Over the past week, Trump supporters have started these trending hashtags: #RepealThe19th, #NextFakeTrumpVictim, and just a couple of days ago, #HillaryGropedMe. For those who aren't aware, the 19th Amendment provides women the right to vote. The hashtag #NextFakeTrumpVictim got under my skin, as it insinuated all 12 women whom have come forward with allegations against Donald Trump to this point are lying, but not as much as the hashtag #HillaryGropedMe did, which I think spells deplorable and desperation.
An alleged friend of the family of Rachel Crooks, one of the women whom accused the Republican presidential nominee of violating her, stated in a Facebook post that she felt Ms. Crooks was lying, apparently meaning she was, as were the other 11 women. Of course, if one were to look at this friend's Facebook page (Lona Burnstein of Columbus, Ohio), they could see point-blankly she is a die-hard Trump supporter and provided no evidence to prove Ms. Crooks was in fact lying about her accusation. This prompted conservative "journalist" Prissy Holly to post a video attempting to satirize the matter by making up a story about how Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton had groped her. ...and then the hashtag #HillaryGropedMe began trending, where tweets such as the following were posted:
- "#HillaryGropedMe In a Starbucks Bathroom. She Threatened Me With A Body Bag If I EVER Told. I Can Still Hear Her Evil Cackle. Trust Me"
- " Hey @NYTimes & @washingtonpost, #HillaryGropedMe. Can you interview me? I don't have proof but obviously you don't need that, so we're good!"
- "HillaryGropedMe and than forced me to endorse her"
- "I have no evidence, nor are there any witnesses that #HillaryGropedMe in a Target parking lot, but CNN aired my story every 15 mins anyway."
- "#HillaryGropedMe about 30 years ago...I'd like to come forward and talk about it now, 23 days before the election"
These Trump supporters actually found it funny to mock sexual assault victims. They'll of course deny this and claim they're mocking dishonesty, not sexual assault, but they'd be wrong in doing so. Even if Rachel Crooks did make up her story (and I'm not saying she did), that wouldn't prove the 11 other allegations false. Due to statute of limitations and/or an unwillingness to press charges due to potentially life-altering repercussions, Donald Trump, regardless of his level of guilt, will likely get off scot-free as far as lawsuits regarding the allegations go. However, no matter how much Trumpsters would like it to be such, that doesn't ultimately prove his innocence, and it's beyond despicable to poke fun of sexual assault victims in an attempt to do this.
First off, it's ironically hilarious for Donald Trump supporters to mock dishonesty. According to fact-checkers, Donald Trump is the most dishonest presidential nominee in U.S. history. Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checker Politifact.com has graded 295 statements made by the GOP nominee. Of these 295 grades, just 12 of them were ruled as being True (4%), 15% were ruled as being True or Mostly True, and an astounding 71% of them were ruled as being False, Mostly False, or Pants on Fire, including 51 Pants on Fire grades (17%).
Secondly, it's an incredible case of denial for Donald Trump supporters to refuse to acknowledge his long documented history of disrespecting women. Let's run down the list, shall we?
- He called pregnancy an "inconvenience" for employers
- He's repeatedly made sexually disturbing comments regarding his daughter Ivanka, including that he might be dating her if he weren't her father
- Trump talked about his then 1-year-old daughter Tiffany's breasts
- The GOP nominee has been married three times and has cheated on all three wives
- Video evidence showcased Trump bragging to Billy Bush about being able to get away with sexual assault because of his fame and fortune
- A total of 12 women, including an ex-wife, have come forward alleging that Mr. Trump had made unwanted advances on them in the past.
- When talking to radio show host Howard Stern, Trump laughed when Stern referred to him as a sexual predator
- Not only that, Trump stated it was alright for others to refer to his daughter Ivanka as "a piece of ass"
- Women have alleged that Mr. Trump repeatedly walked in on them in the dressing room when they were fully- or half-naked during the Miss Universe pageant
- Similarly, multiple girls have come forward about Trump walking in on them while (un)dressing during the Miss Teen USA pageant. These girls ranged from 15- to 19-years-old.
- The Republican nominee is facing a lawsuit for raping a then 13-year-old girl
- Trump was caught telling a 10-year-old girl that he'd be dating her in ten years
- Similarly, Trump was caught telling a 14-year-old girl that he'd be dating her in two years
- Over the past year, Trump has gone after the following women: Megyn Kelly, Carly Fiorina, Rosie O'Donnell, and Alicia Machado, just to name a few - Kelly for asking him tough questions, Fiorina for not being physically attractive according to him, and O'Donnell and Machado for being overweight, again, according to him
- That's not even mentioning the times he's disrespected Hillary Clinton
- ...and the list goes on and on and on and on...
Even if we exclude the 12 women's allegations of unwanted advances made by Donald Trump, to say the man respects women would be like to say Debbie Downer is a morning person. It's simply not true. Throughout his adult life, Donald Trump has repeatedly showcased that he sees women as only worthwhile as trophies and in the bedroom. He has continuously criticized women for being overweight and/or unattractive, while I can't remember the last time he complimented a woman for something other than, as he once put it, "...a young and beautiful piece of ass." The man is as sexist as they come, and as sad as it is for me to say, it honestly came as no surprise to hear so many women allege he had acted inappropriately around them.
