I believe Tara Reade.

Regarding the opinions by Edgar Allen Beem (“Do we really have to believe all women? May 20) and letter writer Barbara Doughty, they repeat myths that we have heard for years on this topic.

“Why did she wait so long?” Well, why did victims of priests wait so long to come forward? This is a known inner struggle among survivors of sexual assault. It can take a long time, depending on the power of the perpetrator and the depth of the trauma. This principle is not suspended, just because the person accused is in one’s own in-group.

“She changed her story!” The story she tells now, is the same one she told at least three people around the time of the original assault. That’s an unusually high level of corroboration. Moreover, her full story now does not contradict, but expands on, the story she told early last year, long before Biden clinched the nomination. So, this line is disingenuous at best.

“She bounced a check, her landlord didn’t like her, etc. etc.” There are no perfect victims, sorry. If you want to be honest, quit deflecting and address the accusations.

About Biden: (1) he is on video being inappropriate with adult women and young girls, (2) other women such as Lucy Flores have gone public with their stories of his creepy behavior, and (3) he has a history of lying and plagiarism.

For more details, read the comprehensive articles by Nathan Robinson and Lyta Gold in “Current Affairs.” At the least, if you want your opinion taken seriously, listen to her entire interview with Katie Halper.

Vote however you want in these strange and extreme times. But don’t try to comfort yourself that you must be voting for an innocent man, just because his accuser’s character has been smeared, and mainstream media agreed to bury the story.

Jeffrey Hotchkiss
Portland