How did a PTA race go viral? Kavanaugh

WASHINGTON - On the day that Christine Blasey Ford described her alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and testified about his "uproarious laughter," Jessica Raven was compelled to step up in a way she'd never expected.

At 6:27 p.m., the Washington, D.C., mom and sexual assault survivor tweeted: "y'all, a woman is running unopposed for PTA president at my kid's school & tweeting in support of kavanaugh today. some days this fight feels so massive."

Less than two hours later, at 8:13 p.m., she posted a five-word update: "she is no longer unopposed."

Raven hadn't planned to run for president of the Parent Teacher Student Association of her 4-year-old child's school in Washington, but her reason for doing so immediately resonated with strangers. Suddenly thousands of people from across the country, and even outside the U.S., were paying attention to an election between two parents at Langley Elementary School.

"At no point did it occur to me that I'd be following a DC PTA election from New Jersey but 2018 keeps getting weirder and weirder," one person tweeted. "Good luck! You got this!"

"This stranger in Atlanta supports you!" another person wrote.

"I'm following from Shropshire, United Kingdom!" wrote yet another. "Go Raven!!"

That it took just a mention of Kavanaugh's name to draw international attention to a hyper-local election is telling about where we are now as a country.

In the past, two moms wanting to play a more active role in their children's education would not gain much notice (or recognition), and discussions at PTA meetings might not go beyond bake sales and teacher appreciation displays.

But the Kavanaugh hearing - and the uncertainty about whether a man accused of sexual assault will sit on the U.S. Supreme Court - has struck so deeply for so many people that it is changing the conversations we are having about sexual violence and where we are having them.

We are now talking about rape and consent and the "devil's triangle" at ballparks and playgrounds and yes, PTA elections.

We can discuss what is gained and lost by this because in this divided environment, that's what we now do. But if we do, it's important we keep in mind what remains beyond debate: Both of these moms decided to run for PTA president in hopes of creating a better environment for children at a school where most students are black and from low-income families. Both women stepped up when others didn't.

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