A lot of the defenses seem to be variations of this - “when I was younger, I might have said something like this” or “frat guys talk like this all the time.” Except the statements were said by Trump in 2006 when he was 60, hardly a young guy who may not have “known better” and hardly a guy who is currently in a fraternity. Particularly since he married Melania in 2005 and she was pregnant with their first child in 2006.
Saying statements like these “with the guys” also implies that these sorts of things would be said around friends who might understand/agree whether or not you meant to objectify and debase women. Friends would additionally be more willing to keep such statements private. Trump said these things openly around a television personality who he did not seem to know that well or be personal friends with.
Basically admitting that Trump is a sociopathic asshole is one thing. But openly being a sociopathic asshole who freely expresses and relishes his privilege to do so also, among other things, indicates colossally poor judgment. We probably shouldn’t be electing a younger version of you or a frat guy to the presidency.
All I am surprised by is that apparently on a scale of “bad” crass comments apparently rank much higher than racism, xenophobia, islamophobia, intentions to order mass deportations, friendship with dictators etc etc.
But that’s a hypothetical, you seem to be okay with what actually happened and (again I haven’t followed up with any of it) did the women pull away or say no (not that it really matters)? We’re any of them employees that were concerned about job security (getting fired? getting raises?)? Even if they did pull away, the likely did it after he kissed or grabbed them.
There. Are. Not. Just. Crass. Comments. He advocated sexual assault. And, yes, that is worse than all those other things you described. There’s a reason why sexual assault is a crime, while those other things are not.
Sure his words are similar to things many have said and/or thought, but yes his actions have the weight of his power behind them. So, not likely consensual. Thanks for that, yes, it’s an abuse of his power. That applies to the crotch grabbing I posted a few minutes ago that I thought was okay.
That, more than anything, is probably just due to it being the latest thing to come up. Tomorrow something even more minor (politically speaking) could come up and it would over shadow this. In the age of the internet, TMZ, 24 hour news stations etc, things move fast and people tend to talk about what’s going on in the last few days.
Good to hear. I stay away from politics, but I always encourage people (be it in politics or anything else) to try arguing the other side. If you can fight for the other side (even if you don’t believe in it), it can give you a better ability to fight for your side. However, if you can let your guard down just a little, sometimes you can see that maybe you’re not right just because you’ve already dug your heels in. And, again, not just in politics. Hell, at work, I spend a lot of time going back and forth with a (stubborn) co-worker that helps me fix a lot of mechanical stuff. Same thing, sometimes I just have to mentally pretend like I’m on his side trying to convince myself that he’s right and I’m wrong. Doing that, even for a few minutes can make a huge difference, either in making me say ‘nope, he’s way wrong, and for these specific reasons’ or ‘well, I guess that does actually make some sense’.
ETA, and on a totally unrelated matter, the sooner you do this, even if it’s something like tracking down a hydraulic leak or fixing a deli slicer, the less awkward it is to say ‘wait a minute, hold up…I think you’re right, let’s try it that way’.
Yes Trump is a disgusting sexual predator. But another thing, it’s beyond fucked up that he still thinks such antics are amusing as a 60 year old (age when he said this). What a pathetic loser man-child.
And many people, like you, do not. My wife does not, and I’m pretty sure she never ever did. She is a ‘nice’ girl. While I, yes I am a nice guy, while in my youth I was a young Marine and there was some lockerroom language back then. Today, in the office (white collar job), there have been a guy or two who talk that way. I do not condone it.
