I am ashamed of how we can live in a world where "locker room talk" is an acceptable excuse for sexual assault.
Presidential nominee Donald Trump has been caught on tape making disgusting misogynistic comments about women. Something that A.) shouldn't be said by someone who wants to run a country and B.) shouldn't be said by anyone, period.
As a firm believer in second chances, as most people, I patiently waited for the second presidential debate to hear a sincere apology from Mr. Trump. Not that an apology could fix the past or make up for the damage already done, but it could've been a start. But boy, did I have my expectations too high.
"I don’t think you understood what was — this was locker room talk. I’m not proud of it. I apologize to my family. I apologize to the American people. Certainly I’m not proud of it. But this is locker room talk. You know, when we have a world where you have ISIS chopping off heads, where you have — and, frankly, drowning people in steel cages, where you have wars and horrible, horrible sights all over, where you have so many bad things happening, this is like medieval times...
"Yes, I’m very embarrassed by it. I hate it. But it’s locker room talk, and it’s one of those things. I will knock the hell out of ISIS. We’re going to defeat ISIS. ISIS happened a number of years ago in a vacuum that was left because of bad judgment. And I will tell you, I will take care of ISIS. And we should get on to much more important things and much bigger things. It's just words folks, it's just words."
These are the exact words Trump said to defend his offensive comments. He used the excuse that comments about sexual assault is just "locker room talk." This is "just words."
Well, Mr. Trump, and ANYONE who defends this man's comments, that is not just "locker room talk" or "just words."
Congrats for buying into rape culture today. We live in a world where boys will be boys, or victims usually ask for their assault. We live in a world where consent is not that important or it's a bother to ask for it. People want and they take without realizing the damage they're causing.
It's words like Mr. Trump's that make me scared to walk to my car at night. Make me double think about the outfit I'm wearing. Make me terrified of trusting a partner. Make me insecure about everything around me, because I don't want to be a normal human living my normal life and run into someone who doesn't care about consent, who doesn't care about sexual assault. Someone who engages in "locker room talk."
It's words like Mr. Trump's that make me scared about things I should have no worries about.
As a young millennial, I worry about where our country is headed. I worry about what the generation after me is going to do with these words. By excusing his words in this manner, Donald Trump is giving a free pass to anyone who wants to sexually assault someone. He's saying it's okay to cross these boundaries because it's normal, it's natural. It's just "locker room talk."
Again, I am ashamed.
