During a 10/18 NBC News debate about the alleged sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh of Christine Ford, Senator Mazie Hirono tells men in this country: "Just shut up and step up. Do the right thing — for a change.”
From my perspective, as a Leadership-Relationship Communication-Skills Coach, this is an abusive irresponsible blaming make-wrong (Trump-like) statement. Such abuse always produces undesirable results—until/unless it is later acknowledged as being abusive.
*- ". . . men in this country . . ." (an irresponsible, sexist, blaming statement revealing a misunderstanding about responsibility)
- "shut up" (abusive, controlling, judgmental)
- "step up" (accusatory make-wrong, implying that the way she's handling this is right)
- "Do the right thing . . ." (judgmental make wrong—I'm doing things right, you're not.)
- ". . . for a change." (This reveals that the Senator is dragging around one or more incompletes having to do with sexist and biased blaming judgments about men and male leaders.)
Senator Hirono was experiencing anger. Her statement was delivered using the
Adversarial Communication Model,
* the same way of interacting taught and used throughout the nation's schools. There is a
clearing process that allows one to complete ones anger so that it doesn't get communicated along with otherwise valid content.
Supportive material:
Last edited 10/28/18
Note 1: On 10/17/18 I sent a copy of this post to the Senator telling her that if she acknowledges my feedback ("Thank you Kerry. I got it.") then I'll edit this blog in favor of the Senator's realization, that she is supportable; that no matter how crazy or upsetting your feedback, she will respectfully acknowledge receipt. As of 10/28/18 I've not rec'd an acknowledgement of receipt of my feedback. Of interest, her website doesn't have a contact us email as do other senators.
Update: On 11/1/18 I sent a followup email asking the Senator if she received my email; she has yet to acknowledge receipt of either email.
Update: On 12/13/18 I received the following reply from the Senator. She doesn't address/acknowledge the effects of her irresponsible blaming sexist comment. I.e. "Thank you Kerry. I agree that my knee-jerk angry response was both blaming and sexist and, that it didn't feel good to read. Thank you." I do agree with the Senator's considerations about Mr. Kavanaugh. It poses the question—Are there undesirable consequences for irresponsible blaming? Nah, few "leaders" are willing to be that powerful.
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Dear Friend,
Thank you for contacting me regarding the nomination and confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve as a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, when Judge Kavanagh [sic] was nominated, I carefully reviewed his record. I read his legal writings, his opinions and dissents as a judge, and reviewed his prior work in the George W. Bush White House and elsewhere.
I found Brett Kavanaugh’s record on constitutional and legal issues inconsistent with a lifetime appointment to our nation’s highest court. His federal appellate court record distinctively favored corporations over individual rights. His writings and rulings showed a determination to restrict women's reproductive freedom and strip federal agencies of their power to protect our water, air, and safety.
Significantly, Judge Kavanaugh believes Congress should exempt U.S. presidents from civil and criminal actions while in office. This is of deep concern at a time when Donald Trump is a defendant in numerous civil lawsuits and is the subject of a significant criminal investigation. For all of these reasons, I announced my opposition to his confirmation.
During the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on his nomination, prior to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s credible sexual assault allegations against him, I asked questions about his legal record, and found his answers supported what I had found in my research. I was particularly troubled by Judge Kavanaugh’s reliance on erroneous facts to argue that Native Hawaiians are not an indigenous people, and therefore programs benefitting [sic] them are a “naked racial spoils” system, a view he advanced both in an op-ed in a prominent newspaper, and as an Associate White House Counsel in the Bush Administration.
I was also disturbed by his refusal to answer questions about whether he thought Roe v. Wade was correctly decided, even though he did not hesitate to share his opinion about other cases. Judge Kavanaugh’s views on women’s reproductive health shows a clear pattern. I believe that he will vote to significantly narrow or even eliminate women’s reproductive rights.
After the Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the nomination concluded, credible allegations of sexual assault emerged against Judge Kavanaugh. I took these allegations seriously, and listened intently to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. I also considered the views of the thousands of constituents like you who contacted my office. His tone and temperament during that hearing, as well as his responses to questions about these allegations were troubling, and added to my reasons for opposing his confirmation.
Now-confirmed Justice Kavanaugh could provide the deciding vote on issues that matter to everyone in Hawaii, including equal access to health care, a woman's right to choose, civil rights, and consumer and environmental protections.
Because Supreme Court Justices influence the Court for decades, we must ensure that the men and women appointed are the kind of consensus, mainstream nominees worthy of bipartisan support. However, rather than seeking a candidate who could garner such support, President Trump nominated someone hand-picked, vetted, and approved by two right-wing organizations--the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation. These organizations have spent decades and millions of dollars to pack our federal courts with ideologically-driven conservative judges. Clearly, President Trump is a willing partner with these groups, taking their suggestions of people to pack the courts with. He believes the judges he appoints are “Trump judges,” who will be loyal to him and protect him when the time comes. But this is not how an independent judiciary is supposed to work.
The Senate's confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh creates a clear 5-4 conservative majority on the Supreme Court that, under Chief Justice John Roberts, has developed a record of favoring corporate interests over individual rights. I have serious concerns with this direction, and will continue fighting to see that federal policies focus on helping the most vulnerable, not the most powerful.
Again, thank you for contacting me. If you would like to stay in touch with me on this or other issues of importance to you, please visit my website at:
http://www.hirono.senate.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me again in the future if I may be of assistance to you in any way.
Aloha,
Mazie K. Hirono
United States Senator
You can follow my work in the U.S. Senate on Twitter. Additionally, please do not reply to this email as this mailbox unfortunately is for outgoing messages only. If you would like to contact me again, please visit my website.
Contact Senator Hirono
