This was a post that I wanted to write myself. I did not intend to listen to the hearings, but got into the car at the moment Kavanaugh began his statement. If you have been in an abusive relationship, his performance was recognizable immediately. I only had to listen for 1 minute to hear that he felt victimized and entitled. By 15 minutes in, I heard many rhetorical tricks that abusers use — lack of ‘memory’, turning the question around, moral indignation, playing for sympathy. I feel frustrated and flummoxed by the response of some (particularly men). How can educate others about the phenomena of emotionally abusive people in a credible way that creates understanding and also makes the public smarter consumers of the rhetoric they hear? Manipulators and abusers are real. There are not too many. But they wreak havoc and create damage everywhere. The general public would benefit from a greater understanding.