Against the 'Groomer' Smear

I remember the day I hit maximum anger about the extraordinary public and media firestorm surrounding Brett Kavanaugh. It was on September 27, 2018. This was exactly one day after a woman named Julie Swetnick had come forward with a facially absurd allegation that Kavanaugh had facilitated gang rapes while in high school. Swetnick’s claims fell apart almost immediately, but in the hours and days before she was decisively rebutted, Americans were treated to think pieces and tweet threads describing exactly why they were plausible and consistent with the ethos of the time (including this incredible example in Vox, using the movie Sixteen Candles to describe the purported “rape culture” of the 1980s). 

It was a remarkable moment. Spurious allegations of gang rape rocketed from coast to coast, and Very Serious People who should have known better not only instantly believed them, they furiously attacked anyone who expressed public skepticism. I should know. I was one of their targets.

I was working at National Review at the time, and I was still much more a part of the right-wing media ecosystem than I am now. I remember well the burning conviction on the right that not only was the evidence entirely insufficient to support any of the key claims against Kavanaugh, but also it was just vile to throw such horrific accusations against a husband and father without meaningful evidence. 

Now, what to make of this?

Mollie @MZHemingway

The only new info since he voted against her a few months ago was increased awareness of her “soft-on-pedos” approach, which makes this new Romney position super interesting. https://t.co/n0oWhqiZUz

Senator Mitt Romney @SenatorRomney

I intend to vote in support of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. My statement: https://t.co/uGaxx8sJn5

April 5th 2022

2,909 Retweets9,375 Likes

Or this?

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene @RepMTG

1. Any Senator voting to confirm #KJB is pro-pedophile just like she is. There are MANY more qualified black women judges, that actually can define what a woman is, but Biden chose the one that protects evil child predators. And then Romney, Murkowski, and Collins vote for her.

April 5th 2022

3,110 Retweets11,756 Likes

For those who don’t remember, Hemingway wrote a book about the Kavanaugh nomination. She was livid at his treatment. 

You may not be aware, but right-wing media is swarming with allegations that anyone who, for example, opposes Florida’s House Bill 1557 (the bill misleadingly termed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by Democrats and many in the media) is either a “groomer” or in league with groomers. A groomer is a person who specifically targets and uses “manipulative behaviors” to gain access to victims. The rhetoric is absolutely omnipresent. It’s relentless. For example, here’s Governor Ron DeSantis’s spokesperson. There’s nothing subtle about this: