On Tuesday November 8, myself and the majority of our country will be voting for the 45th President of the United States. While this is the third time I will be voting, it is my first for a Presidential Election. I have been following this election closely for several months. While I did not prefer either candidate, hence why I voted for a different nominee no longer in the race, there is a choice to be made.
My choice is pretty simple because I would rather have one than the other. I honestly keep comparing this election to the worst game of would-you-rather. Let me make this clear, I have no problem with people having different views in nominees. I appreciate differences. After all, if everybody was the same, nothing would get done and life would be boring. That being said, everybody has the right to disagree with the reasons why you support that nominee. This is not grounds to call them "stupid" or state that they should "not be voting," this is just a difference in opinion, which is totally normal.
In the past two weeks, as throughout the entire election, statements by Donald Trump have been the center of controversy yet again. He has not held back his feelings during this election, which I assume is why many do appreciate him. However, he crossed a major line when a 2005 video surfaced of him making statements that simulate sexual assault. While he has made several vulgar comments about women, this just seemed to be the tip of the iceberg for me.
If you have not seen this video, here's a little run down: Donald Trump and Billy Bush were on the set of "Days of Our Lives" where Trump was set to make an appearance on the soap opera. In this video, the pair was recorded making several comments, most of which were directed towards women. Some of the highlights include Trump stating that he had once tried to make a move on married woman, while he was married might I add, and then goes on to degrade her current appearance. The conversation then moves on to actress Arianne Zucker of "Days of Our Lives," who would be assisting Trump on set. Bush congratulates Trump because she is "his girl" and then Trump goes on the "prepare." The married man states that he may start kissing the actress because he's automatically attracted to beautiful. While all these comments were extremely disgusting to me, his next statements had me even more outraged. Trump says, "I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." Bush then agrees with him and Trump follows up with "Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything."
Since this video has been released, people like myself are filled with rage. Supporters are backing away from Trump and Republicans across the country state they will be voting for Hillary. Trump and Bush have both issued apology statements. Trump defended his comments by stating it was just "locker room" talk and was not meant to be taken seriously. Well Mr. Trump, they were taken seriously because this is a very serious matter
How anyone can defend his comments, I do not know, and somehow many are supporting this man. Sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the victim. Trump stated that he would just start kissing Ms. Zucker and because he is a "star," he can get away without asking for consent. Let alone, he states that you can do anything if you "grab 'em by the pussy." Apparently you can do anything when you are a "star," except asking for consent.
Scott Baio, an actor known for his role in "Happy Days," expressed his support, saying that it's human nature for boys to behave this way and women are the same way with wine. I mean, wine and rape culture are certainly comparable, aren't they? What makes this even worse is his description of this kind of behavior as "locker room" talk. Many of my friends and peers are athletes and this could not be further than the truth. In high school, if you cursed, you would be suspended and let go from any sports team. Many athletes are coming out and stating how that's not anything like their locker room talks. Yet people support his actions and pretty much state "boys will be boys." If this man was a child, that term may be an okay (but not justified) reply, but he is a grown adult running for President. He is trying to become the leader of our country, where many children will look up to him. Is it okay for boys to look up to this man and think that if our leader could do these things, then so can they? And for the girls, are they supposed to think that this kind of behavior is normal and their bodies are just for boys to do what they want? NO.
The other day on social media, I made a comment to someone who said that anyone who is not voting for Trump should not be voting in the first place. As someone who is extremely thankful that I am given the opportunity to vote, I took offense to this. I then replied that the same could be said about anyone who is voting for Trump and that it is every citizen's right to vote and that could not be taken away. Of course this led to a full on brawl. One comment was made stating that ALL men behave this way and nothing will ever change this. I then asked this woman if she would allow her husband or son to say these things. I also asked how would she feel if someone behaved this way to her daughter. I was then blocked and deleted from commenting on the post.
Defending his actions is going to be what ruins our country. If we allow a man like this to walk around and simply say and do whatever he wants, what does that mean for everyone else? For example, take Brock Turner, the RAPIST who got off with a light sentence after raping an unconscious woman one night. He was a star swimmer at Stanford who thought he could do anything and our court system made it out that way. This was before the release of Trump's statements. If people listen to his words and agree with them, they're not only making excuses for him but for every rapist and sexual predator out there, which is not okay.
There is absolutely no way that you can deny that Donald Trump, our Republican Presidential nominee, who has never held office, made comments that support rape culture. Billy Bush has been suspended indefinitely from the "Today Show" for his role in the video. Bush was seen on a platform throughout our country and I'm assuming they decided he was no longer fit to be seen after his comments. Somehow Donald Trump is a different case. After all, he is not on a national television show, he's just running for President.
Like I said in the beginning, I am all for having different opinions, but this right here is not an opinion, it's a fact. Donald Trump's statements should have disqualified him from this election. No President has ever made comments to this extreme, let alone the fact that it is somewhat illegal. Why is he being allowed to do so?