Lastly, that brings us to the allegations themselves. Only 35-40% of rape and sexual assault cases ever get reported, which means that roughly 3 in 5 such cases never get reported to the proper authorities. Not only that, but just between 2 and 10% of such reports are false, which means that 90-98% are true. Taking these numbers into account, this would mean Trump likely assaulted 30 women and between 10 and 11 of the 12 women whom have come forward to this point are in fact telling the truth. Hashtags like #HillaryGropedMe and the subsequent posts are prime examples of why many people don't come forward about being raped or sexually assaulted. They felt violated by the unwanted contact, often times feel a sense of embarrassment and guilt, and fear the potential judgments and repercussions if they come forward with the story. While we should abide by the principle that one is innocent until proven guilty, we should also not diminish the voices of men and women whom allege they were sexually violated. We should not quash such allegations because we simply don't want to believe them. We should not make a mockery out of such horrific life-altering experiences. Many of these women were drawn to tears when having to relive these awful experiences, knowing full well they'd likely receive some backlash from Trump and his supporters. One has even gone so far as to say she'll likely move out of the country, for fear of her safety. Yes, while Trump and his supporters tend to love believing there's a grand conspiracy against them - that there's a reason why these women and the media began reporting these stories a month before the election, like with most conspiracies, this one too is simply hogwash. Video showcased Donald Trump admitting to infidelity and sexual assault; he denied this at the following debate; and that was enough to prompt women to finally come forward and say, "I'm sorry Donald, but that's a bunch of bullsh*t." If he had simply apologized in a sincere fashion and didn't deny the contents of the video in the debate, these women wouldn't have likely come forward, and he wouldn't be talking about how all 12 of these women are lying and are out to get him. But Donald Trump doesn't believe in sincere apologies. He believes that they make him appear to be weak. That's wrong, of course. What's weak is Donald Trump, the presidential nominee of the Republican Party, continually disrespecting women and his supporters making a mockery out of his victims. Donald Trump may like to talk tough, but like he's said, "They're just words," and unlike the sexist words he's backed up through action, when it comes to talking tough, the man has no such actions. They're just words.
http://www.attn.com/stories/12114/trump-supporters-mock-sexual-assault-with-hillarygropedme
https://www.romper.com/p/hillarygropedme-hashtag-goes-viral-shows-why-victims-of-sexual-assault-dont-speak-up-20540
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/donald-trump-sexism-tracker-every-offensive-comment-in-one-place/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2014/12/09/the-truth-about-a-viral-graphic-on-rape-statistics/
An alleged friend of the family of Rachel Crooks, one of the women whom accused the Republican presidential nominee of violating her, stated in a Facebook post that she felt Ms. Crooks was lying, apparently meaning she was, as were the other 11 women. Of course, if one were to look at this friend's Facebook page (Lona Burnstein of Columbus, Ohio), they could see point-blankly she is a die-hard Trump supporter and provided no evidence to prove Ms. Crooks was in fact lying about her accusation. This prompted conservative "journalist" Prissy Holly to post a video attempting to satirize the matter by making up a story about how Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton had groped her. ...and then the hashtag #HillaryGropedMe began trending, where tweets such as the following were posted:
- "#HillaryGropedMe In a Starbucks Bathroom. She Threatened Me With A Body Bag If I EVER Told. I Can Still Hear Her Evil Cackle. Trust Me"
- " Hey @NYTimes & @washingtonpost, #HillaryGropedMe. Can you interview me? I don't have proof but obviously you don't need that, so we're good!"
- "HillaryGropedMe and than forced me to endorse her"
- "I have no evidence, nor are there any witnesses that #HillaryGropedMe in a Target parking lot, but CNN aired my story every 15 mins anyway."
- "#HillaryGropedMe about 30 years ago...I'd like to come forward and talk about it now, 23 days before the election"
These Trump supporters actually found it funny to mock sexual assault victims. They'll of course deny this and claim they're mocking dishonesty, not sexual assault, but they'd be wrong in doing so. Even if Rachel Crooks did make up her story (and I'm not saying she did), that wouldn't prove the 11 other allegations false. Due to statute of limitations and/or an unwillingness to press charges due to potentially life-altering repercussions, Donald Trump, regardless of his level of guilt, will likely get off scot-free as far as lawsuits regarding the allegations go. However, no matter how much Trumpsters would like it to be such, that doesn't ultimately prove his innocence, and it's beyond despicable to poke fun of sexual assault victims in an attempt to do this.
First off, it's ironically hilarious for Donald Trump supporters to mock dishonesty. According to fact-checkers, Donald Trump is the most dishonest presidential nominee in U.S. history. Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checker Politifact.com has graded 295 statements made by the GOP nominee. Of these 295 grades, just 12 of them were ruled as being True (4%), 15% were ruled as being True or Mostly True, and an astounding 71% of them were ruled as being False, Mostly False, or Pants on Fire, including 51 Pants on Fire grades (17%).
