Don’t miss this story in today’s New York Times (“For Many Women, Trump’s ‘Locker Room Talk’ Brings Memories of Abuse“).
It’s the story of what was spawned by a simple tweet on Friday night.
“Women: tweet me your first assaults.”
And the floodgates opened.
A social media movement was born as multitudes of women came forward to share their stories. The result has been a kind of collective, nationwide purge of painful, often long-buried memories.
Facebook pages and Twitter feeds filled with comments and multiplying threads from women who recalled being groped by doctors, by piano teachers, by photography instructors, by perfect strangers. They told stories of being flashed on the bus by masturbators, of having male colleagues rub up against them at the copy machine in their office, of dates and bosses demanding sex.
According to the story, there were 27 million visits or responses in just a few days.
The Times story provides an extraordinary insight into the deep issues of sexual violence and sexual privilege in the U.S. as it looks from women’s point of view. It makes clear why Donald Trump has alienated women of nearly all political stripes, and why shallow apologies don’t cut it. It’s a great lesson in the impact of social media when a nerve is hit.
And, as a bonus, it’s an example of writing that just flows.
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He’s never near you to comfort and cheer you
Even though the tears are fallin’, ooh, fallin’ from your eyes
He might be thrillin’, baby
But my love is ready and willin’
So go on, go ahead and kiss him
Go ahead and kiss him, go ahead and kiss him
Go on and kiss him goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, woh, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, woh, goodbye, bye, bye
Naa naa naa, hey hey hey, goodbye
Naa naa naa, hey hey hey, goodbye
Naa naa naa, hey hey hey, goodbye…………
What?!!!
Trump’s mouth and mind is in the gutter. He should drop out of the race. But I don’t see how anyone can get on a moral high horse and start talking about how much they stand up for the rights and welfare of women while supporting Hillary Clinton at the same time. Not unless you want to defend Hillary referring to victims of her husband’s sex abuse with labels like “narcissistic looney tune” (Monica Lewinsky), “trailer trash” (Gennifer Flower), and “bimbos eruption” (various others). Or threatening someone to stay silent after being raped (Juanita Broderick).
But nothing tops Hillary’s smearing of a 12 year old girl in order to win a rape trial.
http://www.dailywire.com/news/9585/9-times-hillary-clinton-threatened-smeared-or-amanda-prestigiacomo
I’m serious. Is compassion for the victims of sexual abuse something that is conveniently turned on and off, depending on politics and the identity of the abuser(s)?
Go ahead. Defend the Clintons. Discredit/smear the victims. Or stay silent to everything I have just said. All of those actions speak volumes about how one *really* feels about sexual abuse/harassment. And no amount of mea culpas or lip service to women’s rights after the election will wash away the ugly stain that has smeared your soul.
I’m with Her. Jill Stein, that is.
Amen.
Anyone serious about voting third party in the United States because they can’t get off their purity pony and sully themselves by voting for one of the candidates should probably ask the hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis how well that worked out last time.
And then they should go fuck themselves, because get over yourself. Nobody cares.
“The last time?” You mean like in 2012? Obama beat Romney by more votes than all the other 3rd party and independent candidates combined. So I have no idea what you mean about how voting for any 3rd party candidate made any practical difference in the life or death of any Iraqi citizen.
“And then they should go f— themselves, because get over yourself. Nobody cares.”
Well, you cared enough to respond. And in a rather emotional way, judging by your language.
I was talking to a friend who counsels couples and families. She likewise is disturbed by how so many people condemn Trump for his vile language and depiction of sexual violence towards women, yet turn around and tolerate the predatory behavior of Bill and the smears and threats on victims perpetrated by Hillary. There should be zero tolerance for sex abuse, period. No matter who is the predator and who is the victim. But by selectively choosing which perpetrators to vilify and which ones to excuse, it’s like you’re treating these victims like pawns in a political struggle. Embrace and give a voice to those who could take down your enemies. Forget the rest who you’ve got no use for. Is anyone really proud of carrying on like that?
It’s sad how supporting the Clintons means having to sell out your integrity. It’s too high a price for me. And besides, what can you expect from Hillary if she gets back into the White House? Is she going to be for fracking, or against it? Is she going to remain against the Keystone Pipeline, or will she pull a flip-flop-flip? And can you believe anything she says about TPP, since you need a damn scorecard to keep track of how many times she gone back and forth on supporting and opposing free trade deals going all the way back to NAFTA more than 20 years ago.
I don’t know what to expect from a Hillary presidency, so I don’t plan to vote for her. And for that, someone thinks I should “f— myself” for supporting Dr. Jill Stein? Wow.
“disturbed by how so many people condemn Trump for his vile language and depiction of sexual violence towards women, yet turn around and tolerate the predatory behavior of Bill and the smears and threats on victims perpetrated by Hillary.”
Oh you’re ratfucking. I get it.
