lately a school teacher and member of the state Senate. He seems OK, although I was disappointed to see some pro Trump nonsense about bringing coal back.
The coal in WV has nearly all been mined, and it isn’t competitive with other sources of power generation, and won’t be. Nothing Trump says or does will change that, although I see why Ojeda felt the need to go with that flow. Sad. But he will be a Democrat, so I’m going to volunteer for his campaign, and contribute some.
Any Dem is an order of magnitude better than any RussoRepublican.
Kay
@J R in WV:
They must have big plans for boy wonder there. They’re jamming him thru no matter what comes out.
Wonder what he’s tasked with destroying. Did they give him his marching orders yet? They probably have the lawsuit all teed up and ready for decision. People say it’s Roe but I don’t give them that much credit. It’s some plutocrat issue. It’s money. Either that or more voter suppression work. They’re going to have to be removed from power with a crowbar.
B.B.A.
@Frankensteinbeck: No, they only think it’s a right for Republican men. They think it deserves the death penalty if the culprit is a Democrat.
PhoenixRising
@Adam L Silverman:
Good advice. One more reason a Great Dane is better than a handgun: you can’t buy a gun that will follow you to the bathroom & lay across the shower door while you scrub-a-dub.
Adam L Silverman
@PhoenixRising: And Great Danes are large caliber dogs!//
surfk9
Dr Fords attorney should be trying to get her booked for an interview on 60 Minutes this Sunday. That would trump the hearing carnival
Raoul
@Kay: Paraphrasing David Frum, if they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy.
Protecting the judiciary from uppity voters is what an authoritarian regime does. The whole thing is infected now, not just Trump.
Aleta
@Patricia Kayden: @tobie:
debbie
@Kay:
If witness intimidation is a crime, it needs to be enforced. If it isn’t, it needs to be the first piece of legislation Dems pass after taking over the House.
Chetan Murthy
@J R in WV: Yeah, me too. I wrote 17 checks, addressed 17 envelopes yesterday. After looking up those 17 addresses (geez, Bill Nelson doesn’t have a physical address on his campaign website — I had to call a staffer at his constituent service office!) Today I started doing 70 swing districts. But then learned that SwingLeft has a form you can use to donate by check! So no need to send 70 envelopes!
[Yeah, I’m writing checks, b/c 3% is 3%. And 3% of 70 is about 2 candidates’ worth of donations.]
Kay
@Aleta:
It’s the multimillionaire media personalties, the GOP Senators and a federal judge versus this one person.
What brave, brave conservative warriors they are. What a proud day it will be when they shut her up. It took 60-some of them but they may pull it out- 60 v 1.
TS (the original)
@Mary G:
The online funder raised $50K in under 6 hours, so hopefully she will be able to pay for all the security she needs. They had closed the fund raiser when I looked at $53K so could probably do it all again if needed.
She is an amazing woman to have done this – knowing full well what would have happened. Strange how the Obama nominees never had this type of drama.
jk
@Adam L Silverman:
I admire your optimism, but the Republican swine currently serving in the Senate seem to be fully unified in their determination to get Kavanaugh across the goal line. I’ve always thought Collins, Murkowski, Flake, and Corker were scum so their most recent statements simply confirm my assessment of them. I hope they end up rotting in Hell alongside Trump, Ryan, McConnell and the rest of the Rethuglicans currently serving in the House and Senate.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
This whole fucking shit show is vile beyond words. This fucking president, and the party that rode him into office, are the worst fucking people on Earth. This disgusts me.
Chetan Murthy
@TS (the original): She reopened; it’s at $199k ($175k goal) and she’s gonna close it at midnight (she wrote something like “there are other causes, etc, etc”).
Adam L Silverman
@Aleta: I believe I said something like this up top.
Eljai
In a conversation today, my friend told me that if she was in a hearing with Kavanaugh she’d like to grab the microphone, shove it up his ass and then ask him if he remembered her doing it. I’m so with her. I don’t know what the outcome will be for Kavanaugh, but Republicans are completely underestimating the depth of the anger women are feeling about this.
