To The Donald,
I was never a big Hillary Clinton supporter. I don't support drone strikes or unnecessary wars that have existed only to make America's wallet fatter. I don't support corporate America. I want to uproot the entire political system and start over. With Hillary, that was never going to happen.
I never supported you, though, either. I supported you even less than I supported Hillary Clinton. Neither of you were my top choices. But we're here now, and because of America's faulty two party system, you are my only choices, and I am 100% against you.
You see, I only hated you when you wanted to deport my best friend's family. I only hated you when you called my best friend a rapist. I didn't fear you. I didn't denounce you. I hated you, but I didn't care about you. Because I didn't think you had any chance of winning. Actually, for the longest time, I thought your candidacy was a joke. I told myself that the republican party had 16 candidates. There was no chance of you getting the nomination.
I was wrong and now I am afraid.
I have now realized that you are not joking and no one is laughing anymore.
As a rape survivor, I am afraid of men like you. I am afraid of the men that support you. I am afraid of the men and women who justify your actions. The men who make Monica Lewinsky jokes. The men who whistle at me as I walk down the street. The men who hit me up on tinder or slide into my DMs asking immediately for nudes. The men I fear when I reject an advance. You epitomize everything that terrifies me. And the people who justify your actions? They terrify me, too, because they are the reason my rapist walks free. They are the reason I see my rapist in ShopRite. They are the reason my rapist can sit in an Ivy League school. I am repulsed by both of you.
My rapist struck again recently, you know. She was a girl I knew only by name, only in passing in the hallways of my high school, and he got away with that, too, because she tried to kill herself and was therefore an unreliable witness, which is exactly what happened to me, as well. Which means my rapist has gotten away with it not only once, but twice, and now that you, sir, have made it seem like it is okay to "grab [women] by the p*ssy" as long as you can get away with it, I won't be surprised if he does it again. Thank you, Trump, for justifying my rapist's actions. Thank you for giving him even more of a reason to ruin another woman's life, for giving him validation. Really. Thank you so much.
See, leaders like you are dangerous because women are already the butt of every joke. I hear and read rape jokes all the time, but you know how a lot of truth is said in jest? Well, that's what's terrifying.
You see, the thing about the Trump Tapes is that it perfectly sums up what every single woman I know is afraid of. What are our male friends saying behind closed doors? What has our significant other said about rape in the past? Would our fathers sympathize with someone who can grab people by their vagina simply because they can? What about our friends' fathers? When I hit puberty and slept over my friends' houses, did their fathers think about grabbing me by the p*ssy?
That is what is terrifying about your campaign, sir. You have supporters who sympathize with your hateful rhetoric. You have supporters who may now think it is okay to sexually assault people as long as they can get away with it. Hell, maybe my rapist will run for president! I mean, America is the land of opportunity (and a messed up judicial system) so I wouldn't be surprised.
With the coldest regards possible,
Genevieve Dietzel
P.S. - This is not "locker room banter". I have plenty of male friends who have never said anything along these lines. This is not how "men talk". Men may talk and brag about their sexual prowess, but I don't know one man who brags about sexually assaulting women. Except for maybe my rapist.
