Do You Have Photos From Kavanaugh’s High School or College Years?
by Spocko
If you have photos from the area and time in question, check your files. Your photos could change the course of US history.
In his opening statement Brett Kavanaugh said,
“Dr. Ford’s allegation stems from a party that she alleges occurred during the summer of 1982. Thirty-six years ago. I was 17 years old. Between my junior and senior years of high school at Georgetown Prep, a rigorous all-boys Catholic Jesuit high school in Rockville, Md. When my friends and I spent time together at parties on weekends, it was usually with friends from nearby Catholic all-girl high schools: Stone Ridge, Holy Child, Visitation, Immaculata, Holy Cross.
Dr. Ford did not attend one of those schools. She attended an independent private school named Holton-Arms and she was a year behind me. She and I did not travel in the same social circles. It’s possible we met at some point at some events, although I do not recall that. ” (Transcript)
The White House has limited the scope of the FBI’s investigation, but regular people can still look and submit hard evidence to the FBI. Kavanaugh mentions the schools he said he hung out with, but that doesn’t mean boys or girls from other schools didn’t attend their parties. If you lived in that area during that time and took photos check your files.
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| The “Renate Alumni” from a scan of the Georgetown Prep Yearbook by Washington Monthly Photo collage by Spocko based on my photo envelopes from the 1980’s |
I was the head photographer of my high school yearbook. In those days not everyone had a camera. Film and prints cost money. But people still took thousands of photos of other high school events. Events that didn’t show up in the year book. I know they exist because I worked in a photo lab at that time.
I remember the smell of stop bath and fixer as rolls of color negatives came out of the machine. I saw women working for hours a day in dark rooms to print out batches of 12, 24 or 36 photos. They printed photos of birthday parties. Dances. Keggers. Graduations and drunken parties at the beach.
I only put some of my photos in a scrapbook. Until a few years ago mine were in my parent’s linen closet on the shelf behind the Christmas decorations. They were in gold and black envelopes reminding people IMPORTANT! PLEASE SAVE THESE NEGATIVES FOR FUTURE USE and “We Use Kodak Paper!” The dates of development were printed on the back of photos.
I don’t have a calendar to identify all the people in my photos, but I can ask others if they can fill in my memory blanks.
Photos of a 17-year old at a party holding a beer can isn’t proof the person holding it was drunk.
Unless there is video, it’s not even hard evidence the person actually drank the beer. But…
For the yearbook staff identification of who was in the photos was very important. Screwing up something in the yearbook was a BFD because the high school yearbook became the main “permanent record” that other people saw.
(By The Way, BFD is short for Big Fucking Deal. As far as I know it is not a drinking game nor is it short for “Brett Farts Daily” although I suppose someone could lie about that definition if they are a lying liar. )
In high school I was the only photographer with a wide-angle lens, so I took almost all of the team and group photos. I took photos of every group from the nine members of the chess club to the 39 members of the JV football team.
I would turn in my photos with the list of names I got of the people in the club or team to the person in charge of the clubs or sports section who would confirm them.
Do photos of Brett Kavanaugh where he’s got his arms around a woman he now says he doesn’t know mean he is a liar? Not necessarily. I can look at old photos and not remember the name of people from 36 years ago. But other people in and around the the photo might remember, because perhaps for them that party was a BFD.
Photos aren’t perfect evidence. They can only show what was captured on film and context is still important. But even if the photographer was later blackout drunk, the photo still exists.
Will the “men of conscience” from Georgetown Prep in 1982 come forward?
I went to the web pages of the schools Kavanaugh mentioned. Holton-Arms had a brilliant letter by Susanna A. Jones, the Head of School, about what they are doing now to help their girls. It is through, insightful and extensive “How can we help our young people avoid becoming victims or perpetrators of sexual assault, or if they do, feel empowered to seek support?”
In contrast, Georgetown Prep’s statement was defensive and used the, “other schools have problems too!” whine line of reasoning.
The image that has been presented on social media and in various news outlets depicts recklessness, illegal conduct, and lack of respect for persons. Worse, many blame these faults on institutional indifference.
But the temptations, and the failings, presented in these stories are not unique to Georgetown Prep. The problems and abuses of alcohol and drugs, sexual assault and misconduct, emotional and physical violence toward others are real; educators at every institution of primary, secondary, or higher learning in our nation face these problems every day.
What I want to know is how this institution will deal with the current situation. Will they help the FBI and provide their own records? Will they open up the old yearbook archives? Or will they stonewall? They state they are dedicated to the mission of “forming men of conscience, competence, courage, and compassion; men of faith and men for others.” how will they act now?
And my big question: Will these “men of conscience” from Georgetown Prep circa 1982 come forward? Does being a “man for others” include telling the truth about what happened to girls from local girl’s schools during summer parties?
This isn’t just about Kavanaugh and what he says anymore, it’s also about his friends and associates from that time period. Will they provide evidence of what they know happened and when it happened? Or will they cover their own mouths?
The Georgetown Prep statement ends with Latin: Ad majorem Dei gloriam. “To the greater glory of God.” If the boys from that time have evidence of crimes that were committed, will they come forward? If not, which god are they serving?