Theresa Foley of Westbrook, Maine had no plans to join a protest outside Sen. Susan Collins's (R-Maine) office in Portland on Friday afternoon, but after watching Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testify regarding her sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh the day before, she was drawn to a downtown park where more than a hundred other demonstrators gathered to demand Collins vote against the judge's confirmation, with some sharing their own experiences of assault.
"This Grassley guy is the same asshole that did the same shit to Anita Hill. Who the fuck does he think he is? Goddamnit, I'm fucking tired of this shit." --Theresa FoleyThough impromptu, her remarks drew intense applause from those gathered as she told her story and unleashed on men like Kavanaugh and the politicians who would dare protect them from accountability.
"It's about time we're heard and not just heard but action is taken," Foley said. "I think every woman has met a Kavanaugh. Every woman has met one of these Kavanaughs--in high school, in college, in business, it has affected all of our lives--and you know what, we're fucking fed up with it!"
The crowd cheered as Foley unleashed on Collins as well as Kavanaugh, calling for an end to a political system in which the experiences of women are given far less weight than the ambitions of powerful men like President Donald Trump's nominee--and opening up about her own assault in high school.
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"This Grassley, my god, really?" Foley declares are one point, referring to Republican chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley. "This Grassley guy is the same asshole that did the same shit to Anita Hill. Who the fuck does he think he is? Goddamnit, I'm fucking tired of this shit."
Once more there was round applause, laughter, and exclamations of approval.
"I didn't know anything about [the protest]," Foley told Common Dreams in an interview after finishing her remarks. "I [was driving around] and I just couldn't go home. I couldn't. I'm pissed off."
"I cried with her," she added of watching Ford's testimony. "I literally cried. And my husband...I was tired of hearing him say stuff about what was going on with Kavanaugh, and finally I said, you know what, I got something I've gotta tell you. And I'd been talking to my counselor about it and I just looked at him and said, 'I was assaulted. And I told him the whole thing...and I said, I don't remember the date, I don't remember the time...I absolutely remember what happened. I remember looking in his eyes, I remember saying no, and I remember something was put in my drink. And I remember not saying anything about it."
"So when she was talking," Foley continued, "I was crying because I was right there with her."
Assistant editor Jenna McGuire contributed to this reporting.
