I started this blog 6 years and 2 months ago. When I started it, my kids were little, my topics were light and the posts basically wrote themselves thanks to the chaos of having a 4 and 2 year old. I started the blog to give my kids something to look back on when they got older- a written scrapbook that captured their antics and activities.

Now I have a 10 year old and an 8 year old who are learning more of the world and paying close attention. To me. To the Hubs. To the news. To their teachers. To their friends. They are always absorbing what they hear and, as they get older, more and more of what they hear is outside of my control. So it’s more important than ever that I tell my kids explicitly, clearly and with great thoughtfulness my opinions on world and national events. They are encouraged to think critically, but it’s the Hubs and my job to talk about the tough stuff as we try to raise them into caring, compassionate, intelligent adults.

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This post isn’t about politics, really. The players are political figures, but I frankly couldn’t care less what your political leanings are or what their political leanings are. To be clear, I’m not happy with either political candidate this year.

What this post is about is Donald Trump being caught in a video bragging about being able to assault women and get away with it due to his power and wealth and people making excuses for him. To quote Trump:

And when you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump says….“Grab them by the pussy,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”

Let me break that down for you. The man running for President of the United States explicitly says that because he’s a big wig, he can just grab a woman by her genitalia without her consent and get away with it.

That, my friends, is assault. Don’t believe me? Here’s the legal definition of the word:

…the essential elements of assault consist of an act intended to cause an apprehension of harmful or offensive contact that causes apprehension of such contact in the victim.

If a man saw your wife/daughter/mother walking down the street, found her attractive and felt it was within his right to approach her and grope her, you would be furious, wouldn’t you? You’d be screaming for the police, wouldn’t you? You’d be doubly furious that that man’s connections and money allowed him to get away with doing that, wouldn’t you?

Please tell me you would be.

And yet, I see people excusing this behavior. Because it’s Donald Trump, because he’s running for President, because he IS as rich and powerful as he thinks he is, people are defending this bragging. Because people hate Hilary Clinton and anyone is better than her. Never mind that the man has 3 rape or attempted rape accusations leveled against him- one from his ex-wife and one from a 13 year old.

Now, this is where people bring up Bill Clinton’s history (or really any number of other shady, criminal politicians- they sadly all run together after awhile). I’m not dismissing them or making any excuses for them either. But let me bring up a really simple concept my kids learned in Kindergarten: two wrongs do not make a right.

I’ve seen people write that this is simple “locker room talk” and that “boys will be boys.”

If you or the men you know in your life are advocating sexual assault, hurting or objectifying woman in the same way Donald Trump was, they weren’t raised right. Period. If it truly is wide-spread locker room talk, than we have failed the men of this world. Excusing talk like that and not speaking up when we hear it helps feed monsters like Brock Turner and the judge who let creeps like him off with crazy light sentences.

And to the people who are getting all worked up about people being mad about the use of the word “pussy,” let me make this perfectly clear to you: While I (and most women I know) don’t like our vaginas referred to in such vulgar ways, what we’re really angry about isn’t the word. It is the act Donald Trump is bragging about.

Let me state that again: dirty words are upsetting, but what is infuriating and ILLEGAL is the talk of committing sexual assault and getting away with it. DO NOT try to deflect, undermine or gaslight those upset about the content of the video in question by focusing on the word “pussy.”

Which brings me to the next way I’ve seen people excuse Donald Trump: by sharing pictures of scantily clad celebrities or pictures of female comedians who use vulgar language in their movies or routines and screaming HYPOCRITES at the women getting upset about one and not the other.

Again, I ask. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Donald Trump = advocating assault, taking away a woman’s right to consent to being touched. Celebrities = adults fully consenting to their dress or speech. Do I like everything they wear or say? Do I want my kids seeing it? Nope. But these women have the right to wear it/say it because it’s their body and they aren’t advocating violence against others. And let’s not even get into the whole subtext that women who dress/speak provocatively are asking for it. Because if you feel that way, leave. Leave this blog now.

And lastly, the good old “women read Fifty Shade of Grey so how dare we be offended by what Donald Trump said” shtick. Do I need to pick this argument apart? Please don’t make me. Fifty Shades is FICTION read by women by their own choice who seemingly like bad erotica and even worse writing. Donald Trump is advocating assault.

Like I said, this post isn’t about politics- it’s about excusing a man who advocates for assault because of his position and power.

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As I wrote above, I started this blog as a way to share my thoughts with my kids. So, to Scorch and Bean- I have a few promises for you.

Scorch- I promise your father and I will do our damnedest to raise you to be respectful to others, including the women in your life. To ensure you know about consent and to call you on your attitude if you don’t show the proper consideration to the people around you. To love you enough to not excuse any bad behavior by saying “boys will be boys” and letting things slide.

Bean- I promise to do our hardest to raise you know your own worth. To ensure you know that you’re so much more than your body parts and how they can be used to please a man. To know that you should demand respect from the people in your life and to walk away if you don’t get it. To know what assault is and what to do if, God forbid, you’re a victim. To know that no person, regardless of their wealth or position, is better than you.

I love you both.