If nothing else, let us hope that DJT serves as an example of the type of man to avoid. Period!
There are plenty of men who enjoy the company of women and treat them with respect. Men like DJT are to be shunned. This is the only way to stop this behavior.
There are plenty of men who enjoy the company of women and treat them with respect. Men like DJT are to be shunned. This is the only way to stop this behavior.
107
And women did not learn that with Bill Clinton going after them and HRC defending him and attacking the same women he sexually assaulted? I give women more credit. You are somewhat on a slower learning curve.
12
Susan, remember get your premise to the point where it is clear and truthful. That's where you failed. Hillary is the one who hired the actors in this another shame to HIllary Clinton to add to the Clinton repertoire of dishonesties.
Next time make the stories the actors tell a little bit believable. These were truly Hillary low lifes and typical of Bill Clinton women Hillary is so familiar with. The actors need a better script. These were so phony and contrived.
I agree with you on one point and that is, yes, thank you Donald Trump for exposing how low the Clintons can go. There is no line they wouldn't cross to achieve power.
Next time make the stories the actors tell a little bit believable. These were truly Hillary low lifes and typical of Bill Clinton women Hillary is so familiar with. The actors need a better script. These were so phony and contrived.
I agree with you on one point and that is, yes, thank you Donald Trump for exposing how low the Clintons can go. There is no line they wouldn't cross to achieve power.
7
Trump is indeed a feminist hero ... he has convinced us that a woman is a far better choice to lead the world than 'this' man.
151
That sign that says 'Grab by the ballot!!' is priceless! Rock on!
134
Here's your revolution, Donald!
49
Susan, you hit the nail on the head! Great article.
37
Well, maybe Donald Trump can go down in history as an INADVERTENT feminist hero. But I would prefer to think that in this great country we consciously choose a far, far more positive role model!
87
Yikes!
I disagree with the comment that Donald "wounds EVERY women" when he rates us. These comments do NOT wound me; they make me stand taller and respond with all the confidence in the world.
Signed,
Always a 10
I disagree with the comment that Donald "wounds EVERY women" when he rates us. These comments do NOT wound me; they make me stand taller and respond with all the confidence in the world.
Signed,
Always a 10
46
Thank you, Susan Chira, for being a day late and a dollar short. Where was all this outrage from the women/feminists when Bill Clinton was running for President?
5
Who are the 20% of women supporting Trump? What is wrong with them????
99
I still can't understand why ANY WOMAN would still vote Trump. That's the most baffling thing of all this wild election.
89
Millions of women would like to grab Donald Trump by the gonads, not just the ballot. I'd like to grab HALF A HANDFUL of Donald Trump, look him straight in the eye, and say "we're not going to hurt each other, are we?"
25
Please pretend this is from The Onion or maybe Breitbart, after they
dump Trump:
A giant conspiracy has been exposed. Trump has been a Trojan Horse all
along. He's actually a staunch liberal. He and Hillary Clinton agreed
on the entire strategy of this election well in advance. In exchange,
Trump will be appointed as Secretary of the Treasury or maybe
Ambassador to Monaco (Russia?).
dump Trump:
A giant conspiracy has been exposed. Trump has been a Trojan Horse all
along. He's actually a staunch liberal. He and Hillary Clinton agreed
on the entire strategy of this election well in advance. In exchange,
Trump will be appointed as Secretary of the Treasury or maybe
Ambassador to Monaco (Russia?).
6
If Trump advanced any cause against misogyny, it was entirely unintentional.
22
I suspect Trump sees most things and most people, including men, as objects either of his desire or his ambition. I doubt Trump has many true friends that care deeply for him. I suspect many of his acquaintances see him as an object of their desires and ambition as well, so in that respect, Trump may be a very lonely person. He is certainly morally and ethically impoverished; a poor soul indeed.
It is important that America recognizes that sexual harassment, as well as harassment in general, is a form of dehumanizing a person.
I am looking forward to the day when compassionate harassment is the norm. Where people truly care about friends and strangers and see beyond their skin, weight, tattoos, gender preference, dress, handicaps, etc. and treat all people with generous amounts of compassion, grace, and care.
It is important that America recognizes that sexual harassment, as well as harassment in general, is a form of dehumanizing a person.
I am looking forward to the day when compassionate harassment is the norm. Where people truly care about friends and strangers and see beyond their skin, weight, tattoos, gender preference, dress, handicaps, etc. and treat all people with generous amounts of compassion, grace, and care.
26
Making lemonade out of lemons. Or in Donald's case: making orange juice out an orange "tan".
15
Unfortunately, a bi-product of the feminist movement has been the out-dating of “the Victorian notion of chivalry.” Modern men who don’t know better (and that’s a lot of us) feel they have only two choices: be a wimp or be a lout.
4
That "red-blooded symbol of American masculinity" probably bought his way put of serving during Vietnam. Five deferments, including a medical one that he himself made light of. Flat feet, cross-eyed, bone spurs...you can still carry a rifle, Private!
After he found numerous ways to Chicken-Out of Military Service during War-Time, Trumpet hd the gaul to make fun of those that have served: he didn't like Sen. John McCain because he was captured; joked about getting a Purple Heart "the easy way", when someone supposedly gave him one; stating that military with mental health issues were "weak" and "couldn't handle it" set public-awareness of mental health back 100 years--and that probably discouraged many Vets to seek the necessary help.
