This past week, a video of Donald Trump from 11 years ago surfaced. This video, while being talked about quite a bit, has only showed up on my timeline one time. From what everybody has been saying, it doesn't seem like many people actually watched the video. Now, I'm not here to defend him, but I want to set a few things straight.

First of all...

Everybody is saying that Donald "described himself sexually assaulting women." Now, if you're speaking about the point in the video where he said, "You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful -- I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet," then alright, I'll let you have that. I personally felt like that was a joke, but I'll let you have it. If you're talking about the extremely vulgar part of the video where he said, "grab 'em by the p*ssy," I'm going to have to stop you right there. That was not him 'describing himself sexually assaulting' women. If you actually listen to the video, instead of just looking at all the headlines with those five words, you hear him say, "When you're a star, they let you do it. They let you do anything -- grab 'em by the p*ussy. You can do anything." Now, yes, I will admit that his use of language was vulgar and gross, but he did not say, "I just go around and grab 'em by the p*ssy." So, do not act like he did, do not say he did, because he didn't.

Secondly...

There are a couple of memes going around in support of Donald Trump, and there are many people posting them arguing against these memes. Now, if you're disgusted by his words, that's fine. Be disgusted. They were extremely vulgar. However, if you're going to argue about some memes, at least get a few things straight.

The first meme I am referencing:

Now, many people who slam this meme argue a few different points, but they're all the same points: "The book isn't running for president," "The book talks about a consensual sexual relationship," and "Half the book is her signing consent forms." Now, I'll talk about why the first point is problematic later in this article, but right now I want to tackle the second two points that have been made about this meme and why they're extremely problematic, especially if you claim to care about sexual assault -- which everybody should.

First, "The book talks about a consensual sexual relationship," but does it really? When this book came out and gained traction, it sparked a lot of outrage within the BDSM community. Why? Because this book does not show BDSM correctly. In fact, this book shows an abusive relationship. This book romanticizes abuse and sexual assault. Don't believe me? Here is an article that outlines how the book glorifies abuse, and here is another article that shows 15 quotes from the books that reveal abuse and rape. Now, I'm not going to argue that BDSM isn't a consensual community, but the books do not show consent. The books show abuse and rape, so if you're going to post about this meme, remember that these books do not show a whole-heartedly consensual relationship. These books glorify abusive relationships, and that's not OK, and it's not healthy to defend these books in the name of "caring about women."

Second, "Half the book is her signing consent forms." Okay, so what you're telling me by saying this is: once a woman consents, she can no longer change her mind. Do you realize how that's problematic? You're basically telling every rape or sexual assault victim that if she said yes, and changed her mind, she was not assaulted. She consented at one point, so when she said, "No," it was not valid. So yes, maybe half the book is her "signing consent forms," but that does not mean that she was not assaulted, raped and abused.

The second meme I am referencing:

Now, many people are saying, "Rap songs are different," and "Rappers aren't running for president." My question: does it really matter? If your claim about the video is that, "Trump said disgusting things about women and women should be treated like human beings," then why does it matter only if the person who said it is running for president? You should be enraged that there are rap lyrics out there actually saying "I'm gonna rape that girl," because that. is. disgusting. Now, I'm not arguing whether or not what Trump said is disgusting, but if you're enraged about his words on a video from 2005, then I hope you don't listen to any of the following songs:

U.O.E.N.O - Rocko ft. Rick Ross & Future

"Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain't even know it,
I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain't even know it"

Blow - Tyler, the Creator

"Leave the bitch breathless, what the bitch don't know is that
I'm a mothafuckin' sellout and a rapist"

"Pushed you down stairs, I took a nap up on the couch
If you wanted a date, don't come
Now you gotta make it easy for me, don't run
You call this shit kids, well I call these kids cum
And you call this shit rape but I think that rape's fun"

Mouth Full of Gold - Gucci Mane ft. Birdman

"I went toe to toe with the best of 'em
I bust shots at the rest of 'em
Don't test me, no tester
I rape you, like Chester"

Young Playa - Lil' Wayne

"Nigga, I'm taking yo lover
I mean I'm raping yo lover
Leave her taste in my rubber"

...And those are only a few of the songs out there. Those are only the ones that mention rape. This doesn't even include all the times that rappers talk about domestic violence or call women names like, "bitches" or "whores." In fact, where were you when Kanye West called Taylor Swift a "Bitch" in his song "Famous?" Were you supporting her, because she was mad about it? Or were you calling her crazy because Kanye "told her she was gonna be in the song?"

If you're mad about what Donald Trump said, be mad. Be disgusted. But do not overlook these facts. Do not defend rappers, because "they're not running for president" -- that's not the point that you say you're trying to make. If it's not OK for Donald Trump (who was not planning on running for president 11 years ago), then it's not OK for Kanye West -- who has stated that he will run for president in 2020. If it's not OK for Donald Trump, it's not OK for a book that romanticizes rape and abuse; a book that makes millions of women want a "Christian Grey." If it's not OK, it's not OK at all.