Donald Trump – How the Hell Did We Get Here?

For so many reasons I hesitated to write this post. For one,  it doesn’t matter from which direction you approach, to get to my house, you have to pass very large Trump signs declaring we should all “Make America Great Again!” as though voting for a misogynistic bigot will improve this country somehow (oh for the record, it’s not perfect but I think America is already pretty great). A lot of people we know are voting for Trump regardless of anything he says or does because they’re Republicans and he is a Republican, too. Nothing, for them, matters more than that. So I admit I have felt like I should just keep my head down to avoid stirring the pot. But here’s the thing. Sometimes silence speaks volumes and remaining silent means I accept the actions of the miscreant who is running to hold the highest office in this country. Now ,before I go much further there are a few things I want to address:

• Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton has been convicted of any crime. As I type these words this remains a fact. Of course, it is subject to change
• I am neither a Republican nor Democrat. I’m a registered Independent and have voted both sides in my 22 years of holding a voter’s registration card
• I am not a big Hillary fan
• Most of you who have been around awhile know I come from a long line of military men. For those who haven’t, here it is in a nutshell: My uncle served in the military. My grandfather was a POW (Trump wouldn’t have liked him since he only likes people who don’t get caught). My father is a highly decorated three-tour Vietnam vet and my husband’s command was involved in the retrieval of bin Laden. For quite awhile he lived on a US Naval Destroyer. Suffice it to say, the military is very near and dear to me
• I’m Hispanic and my mother is an immigrant
• I have stepdaughters. One of them has a daughter
• I have gay family members and gay friends whom I love and adore. I’m an equality ally
• In case it isn’t obvious, I’m a woman

And I will vote for Hillary Clinton this November

Now let me get one thing out of the way…

But what about Benghazi?

There has been a years’ long witch-hunt against Hillary Clinton where Benghazi is concerned. Admissions by Gowdy himself he fabricated emails, millions of dollars, hours upon hours of testimony and reports from the CIA have resulted in…well, some nasty name-calling and not much else. In case you don’t know who Trey Gowdy is, he’s a Republican Representative from South Carolina. You know, where they care about whether you have the ‘correct’ parts to enter a bathroom. (You can easily Google any of this, but if you want links leave a comment and I’ll happily provide you dozens of them).

Further, no Republicans of which I am aware have batted an eye at the twenty-two million emails deleted during the Bush/Cheney rein (which were on a private, non-government email server run by the Republicans). Nor is there an outcry over the thirteen attacks on US Embassies under George W. Bush’s presidency. Sixty lives were lost – they were not US American lives, yet our security was compromised. As I wrote earlier, I don’t know a lot about a lot of things. But I do know there is some shit that goes down and none of us are privy to it. Until it is otherwise proven, I will stick with the belief that the Obama administration failed at taking greater measures toward security, but Hillary Clinton is not single-handedly responsible for the loss of lives.

Irony

Now that’s out of the way I probably don’t have to point out the irony in his story…but for those who may not know:

Donald Trump has made no bones about the fact he is not a fan of immigrants. Huh? If memory serves…

• Donald Trump’s mother was an immigrant
• Donald Trump’s first wife is an immigrant
• Donald Trump’s third and current wife is an immigrant

Sacrifices? What sacrifices?

What about his “sacrifices” after his father gave him a million dollars to turn it into more. I’d like him to elaborate more. He’s filed bankruptcy four times and he took multiple bailouts from Saudi Prince Alaweed bin Talal who happens to be Muslim. Wait. Doesn’t Trump want to ban all Muslims from entering our country? I think it’s only okay to be a Muslim if you give him money and you don’t want to live here. I have to admit I laughed when Trump Tweeted to Alaweed about his daddy’s money. Hello pot. Meet kettle.

Blind while the world sees

The rest of the world is scratching their heads. The CIA says he is a security threat. He’s a blatant racist. He has zero foreign or domestic policy experience and this list could go on and on, but above all there is one thing in particular that scares me and that is how many men there are out there with wives, sisters, mothers, daughters and SONS who come November will still check the box for Donald Trump. I am appalled there are women who will do the same essentially issuing an endorsement for this type of depraved behavior.

Where do I even start?

Let’s see. The first time it happened, I was ten years old. If there is a word for it, I’d use brutal.

During their divorce proceedings Donald Trump’s ex- wife, on the court record, gave detail and claimed he raped her. She later took the statement back, but I believe her original claim. Trump is now set for a hearing to take place in December, accused of raping a thirteen-year old girl.

The second time it happened I was 14 years old and a classmate grabbed my crotch during gym class. I was in tears over it. While in the Assistant Principal’s office this adult man referred to me, a teenage girl, as “Heather hot-bodied,” making light of a teenage boy acting out on his hormones. The classmate? Well he denied what he did, of course. Not so much as a slap on the wrist. That wasn’t the first time someone has copped a feel. It won’t be the last time.

I was the designated driver. He was drunk. I said no. He thought I was playing hard to get. He woke up alone to hair that had been pulled out by the roots all over the bed, and me locked in another room where we were staying while out of town. He probably still doesn’t remember. I do. He was my boyfriend. I willingly got into the bed with him. In Trump’s and his supporters’ eyes, that makes me responsible.

If Donald Trump becomes President, we’ll live in a world where this is simply boys being boys; in a world where men sexually objectifying their daughters is acceptable, where sexual harassment in the workplace is just par for the course (been there, done that, too). I ask myself how the hell we, as US Americans, got here. I know I’ve had enough.

As for those voting for Trump – why haven’t you?

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For a list of  high-profile Republicans renouncing their support of Donald Trump, click here.