Make No Mistake Donald Trump Represents the Sustained Trauma of Sexual Assault

old_artSomewhere in the mess that became the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump went from scumbag, real estate mogul to a dinner table tall tale. He edged away from being held accountable for his bigoted, sexist, destructive talk in every way a presidential candidate should be. He managed to transcend the responsibility heaped onto every other candidate that ever ran for the office, and is, as he always has been, flying by the seat of his pants, uncontrollably, manically, and with complete abandon of social mores, God-given intellect, and human decency.

In effect, he is an abomination hurtling through space, knocking the tenets of Americanism asunder by plundering anything positive and laying waste to it with every decision he makes — and that was before the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tapes — or the accusations of sexual assault by several women from Trump’s past.

And yet, as we near election day, many of his supporters are still treating him like a kooky uncle who breezes in, does or says something nutty, gives everyone a couple baseball cards and a few pipe bombs, calls all their neighbors rapists, terrorists, do-nothing lady-ladies, poor browns, and “insiders who can’t be trusted”, while he tries to hide a history of defrauding, tax evading, and the continual and routine groping and mistreatment of women. Those who aren’t applauding as if an orange messiah has arisen from within the bowels of a gold swamp inside a castle built of diamond commodes, are aghast with horror as this Cheetohed Kraken sneers at the news media reporting the stories, the ones about not paying taxes; the ones about calling for the murder of The Central Park Five; and the ones where women tell in grave and sickening detail of their interactions with Donald J. Trump.

The sychophantrumps are screeching on social media about the years of sexual misconduct being “fake” because the assaults happened long ago, and that the women aren’t credible because they didn’t do more to fight back. Seemingly, Trump’s supporters are willfully not considering that Donald Trump has been a powerful public figure for more than three decades who has staked his career on being a tough guy, playboy living in the lap of luxury who is also known for his nondisclosure clauses and penchant for being litigious and ruinous for all those who go against him. He has money, access, and people on his payroll who work to ensure that he gets everything and anything he wants — and are able to lie and cover up his misdeeds when he doesn’t. In addition, his sense of entitlement leads him to believe that anything he sets his sights on is also his for the taking — no questions asked. And judging from his own words on the leaked Access Hollywood tape, that includes any woman he fancies. The events these women describe are the work of a sexual predator who believes doing whatever he wants to them is to be expected of a man of his stature, as is his reward for being rich and famous, a superstar in his own mind.

The trauma this inflicts on the American public, especially women, is staggering. Donald Trump’s words and actions play a large part in many women’s lives — even those female Trump supporters who don’t want to talk about it or admit they’ve also been the victims of the exact same treatment Trump brags about. Many of us have stories of when we’ve been groped, manhandled, leered at, gestured at, given a roving, sexual look, placed in a position where you are alone in a room, or a parking garage, or a nearly empty street and there’s a guy advancing on you, or otherwise in public or private, tugging at your clothes, your body, your being, all the while making you feel insignificant — a bit player in their one man show fantasy. The thought, perhaps, is it’s okay that they’ve invaded your body and stolen a kiss, or grabbed a body part, or given you a swat, or a pinch, or a caress, because it wasn’t rape, or he wasn’t exposed while doing so. It’s no big deal. It’s just guys being guys, right? It’s what boys have been doing to girls since they were both on the playground, or at a college party, or at a nightclub, on the subway, in the hallway next to the water cooler, or in the assisted living suite when no one was looking.

From nearly the cradle until the grave, women take with them the innate fear that their bodies will be violated — and Donald Trump just confirmed that fear on a national stage. He said to the world in the most public arenas imaginable that this fear is real; that there are men who do these things; that women have been fighting the predators in these so-called “locker room” confessions brought to life for generations, and in present day.

Michelle Obama’s stirring speech illuminates for all those doubters and Trump-Bros and Gals defending this man, what it’s like to be a woman living with the reality and fear of sexual assault and harassment, and what it’s like for our children to exist in a world where the would-be leader of the Republican Party has been accused of rape, sexual misconduct, inappropriate and/or demeaning talk toward women…and even female children. How can we justify his existence as a presidential candidate to ourselves and the world over? How can we justify his existence as a person of human decency?

We simply can’t. Sexual misconduct and harassment is intolerable on any stage, at any time.

You can watch Michelle Obama’s speech here and, if you’d like, share your own experiences down below if you want to vent.

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