Adam L Silverman
@jk: There are other shoes out there. The question is whether or not they will drop.
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@Adam L Silverman: Very slightly OT, but your original post is amazing. It’s essentially a best practices FAQ for your personal security in an endangered first world country when an anti-democratic group has decided that you have to die right now because you threaten the cause.
It may be obvious to you, but for anyone who posts here, who fears about accidentally becoming viral politically, this is the answer to “The RWNJ monkeys are flying in!!! they are blotting out the sun!!! WTF do I do now?” it really is a personal life raft emotionally, and maybe physically.
Keep doing the work of angels.
Jay
One key item to Self Defense is Situational Awareness.
One needs to “memorize” the “normal” backgrounds, faces, vehicles and movement patterns, and develop the ability to rapidly notice the “new”, the “strange”, the “abnormal”,
and develop the skill to quickly pick out a safe path or other response.
Adam L Silverman
@Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]: Thank you.
Kay
I know my advice doesn’t matter but I don’t think she should appear. She’s not up for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court – he is- and this isn’t a fair hearing. There’s no upside to this for her. They rigged this thing for their boy and she’s just political cover for them. I could not in good conscience tell her to go. You just don’t voluntarily walk into a rigged forum. They’re confirming him no matter what she says so why put herself thru this? The outcome is predetermined.
Raoul
@J R in WV: My partner and I fell like this is the year that things have to change. I hate that money drives so much in politics, but, one way we felt we could have more impact is well down ballot.
So I’ve picked over a dozen MN state rep seats to give $50 each to. These are all women, POC, immigrant and/or transgender candidates. All running against incumbent MN state repubs. A number of the races are seats that the repub won two years ago by a couple percentage points (a few that I just really like the candidate are in the 60/40 category from 2016 … but local politics can be more variable too).
And even if several of these women don’t win this cycle, they got support. I want women to see that they can get funded and have credible races, in St. Cloud, or Park Rapids, or a blueish exurb. Anywhere. Run for something. Go!
I know lots of folks don’t have a grand laying around to pass about. But dude and I figure, if we don’t blow through the money now, who cares if we have a grand to blow in an authoritarian-enabled shitscape next year. Win. Now. And that starts at legislatures!
And yes, I’ve chipped in to a number of DougJ’s thermometers, too. Local/state/federal, it all matters. But sometimes I think we chase the Betos and such without enough strategy for the rest of the ticket. (Note, I gave to O’Rourke back in Jan & Feb – at that time it felt strategic to boost him. Now others are on the money roll for him – yay! seriously – and I can give to people for whom a surprise, out of district fifty bucks can boost a postcard drop or target some local FB ads).
Adam L Silverman
@Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]: Just added these as an update up top:
Adam L Silverman
@Jay: Yep.
Chetan Murthy
@Raoul:
I have a different calculation that ends at the same place: political contributions this year and in 2020 are an insurance premium against the risk of having to become a refugee. B/c if those fuckers win in 2020, I can’t see them not doubling-down a few times, and turning this country into a hellscape for the brown.
Yutsano
@Kay:
I accept their terms.
And the hurry is so he can block the Dolt45 subpoenas. They’re still afraid of his base, and think he can get them to turn on them with an angry tweet. The test case right now is DeSantis, but since he feels no loyalty to anyone it can be turned on any of them at any time.
Chetan Murthy
@Chetan Murthy: Should have added: and since having to up sticks and flee is expensive, and one should expect in that instance that one’s savings will be heavily depleted, spending some of my savings on this election is just ….. well, gotta do it. I don’t want to have to find a new home.
And I will never forgive them for making me do this calculation. Never.
Kent
@Kay:
Along those lines. She could go on some sympathetic news interview show on Sunday and lay out the whole story and just leave it there for them to deal with. Get the story out all over TV but avoid the hostile cross examination and shit show.