Secondly, it's an incredible case of denial for Donald Trump supporters to refuse to acknowledge his long documented history of disrespecting women. Let's run down the list, shall we?
- He called pregnancy an "inconvenience" for employers
- He's repeatedly made sexually disturbing comments regarding his daughter Ivanka, including that he might be dating her if he weren't her father
- Trump talked about his then 1-year-old daughter Tiffany's breasts
- The GOP nominee has been married three times and has cheated on all three wives
- Video evidence showcased Trump bragging to Billy Bush about being able to get away with sexual assault because of his fame and fortune
- A total of 12 women, including an ex-wife, have come forward alleging that Mr. Trump had made unwanted advances on them in the past.
- When talking to radio show host Howard Stern, Trump laughed when Stern referred to him as a sexual predator
- Not only that, Trump stated it was alright for others to refer to his daughter Ivanka as "a piece of ass"
- Women have alleged that Mr. Trump repeatedly walked in on them in the dressing room when they were fully- or half-naked during the Miss Universe pageant
- Similarly, multiple girls have come forward about Trump walking in on them while (un)dressing during the Miss Teen USA pageant. These girls ranged from 15- to 19-years-old.
- The Republican nominee is facing a lawsuit for raping a then 13-year-old girl
- Trump was caught telling a 10-year-old girl that he'd be dating her in ten years
- Similarly, Trump was caught telling a 14-year-old girl that he'd be dating her in two years
- Over the past year, Trump has gone after the following women: Megyn Kelly, Carly Fiorina, Rosie O'Donnell, and Alicia Machado, just to name a few - Kelly for asking him tough questions, Fiorina for not being physically attractive according to him, and O'Donnell and Machado for being overweight, again, according to him
- That's not even mentioning the times he's disrespected Hillary Clinton
- ...and the list goes on and on and on and on...
Even if we exclude the 12 women's allegations of unwanted advances made by Donald Trump, to say the man respects women would be like to say Debbie Downer is a morning person. It's simply not true. Throughout his adult life, Donald Trump has repeatedly showcased that he sees women as only worthwhile as trophies and in the bedroom. He has continuously criticized women for being overweight and/or unattractive, while I can't remember the last time he complimented a woman for something other than, as he once put it, "...a young and beautiful piece of ass." The man is as sexist as they come, and as sad as it is for me to say, it honestly came as no surprise to hear so many women allege he had acted inappropriately around them.
Lastly, that brings us to the allegations themselves. Only 35-40% of rape and sexual assault cases ever get reported, which means that roughly 3 in 5 such cases never get reported to the proper authorities. Not only that, but just between 2 and 10% of such reports are false, which means that 90-98% are true. Taking these numbers into account, this would mean Trump likely assaulted 30 women and between 10 and 11 of the 12 women whom have come forward to this point are in fact telling the truth. Hashtags like #HillaryGropedMe and the subsequent posts are prime examples of why many people don't come forward about being raped or sexually assaulted. They felt violated by the unwanted contact, often times feel a sense of embarrassment and guilt, and fear the potential judgments and repercussions if they come forward with the story. While we should abide by the principle that one is innocent until proven guilty, we should also not diminish the voices of men and women whom allege they were sexually violated. We should not quash such allegations because we simply don't want to believe them. We should not make a mockery out of such horrific life-altering experiences. Many of these women were drawn to tears when having to relive these awful experiences, knowing full well they'd likely receive some backlash from Trump and his supporters. One has even gone so far as to say she'll likely move out of the country, for fear of her safety. Yes, while Trump and his supporters tend to love believing there's a grand conspiracy against them - that there's a reason why these women and the media began reporting these stories a month before the election, like with most conspiracies, this one too is simply hogwash. Video showcased Donald Trump admitting to infidelity and sexual assault; he denied this at the following debate; and that was enough to prompt women to finally come forward and say, "I'm sorry Donald, but that's a bunch of bullsh*t." If he had simply apologized in a sincere fashion and didn't deny the contents of the video in the debate, these women wouldn't have likely come forward, and he wouldn't be talking about how all 12 of these women are lying and are out to get him. But Donald Trump doesn't believe in sincere apologies. He believes that they make him appear to be weak. That's wrong, of course. What's weak is Donald Trump, the presidential nominee of the Republican Party, continually disrespecting women and his supporters making a mockery out of his victims. Donald Trump may like to talk tough, but like he's said, "They're just words," and unlike the sexist words he's backed up through action, when it comes to talking tough, the man has no such actions. They're just words.
http://www.attn.com/stories/12114/trump-supporters-mock-sexual-assault-with-hillarygropedme
https://www.romper.com/p/hillarygropedme-hashtag-goes-viral-shows-why-victims-of-sexual-assault-dont-speak-up-20540
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/donald-trump-sexism-tracker-every-offensive-comment-in-one-place/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2014/12/09/the-truth-about-a-viral-graphic-on-rape-statistics/
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