Ah, a Nixonian slur. Haven’t heard that one for a long while. In keeping with the theme, I must say that it takes a real CREEP to come up with something like that. (Get it?)
Seriously, tho. I’m all for having a discussion about anything you deem untrue about what I’ve said of the Clintons and Trump. Enough with the childish smears, ok?
Oh, please! Do we really have to read a repeat of all the hatred that has been pumped out by the Right Wing about HRC? And what makes repeating this hatred prove a person has a pure soul? People are entitled to believe what they choose to believe, but don’t judge everyone else while doing it.
Bravo.
Just calling it as I see it. If anyone is going to close their eyes to the suffering and distress of sex abuse victims like Kathy Shelton, Juanita Broderick, and Kathleen Willey, that is their choice. Just don’t expect me to take those folks seriously as an advocate for sex assault/harassment victims now that they have shown their true colors.
I think there’s a broader reality here that’s more important to grapple with. Abuse of women is ingrained into our culture. Look into our various branches of government and you’ll find far more than HRC and Trump when looking for woman abusers. How do we stop abuse from being a regular expression of privilege and enabling being a compulsory role for those looking for entry into our spheres of power?
the way to do this is simple:
we have to stop raising spoiled egocentric brats who do not care about other people.
getting people to do this? that’s not simple.
culture change takes generations. the civil rights act was enacted 50 years ago. many black people are still treated like second-class citizens. i know this because I see this. changes in laws are mere changes in words.
Four women who competed in the 1997 Miss Teen USA beauty pageant said Donald Trump walked into the dressing room while contestants — some as young as 15 — were changing.
“I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a man in here,’” said Mariah Billado, the former Miss Vermont Teen USA.
Trump, she recalled, said something like, “Don’t worry, ladies, I’ve seen it all before.”
Three other women, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of getting engulfed in a media firestorm, also remembered Trump entering the dressing room while girls were changing. Two of them said the girls rushed to cover their bodies, with one calling it “shocking” and “creepy.” The third said she was clothed and introduced herself to Trump.
Eleven of that year’s contestants reached by BuzzFeed News did not recall seeing Trump in the dressing room. Some said they do not believe he could have been there.
— BuzzFeed
BELIEVE.
I vote with my heart and right now my heart is sore. Unlike McCain i am going to vote. My mother is a devoted republican and for the past 8 years i have had to listen to her rants about the economy and how everything is Obamas fault. While I think the economy is doing quite well and i have personally benefited from Obamacare. I actually hope Trump wins so when the US economy plummets and the nuclear bombs are launched I can say I told you so.
@ Brynn: you want to destroy the world so you can say “I told you so” to your mother? Wow.
you are taking his comment literally. k den. it’s OK to be funny, ya know. not a crime. most of the time. cheers!
but wait, there’s more!!!! much more:
More than three decades ago, when Jessica Leeds was a traveling businesswoman at a paper company, Leeds said, she sat beside Trump in the first-class cabin of a flight to New York. They had never met.
About 45 minutes after takeoff, she recalled, Trump lifted the armrest and began to touch her.
According to Leeds, Trump grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt.
“He was like an octopus,” she said. “His hands were everywhere.”
She fled to the back of the plane. “It was an assault,” she said.
Leeds has told the story to at least four people close to her, who also spoke with The New York Times.
SORRY, TRUMP. BUT THE COSBY DEFENSE DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE.
This comment is for Allen, who’s choice is the (also flawed) Jill Stein.
I can understand disbelief, but what the HELL are you hoping to accomplish?
How about some acceptance that not everyone is gonna share your OPINION.
The candidates we get to vote for (or against) are more than one dimension.
This process of electing the next POTUS is horrifying on so many levels.
and there’s more:
The episode, as Anderson described it, lasted no more than 30 seconds. Anderson said she and her companions were “very grossed out and weirded out” and thought, “Okay, Donald is gross. We all know he’s gross. Let’s just move on.”
Over the years, Anderson, now 46 and a photographer living in Southern California, has recounted the story to people she knew, casually at first.
One friend, Kelly Stedman, told The Washington Post that Anderson informed her about the encounter a few days after it happened……………………………….
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/woman-says-trump-reached-under-her-skirt-and-groped-her-in-early-1990s/2016/10/14/67e8ff5e-917d-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html
link has video
Poll……………………………….Dates………….Size……….Clinton (D)…Trump (R)
FOX News……………………..10/10 – 10/12…..917 LV………..49………….41
LA Times/USC Tracking….10/7 – 10/13…..2879 LV………44………….44
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl….10/8 – 10/10……806 LV……….50………….40
Reuters/Ipsos…………………10/6 – 10/10…..2363 LV………44………….37
Economist/YouGov………….10/7 – 10/8…….971 RV……….48………….43
The Atlantic/PRRI……………10/5 – 10/9…….886 LV………49………….38
Quinnipiac……………………….10/5 – 10/6……1064 LV……..50………….44
NBC News/SM………………….10/3 – 10/9….23329 LV…….51………….44