Raoul
@Eljai: ***> Republicans are completely underestimating the depth of the anger women are feeling about this <***
I definitely believe this. I think the anger is still somehow eluding the conventional wisdom folks. I guess because it doesn't come with tricorner hats and hoverounds, but it is palpable, thrumming through friend networks and not quite exploding – yet. But soon. November 6, soon.
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@Adam L Silverman: This really needs to be shared wider, it is a good toolkit to protect yourself from stochastic violence, and allows other people to speak up.
Also you misspelled “Two” in point 15. I make that mistake all the time.
Raoul
@Chetan Murthy: I get it. As gay men, we’re not safe either if this shit goes the way it could. Spend now, write and agitate and push – now.
Our trans community is already/still deeply unsafe.
Adam L Silverman
@Kent: Exactly. She should do a special edition with Stephanie Ruhle aired on NBC with a simulcast on MSNBC on Sunday night. Ruhle offered to do this earlier tonight when she was sitting in for Ari Melber. Possibly cohosted with Nicole Wallace. She should then do an interview with Oprah on Monday. Also, probably, the View on Monday as well.
Adam L Silverman
@Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]: This is what I get for trying to do three things at once.
TS (the original)
@Chetan Murthy: Thanks – I hadn’t seen that
Adam L Silverman
@Raoul: But you all are not alone. This is not 1958, let alone 2008. And there are a whole lot of us heterosexuals that will have to be gone through to get to you all.
Jay
@Kent:
It’s her choice.
It might be her “metric” that testifying and facing the hostile shit show, will permently tag Republican members of the commitee as rape enablers and rapist defenders.
Chetan Murthy
@Raoul: Amen to that. I’ve read about how Jews in Germany in the 30s were pushed to leave, but they could neither get visas to other countries, not convert their assets into foreign currency, nor take their German marks with them. So many Jews didn’t leave, just b/c they couldn’t, economically.
The Nazis made it difficult for the Jews to convert their assets to cash for the obvious reason: b/c that’s equivalent to imports of equal value, and the Nazi state was really carefully managing their trade balance. Gosh, uh, kinda like Fuhrer Pilzkopf is so worried about our trade balance.
Omnes Omnibus
@Raoul: @Adam L Silverman: Seconded. Pretty much obvious cis-het WASP. OTOH, Adam, I bet you can identify with the fear. I will only get it the problems if I get identified as a liberal. For the rest, I can “pass,” it I want to do so. Using my empathy muscles here and wanting a decent world.
Omnes Omnibus
@Omnes Omnibus: Edit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chetan Murthy
@Adam L Silverman:
Adam, I take your point, and esp. here in California, I feel better,. But: if they start doing things like rounding up the undocumented, maybe stripping their children of citizenship, you and all decent people will be forced to make a choice: do you want a hot civil war? B/c by post-2020 (if they’re still in power) they’ll have really heavily stacked the courts, and so we won’t be able to rely on our institutions as much.
Our democracy has been surprisingly robust, for such a rickety Constitution. But it can’t take hits forever. Honestly, I’d feel safer if I knew my state government was planning for the eventuality of a hot civil war. That’d make me worry less involuntary exile.
P.S, I realize some commenters are gonna say I’m being alarmist. They’re right: that’s why I’m putting some of my retirement savings (and I’m a ridiculously frugal person) into contributions this cycle. That’s part of the price of believing that “It Can’t Happen Here”, as it turns out. I guess I could go canvass in Texas – maybe even in the town where I grew up. But there are things I just can’t bring myself to do — like voluntarily go to Texas.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: Is that like: “MEDIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”?
NotMax
One thing you might consider adding, Adam, is to purchase and use prepaid credit cards. And possibly a burner phone.
Ian R
Adam, what do you do about points 2-4 when your local law enforcement is likely part of the problem?
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: More or less.
