With No Immediate Cause- The Case Of Brett Kavanaugh

I was drawn to Ntozake’s poem With No Immediate Cause when reading her book Nappy Edges because it is relevant to the political climate of our country and it felt true to my experience as a woman. In this poem, Shange narrates her everyday experiences as she interacts with men, noting how she is filled with anguish and fear everytime she interacts with a man. Elaborating on this idea, Shange writes:

“i rode the subway today

& bought a paper from a

man who might

have held his old lady onto

a hot pressing iron/ i dont know” (Nappy Edges).

The first thing I thought of when I read this poem was the sexual assault cases against supreme court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. What stood out to me during the trail and the television interview was his attempt to paint himself as a good man incapable of assaulting a woman. He talked about his virginity throughout high school, his Yale degree, and his Christian faith. He attempted to distance himself from what he believed to be the image of a sexual assaulter. What I believe Shange’s poem does is highlight how all men, regardless of all the things mentioned by Kavanaugh, have the potential to be an abuser.

In the poem, Shange interacts with an old man on the train, a man who sells newspapers, and a man who served her coffee. The fear she feels interacting with these men demonstrates how an abuser can be anyone from subway rider to a supreme court appointee.

Additionally, in the poem, Shange writes about how she is planning to read about the women that were murdered or abused in the newspaper. However, she only finds an announcement portraying women who were abused as seeking revenge against their husbands. This desire to portray women as seeking revenge and being violent or causing harm is all too common. In Kavanaugh’s opening statement to the Senate, he talked about how his trail is a “revenge on behalf of the Clintons.” He portrays his accuser, Dr. Ford, not as a survivor wanting to tell her truth to the world, but as a weapon of revenge.

I loved Shange’s poem because I often feel fear when I interact with men, and I believe that she did a good job of depicting the fear that I, along with other women feel. Additionally, I thought that this poem shed light on the Kavanaugh trial, which is the biggest topic in this news cycle.

I attached the video from Kavanaugh’s trail.