I hate Donald Trump.
I've hated him ever since he announced his candidacy by implying that a significant number of Mexican immigrants are rapists and criminals. But I was always careful to not automatically condemn every one of his supporters. I was annoyed with but sympathetic toward people who supported Trump because he wasn't bought by corporations like most politicians are. I would grit my teeth when my uncle defended Trump's comments, but I could still hold a conversation with him about school or work. Now, I have come to the disheartening and cynical conclusion that anyone who votes for Trump is a genuinely bad person.
Why the change of heart? Because he's a serial sex offender.
Donald Trump was recently caught bragging about sexually assaulting women in a tape from 2005. When asked about it during the following presidential debate, Trump dismissed his comments as "locker room talk." He denied ever having done any of the sexual assaults he described in the 2005 video. Since then, numerous women have spoken out against this claim and come forward with their own stories of sexual assault perpetrated by Donald Trump.
Donald Trump has now been accused of:
-groping total stranger Jessica Leeds on a plane
-groping total stranger Mindy McGillivray at one of his resorts
-groping beauty pageant contestant Cassandra Searles
-forcibly kissing receptionist Rachel Crooks
-forcibly kissing beauty pageant contestant Temple Taggart
-sexually assaulting reporter Natasha Stoynoff
-purposely walking into a dressing room in which 15-year-old girls were changing (an incident confirmed by five women and Donald Trump himself)
All of these more recent accounts are just the latest in a long list of Trump's sex crimes. According to court records, Donald Trump has allegedly:
-sexually assaulted and harrassed former business partner Jill Harth
-raped ex-wife Ivana Trump
-raped and physically abused twelve- and thirteen-year-old girls
Given all of these accusations (and self-admissions), it would be disingenuous and irrational to assume that Donald Trump has not sexually assaulted anyone. Based on all of the evidence, it seems highly likely that he has assaulted many women, and harrassed many more.
Which brings me to my main point: I can no longer stand by Trump supporters, regardless of their reasons for supporting him. Many members of my own family support Trump, and many people I know will vote for him in November. While I can't change anyone's vote, I can and must say this: I no longer feel safe around people who support Trump. People who think it is acceptable to vote for a serial sex offender make me feel deeply and immediately unsafe. People who vote to make a child rapist the most powerful man in the world are inherently dangerous individuals.
When sexual violence is normalized to the point when your candidate can brag about assaulting women without losing your support is a sign of a deeply threatening and perverse individual. An individual whose beliefs threaten my own health, safety, and very existence as a full, autonomous human being. An individual who I do not want to be in close proximity to, regardless of how much of our bloodlines are shared.
