Saturday 8 October 2016

THE REPUGNANCE OF TRUMP


I have not written about politics on this blog for quite some time now. To be honest, I couldn’t bring myself to do so. I knew once the floodgates opened, my true feelings would pour out and god knows it would be impossible to rein them back in...then again, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. So I lose Facebook friends (hurrah!!) that weren't really friends in the first place.  At this point, as a woman, if I sit silently one more moment (something that is simply not genetically possible for me) my head may explode. 

In short, my feelings today (and for the past two years really)...Mr. Trump, you are a pig and you have simply gone too far.

I am a feminist (I’m not sure how any woman out there is not one, but hey, that’s me). I am very aware I am living in a patriarchal world (this is not up for debate, this is fact so please don't bother arguing with me on this point) and on so many levels, my gender is disrespected, objectified, subjugated, abused, and raped -- purely because we are women. And well, it has been allowed for centuries upon centuries and why change what works for...men.  It is so inbuilt in society, in the male psyche (not all, there are exceptions here), in the workplace, in religion, in the home, on the world stage of politics, that simply put, women are less than.

I raise a son. And every single day I think to myself that I’m not just raising a man to be proud, kind, confident, intelligent, and in touch with his emotions (yes men, you can have emotions and identify them), but I am raising a man who must be aware of how women are treated in the world. And well, he must do better than the generations before him.  It is his responsibility to be a boy/man who treats women with respect, as equals, and as something to be highly regarded. He teases me that my mantra around the house is often, “I don’t work for you.” I’m his parent, I love him to back and beyond, and I will help him as much as I possibly can in life, but my job on this planet is not to serve a man, be it a grown one or a 6 year old. 

I have also spoken at length to my son about Donald Trump. He is aware there is an election coming up and he is keenly aware of my feelings for Mr. Trump. I make it clear this man does not speak for me nor “my” country. I also make it clear, that his constant ridicule, denigration and objectification of women is vile and is a confirmation of why, as feminists, we still have so much work to do.  My son so aptly says, 'Mr. Trump does not set a good example." Too right.

But moreover, what alarms me most is not that this sh*t comes out of Mr. Trump’s mouth – I have heard it before many many times, and nothing surprises me in this day and age.  It is that it is coming out of the mouth of a man that some (not me) are considering as a candidate for the leader of the free world.  There is no eloquence when it comes to Trump, no class, and certainly no dignity. There is no restraint, or thoughtfulness or savvy methodical judging of situations like a world leader should possess.  There is only reactionary, puerile, vile sh*tstirring to try and incite a part of the population that is so pissed off with their station in life and how the world operates that they can’t see clearly or make a sound judgment. And don’t get me wrong, you’re entitled to your anger and frustration (and I share a frustration at the state of the world), but HE is not the answer.

Raise your standards, I beg of you.

The latest video showing Trump treating women like dogs, saying we love having our p*ssies grabbed, that if “you’re famous you can pretty much do what you want,” that’s not just locker room talk (as he has said in his useless defence). That’s a man’s true feelings in private; that’s him with his guard down, showing his true colours for all the world to see and hear.  Furthermore, it highlights the systemic problem that men think they can take what they want, when they want, how they want and qualify it as harmless banter.  It is not harmless in this day and age when women are still being treated like brainless objects who are told to 'change jobs' when they are sexually harassed or 'keep quiet' when they are raped because they were too drunk or wearing the wrong skirt.

To Trump and all your supporters out there, we women are NOT yours for the taking.  We are not so googly-eyed by celebrity that we want some orange dough faced blowhole grabbing our crotches. I speak for the intelligent self respecting women out there and I emphatically say, keep your hands off me.

Furthermore, if your defense of Trump is that other men/presidential leaders before him have behaved this way, that is NOT A DEFENSE. That is an excuse. That is a deflection. (Furthermore, if a man tells me to lighten up about this issue, cut off your penis and try being a woman for awhile, then get back to me) If another male leader has behaved this way, then he’s a pig too, but he's a man that is not currently running for office. Let’s leave the past where it is and focus on the fact that we don’t need another sexist pig in office.

Moreover, if this is how a MALE potential presidential leader behaves, then let’s ELECT A WOMAN.



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