I am a terrible typist. Just ghastly. I relied ever so much on the edit function. I understand why it is gone and all that. I just type so poorly.*
*Typing accidents are different from me say stupid or silly things.
Omnes Omnibus
@Omnes Omnibus: SAY? Fuck.
Raoul
@Adam L Silverman: Yeah, that’s why I’m just pissed, and not really particularly frightened right now. Thanks, though. It matters that we have connected communities watching for each other.
Adam L Silverman
@Chetan Murthy:
I wrote here a while back that a time was coming when every American who is or who passes for white would have to make a decision as to whether they were willing to put themselves in harms way to protect ethnic and religious minorities in the US, Americans who are LGBTQ, and immigrants to the US. I’ve already made my decision. I made it almost two years ago. And I’m prepared to do what is necessary to stand for those that may not be able to stand for themselves.
Adam L Silverman
@Ian R: You go to state law enforcement and/or the Feds.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: I have the same issue as you. I miss the edit button as well. I know it is on Alain’s list of things to bring back/fix.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: I can right gud wurds on paper….. And shit.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: I am a grtjewit ov elektrokushun skool…
NotMax
@Omnes Omnibus
Simultaneously?
;)
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: You win.
Raoul
@Omnes Omnibus: lol. But, yeah, thanks for your words as well as Adam’s.
One of the things that backstops me is that the US is far more racially and culturally diverse than, for example, Weimar Germany was. Jews in Germany in 1933 were estimated to be 0.75% of the population. It’s a little hard to get solid numbers (freakin Census nonsense) has gay and lesbian USers are 3.8%.
And POC populations are pretty large here. We would be well to remember that a good part of the GOP freakout is their knowledge that the tipping point is arriving. Even with Pompeo’s cruel and stupid 30,000 immigrant cap for the coming year, we will be a plurality nation soon. Quite soon.
With that, good night, y’all.
dopey-o
A 60 Minutes interview would be great on Sunday. Even better with 10 or 20 women from her high school who remember the talk about it 35 years ago.
Barring that, bring those women to the capital steps Monday to live-tweet the hearing.
Best of all would be a halt in the confirmation process until the FBI investigates.
Chetan Murthy
@dopey-o: I don’t think she should do the hearing — b/c as someone else said, the outcome is predetermined: she shouldn’t legitimize it by her presence.
But if she’s gonna be there, she should have a goddamn phalanx of corroboration (classmates) and of women who were wronged by men in the past. If Dr. Anita Hill, the other Thomas accuser,Cosby’s accuser, Weinstein’s accusers, and sure why not Ronan Farrow (might as well have a token male!) and …. well, the idea being get all manner of famous women who were wronged by men — a murderer’s row, so to speak. Right behind her. And they should all have planned media appearances so they can discuss what happened — simultaneously and continuously for days.
But I don’t think she should do it. It’s one thing to suffer all this for a possibility of a positive outcome. But if they don’t investigate and won’t allow other witnesses, there’s no point.
P.S. Unless somehow other accusers come forward. In which case, they should have those women present in the front row, and let Dr. Blasey introduce them and explain why they’re there — tell their stories too.
Gretchen
@Raoul: Obama didn’t win his first run. You’re right to contribute to promising candidates who may not win this time but will learn to run a winning rCe next time.
Origuy
I know a little about her employer, Palo Alto University. It’s a small campus with a single entrance off a two-lane road. It’s adjacent to a park I was hiking in a few days ago. I think there’s a path connecting the park and the university and that the street entrance is gated. It should be pretty easy to secure. They have other campuses, so I went to their website to see if she works out of that one. Her phone number and email address have been removed from the university directory. I didn’t drive by the entrance the other day to see if there were guards there, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
This all sounds a little stalkerish, I know, but I was just curious about the university’s response.
Sister Golden Bear
@Raoul:
As I’ve said before the Talibaptists have an actual five-point plan to eradicate trans people from public life — and I don’t mean figuratively. This administration has been busy implementing that plan.
