Friends and Neighbors of Christine Blasey Ford Rally in Palo Alto

Christine Blasey Ford's nationally aired emotional testimony had just ended and Brett Kavanaugh's angry half-yelling statements begun. Women stepped up stairs into Palo Alto's main plaza, quickly gathering for a rally organized on short notice in Dr. Ford's home town. They took turns at a microphone propped up in front of the City Hall. Some led songs, others chants, and some, including the city's mayor, spoke of their own experiences of abuse at the hands of powerful men.

The approximately 150 people who stood in King's Plaza had just heard Ford testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about how she has been forced into hiding since coming forward publicly in an interview with The Washington Post. Ford's close neighbor Kristen Podulka was brought to tears as she spoke of the need for Ford's family to flee their home.

One speaker asked, "Why is this normalized--wealthy white males entitled to engage in frightening actions against women? Why is that they not only get away with it, but have it tolerated with the expression boys will be boys?"