This political race has continually been about pulling skeletons out of the closet. Hillary Clinton is often criticized for her email scandal and Benghazi. Bill Clinton (who isn't even running) is criticized for his infidelity. Donald Trump is criticized for his shady business deals, misogyny, tax evasion, racism, and most recently his comments that perpetuate rape culture. Skeletons should be pulled out of the closet. When someone is running for President of the United States, their character must be judged, their actions must be challenged, and their past mistakes should be laid bare for the country to scrutinize. No one should cast a vote for Hillary forgetting her past discretions. Just as no one should cast a vote for Donald Trump without recognizing his completely unacceptable treatment of women.
“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful [women]. I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,”
Get rid of the term that consent is sexy. It isn't supposed to be sexy, it's necessary. As Lisa Baker with the Date Safe Project puts it, "It's a basic human right." So not even waiting for consent is never okay. There are no exceptions regarding who needs consent from a woman. Being famous does not exempt you from requiring consent. Not only is Donald Trump alluding that consent isn't important, but he speaks about his automatic attraction to beautiful women. Just because you are attracted to someone, does not give you the right to act on that attraction. It is like when people ask a victim of rape what they were wearing, or how much they drank. There is no scenario where a victim of a crime is at fault for what the criminal did to them. Just because a woman is beautiful does not mean that she is inviting someone to kiss her without waiting. Real men can control themselves, even if you can't Donald.
"Grab them by the p***y. You can do anything."
One in five women will be sexually assaulted before they graduate college. Sexual assault is clearly a real problem, but what not enough people realize is that it's not just the rapists to blame. The perpetuation of rape culture plays a huge role. Language such as grabbing "them by the p***y" is sending a message that says women can be touched anywhere, they do not have a say. Imagine if you heard one of your friends speak about grabbing a girl's crotch because he felt he could "do anything." Would you be okay with that? How about if you heard that your younger sister was at a party and someone decided to grab her ass because they assumed she would appreciate it. Obviously, that isn't okay so why should it be okay for a Presidential Nominee?
As a country we have begun to recognize the flaws in our society. We have set out to change that horrifying statistic. We want to protect the women in our lives from being assaulted. This movement must include preventing the perpetuation of rape culture. It is not just the rapists that we must stop, but the language and the attitude that facilitates rape. I ask you not to forget about what Donald Trump has said, and realize the effect his language and attitude has had. I ask you not to forget the one in five women who are victims of this culture that we strive to end. This election is about the lesser of two evils.
I hope that you recognize Donald Trump's predatory language to be the worst.