I may be highly privileged in other ways, but this has me seriously thinking about exfil plans if needed, as well as that California succession might not be such a bad idea after all. (If the revanchists succeed in calling another constitutional convention, I think it’s time to tell them to fuck off, and BTW we’re imposing a trade embargo.)
@Chetan Murthy:
Same here.
@Adam L Silverman and @Omnes Omnibus: Thank you.
I also made a similar decision two years ago.
JR
Could any of Blasey-Ford’s harrassers be caught with sufficient effort from law enforcement? What kind of penalties could they face? Is there a maximum sentencing guideline?
Dan B
@Adam L Silverman: This means a lot that a lot of heterosexuals will stand up to defend us. I came out when I was immediately a pervert. I was 19. I fell into a tiny group of Gay Lib’s who outfoxed mafia hits and mass arrest by the Chicago Police.
I dreamed of falling in love when few of the LGBTQ people i knew could be in love and hold on. All institutions and the public were hunting us down.
And then there were the forty men. Dead in unique ways from a virus that amplified the reasons to crush my community. We all grabbed at straws. We had messy sex and tried a new ‘open’ morality in hope of stumbling upon love when every institutional avenue was not just closed but hell bent upon wiping us off the face of the earth.
I see these same sympathies leveled against immigrants and black and brown people and Muslims. Protecting gay people agsinst Kavanaugh and Gorsuch will be a big lift when gays fear muslims, and POC feel that LGBTQ groups want to hog the spotlight.
We’ve struggled through tough times and have not always ‘made it’. And yet as much as we run away we often push back. This is one of those uncertain moments.
dimmsdale
Adam, thanks for addressing my question; sorry I missed the thread (went to bed early). I asked because I have literally no idea what someone like me (us?) would do security-wise if the right wing howler monkeys came at us for standing up for what’s right. Your post answers my questions abundantly, again thanks.
I think once the forces of decency resume control (IF they do) one of the first things that needs to happen is an organized (perhaps federal) LEO protection response for citizens caught in this situation; at minimum an enhanced cyber-commando capability to root out online threats and come after hackers who do this sort of stuff, and perhaps a flying squad of antiterrorism experts who parachute in, supervise local LEOs responding to the threat, and stay till the threat, whatever it is, is neutralized. (I’m sure there is some sort of such capability but equally sure it’s not dedicated, at this point, to protecting citizens from a howling mob, virtual and otherwise. AND I’m fully aware that such capability is extremely open to being abused by Trumpies, but there’s gotta be a way around that.) Also she’s going to need plenty of PTSD help once this is over, and she shouldn’t have to pay either for protection or for that, if we’re truly a democracy here.
As to what she should do, I honestly don’t know. It strikes me she’s already paying the price as if she DID testify; I think doing national media is a good idea…what a brave person to expose herself not only to that, but to all that is yet to come that she has no clue about.
I came across DeBecker (his outfit specializes in high-level executive protection) through a local group in NYC called “Prepare Inc.” which began as a woman-to-woman boundary-setting, threat-de-escalation, and physical-response training system and now specializes in personal self-protection for kids and teens as well as adults; in my experience very much worth looking into if personal street security is an issue. (They have chapters in other cities, sometimes under the name IMPACT.)
Finally, thanks again Adam. As with many of your posts, I’ll copy this one to a clipboard and print it out to look at later, repeatedly. (as I did with the excerpt of your paper on necessary changes to policy regarding Putin, election infiltration etc.)
cheers all. Stay safe.
dimmsdale
I should have added to the above, DeBecker wrote a very good book, many years ago, about personal individual security and situational awareness called The Gift of Fear. There have undoubtedly been many books written on the subject since then; it’s worth a look, though, full of useful insights and concrete suggestions that most of us regular joes would never think about.
Miss Bianca
@Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]:
It’s also a pretty damn good primer for dealing with individual sociopaths who may or may not have a big group behind them.