With sexual assault, should we always 'believe the woman'? Not so fast.

"The son grabbed my ass and she decided to yell at me," Klein told the 911 operator, referring to the boy's mother. It was a frightening scene.

The message of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, and the dramatic testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, is that women who claim to be victims of sexual assault must always be believed. Not sometimes. Always.

For what it's worth, I believed Ford. I also believed Kavanaugh. I think each was giving us their truth, as they knew it.

Be that as it may, I'm ashamed at how slow men have been to figure out just how widespread the problem is in our society. I'm all-in on the idea that we have to take much more seriously the whole concept of sexual assault against women.

Media creeps, I'm looking at you. We have now learned that there have been plenty of instances where a reporter, editor, anchor, or commentator takes advantage of his fame -- and then has the gall to go before the camera and sit in judgment over accused individuals like Kavanaugh.

But what I'm not all-in on is the idea that every woman should be believed. It's difficult to be a Hispanic or African-American male -- or even to simply have a historical understanding of how often we've been wrongly accused of crimes we didn't commit, especially those of a sexual nature -- and then go merrily along with the idea that everything a woman says has to be swallowed whole.

For those who want to push back, and insist that women don't make this stuff up or imagine assaults that never occurred, I have to ask: Does that include Klein? If so, you might want to rethink that.

As for what all this has to do with the hashtags, it's obvious. A lot of women are on edge in the #MeToo era. After years of not reporting sexual assaults, some of them now have a hair-trigger for anything that comes close. Of course, this is also the #BlackLivesMatter era, and African-Americans are on edge as well. They helped spread the video showing what Klein had done. No one is going to put up with anything from anyone anymore.

Dubbed "Cornerstore Caroline" on social media, Klein has since returned to the store to view security-camera footage. It revealed that what brushed up against her was the boy's backpack. According to the footage, the boy didn't touch her. No harm, no foul.

Klein acknowledged as much to reporters, before looking into a camera and apologizing publicly to the boy she had only days earlier attacked. "Young man, I don't know your name," she said. "But I'm sorry."

What a mess. Are we enlightened yet?

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.