VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!

I haven't been HUGELY political on FB to date. I've shared some memes, made a few remarks, posted some comments, but for the most part I've been trying to keep it off social media, saving my power for my own vote come November. But after the debate last night, after Trump basically told the entire country (and probably the world) that it's perfectly fine - and even laughable - to sexually assault women when it's all in fun and games, I can't keep quiet. Not because I want him thoroughly run into the ground for being the despicable excuse of a human he is, but because I have THREE sons who I have raised to respect women, and I'll be damned if a presidential candidate can tell them that 'it's okay' to feel that way because there are too many other things in the world to worry about. I will blog this because it's long, but I'll also post it on my page for those who don't read my blog or don't want to leave the current page. Regardless, I want this said right here and right now.

I am a VERY privileged person, having been born a citizen of the United States, with all of the constitutional rights and freedoms that affords. More than that, though, I have been blessed beyond measure with three amazing, intelligent, thoughtful, and loving sons. Two are already old enough to have had steady girlfriends in their lives for years, and I can't express the pride and joy they bring me when I see the respectful and beautiful way they treat them. It is for THEM, my sons AND my future daughters-in-law, that I fear Trump.

Since last night, I've been enmeshed in a conversation with someone I've always respected and always will respect. The issue is what defines a rape culture or mentality. When is talk just talk and when is it a slippery slope to inciting violence and degradation? I think most men - most good, honest, trustworthy men - can't even fathom making that jump from joking about a woman to actually attacking her. It's almost like how most people will just look bewildered or saddened at the concept of child abuse. The rational mind tries to understand, tries to even imagine the horror, but it's as if there's a huge door with a massive padlock in our mind that prevents the thought from ever forming. Our sane minds prevent us from forming a picture of what such an atrocity would look like. The most we can do is feel sickened and enraged because good, moral people cannot fathom ever crossing that line. The men in my life - ALL the men in my life - are in that group. Donald Trump is the epitome of the loathsome and horrific other group.

Unfortunately, far, far too many men are VERY comfortable in a rape mentality, for whatever reason. Maybe they watched it happen as a kid, a teen, during rush week in college. Maybe they did it themselves. Maybe they're just broken. Whatever the case, they feel entitled to women in a very conquering, neanderthal, repugnant manner. Those men think nothing of starting the conversation as "locker room" talk and then taking it even further to physical, emotional, and/or sexual assault. THAT is the rape mentality we live in, and women have tirelessly been fighting (some with their lives) to FINALLY getting that mentality reversed or at least criminalized. Look at the recent robbing of Kim Kardashian. It doesn't matter who she is or what she stands for or if she's liked or disliked. She was alone in her hotel room, dressed for bed, and after being held at gunpoint, her mind immediately went to that hell of Will they try to rape me? Tell me ONE man who has ever been robbed in his home, at gunpoint, in his underwear, who even ONCE fleetingly had that fear cross his mind?

THAT is why men can't grasp the "rape mentality" concept and tragically that is EXACTLY the culture we still live in. And then here comes Donald Trump, who is and always has been a proud card-carrying member of that mentality. You can tell by the constant and consistent sexualization of his own daughter since she was very young. The fact that she supports him and stands by him isn't a sign of it being okay; it's a symptom of a daughter who has been repeatedly emotionally abused by her own father to the point that she has classic "daddy issues," AKA Electra complex. Most people listen to sound bites from him during interviews and cringe in disgust to hear him describe his daughter's breasts or developing body, or even that yeah, he'd f--k her if she weren't his daughter. And he wants to be our PRESIDENT - to shape the mentality, minds, and idealisms of our future generation, which includes MY sons. Even if - God forbid! - he were elected, I would still protect my children from this predator's influence in any way I could, but I wouldn't be able to protect myself, my sister, my mother, my sons's girlfriends and/or future wives from the sickness Trump would create in the minds of other boys and men who weren't lucky enough to be raised by me. 

So maybe you don't trust "Crooked Hillary." Maybe you'll never be convinced about her role in Benghazi or that she was truthful about her emails. Maybe you just find her reprehensible because her husband was a cheating philanderer. Even if every evil deed she's been accused of is somehow magically true, ask yourself this: As president of our country, will she physically, emotionally, or even sexually EVER threaten the livelihood/happiness/life of a woman you know and love?   

One last thought. A Muslim American asked Trump at the beginning of the debate what he will do to make her - and others like her - feel safe when America is teeming with Islamaphobia. He calmly and casually reassured her she had nothing to fear, so long as she keeps an eye on "other Muslims." Watch them. Report them. Don't let them make you look bad. For those who've consistently claimed that any resemblance to Hitler is uncalled for, I ask you now......Really? What did Hitler do to Jewish people who were petrified in their own homes, watching their neighbors, friends, and loved ones being dragged away in the middle of the night? He reassured them they had nothing to fear, so long as they kept their eyes on "other Jews." Watch them. Report them. Don't let them make you look bad.

Still not scared?