Kavanaugh, Country Music and Consent

I’m not saying that Chris Janson is the Brett Kavanaugh of country music. But I am saying that non-consensual sex is NOT a rite of passage. Sexual violence is not an unavoidable symptom of puberty like acne or voice-cracking or those embarrassing middle school boners you couldn’t control. Non-consensual sex/sexual activity is a crime whether you remember committing it or not, whether the victim was drunk or not and whether it was thirty years or thirty minutes ago.

Let me explain what some country song you’ve probably never heard of might have in common with a Supreme Court Justice nominee you can’t stop hearing about.

As we have for years I was talking with a friend of mine this summer about flirting, dating, relationships and sex over some blackberry cider and a lot of Tom Collins. He’s a good ol’ boy with much more socially conservative politics than mine but we discuss and explore a lot of contentious topics with respect. And some trepidation, but always respect.

Summer in Oregon is all backyard barbecues and river floating. Lake camping, sailing and cold drinks on the porch. The quiet magic of summer nights there is more sylvan than Southern balmy with fireflies at twilight or street parties in big cities where someone busts open fire hydrants and everyone dances in the water. I don’t know if they actually do this in big…