And then, he had the audacity to attack the Khan's, a couple who had lost their son in the Iraq War, in 2004. To me, however, among all of the horrific things that Donald Trump has done through his Campaign, in the last debate, when asked about attacking the Khans, over and over again, he said: "If I were President, your son would still be alive!"
How grossly inhumane can any one man be? And, he wants to be our President?
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
After he found numerous ways to Chicken-Out of Military Service during War-Time, Trumpet hd the gaul to make fun of those that have served: he didn't like Sen. John McCain because he was captured; joked about getting a Purple Heart "the easy way", when someone supposedly gave him one; stating that military with mental health issues were "weak" and "couldn't handle it" set public-awareness of mental health back 100 years--and that probably discouraged many Vets to seek the necessary help.
And then, he had the audacity to attack the Khan's, a couple who had lost their son in the Iraq War, in 2004. To me, however, among all of the horrific things that Donald Trump has done through his Campaign, in the last debate, when asked about attacking the Khans, over and over again, he said: "If I were President, your son would still be alive!"
How grossly inhumane can any one man be? And, he wants to be our President?
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
57
Gentlemen do not empower or respect slugs like Trump.
29
Deplorables? Too harsh? How about degenerates? or pathological? Too harsh? How should one characterize those Trump fans who defend his behavior, his character, his plans? UnAmericans?
32
Seventh and eighth grade boys do indeed talk like Donald Trump and lie about exploits that haven't happened. The last time I heard anyone older talk about women in a locker room was the first year of college. Lying about his vulgarity is just one more sign that Trump is a sociopath. Without empathy, without minimal charity or respect for the truth, the man cannot be trusted. Shame on the persons who continue to support his candidacy. They would wreck our nation because they don't like Secretary Clinton? Cutting off your nose to spite your face is exactly apt here.
51
I was just looking for the commentary that condemned Biden for promoting violence and Bullying. All I found was this nonsense.
5
"Men have begun asking themselves what they can do to intervene in cases of sexual harassment or denigration – how not to stand by silently."
Uh, no, Susan... Most men, and all decent men, have been intervening in cases of sexual harassment and denigration against women for a long long time... For you to assume that all men are all okay with Donald Trump's disgusting behavior, then lump us all together into his delusional small minded universe is insulting, and adds yet another false line of division that America doesn't need. It seems you may be confined to your own delusional small minded universe - one that limits your perspective to only what you want to see. Maybe you and Donald Trump have something in common, after all.
Uh, no, Susan... Most men, and all decent men, have been intervening in cases of sexual harassment and denigration against women for a long long time... For you to assume that all men are all okay with Donald Trump's disgusting behavior, then lump us all together into his delusional small minded universe is insulting, and adds yet another false line of division that America doesn't need. It seems you may be confined to your own delusional small minded universe - one that limits your perspective to only what you want to see. Maybe you and Donald Trump have something in common, after all.
9
That sign in the photo is absolutely spot on.
No further comment needed.
No further comment needed.
36
I cannot wrap my head around the fact that 24% of women in this country are still planning to vote for this waste of a human being.
92
"Even if their defense of women was based on outdated Victorian notions of chivalry, there was something about Mr. Trump’s unvarnished male entitlement, that droit du seigneur, that many Republican men could not stomach."
It's not that Trump supporters saw the light of decency, it's losing women voters that roils their stomach and fear of losing power. Tigers and haters do not change so quickly.
It's not that Trump supporters saw the light of decency, it's losing women voters that roils their stomach and fear of losing power. Tigers and haters do not change so quickly.
16
This is all well and good, but let's not fool ourselves. There are a lot of men out there, and women, too, who are just fine with his behavior and attitudes. They get affirmation in what Trump says, too, but of a different kind. They understand exactly what Trump means when he says he wants to "make America great again"--for them, those are code words for straight white male dominance.
The fact of the matter is that, yes, Obama's presidency demonstrated the persistence of racist undertones in American politics and society, but that didn't stop a majority of the Supreme Court from dismantling one of the most important parts of the Voting Rights Act. Really, it's hard to say that Obama's election advanced the cause of racial equality all that much. We never managed to have that "national conversation about race" that people thought his presidency would bring.
All that said, what I agree with is the idea that it is impossible to address problems if they remain hidden. Trump's campaign makes it clear that we've got a lot of work to do. I suppose we can thank him for that. But to the extent that his campaign gives voice to, affirms, and supports regressive attitudes, we should be less grateful.
The fact of the matter is that, yes, Obama's presidency demonstrated the persistence of racist undertones in American politics and society, but that didn't stop a majority of the Supreme Court from dismantling one of the most important parts of the Voting Rights Act. Really, it's hard to say that Obama's election advanced the cause of racial equality all that much. We never managed to have that "national conversation about race" that people thought his presidency would bring.
All that said, what I agree with is the idea that it is impossible to address problems if they remain hidden. Trump's campaign makes it clear that we've got a lot of work to do. I suppose we can thank him for that. But to the extent that his campaign gives voice to, affirms, and supports regressive attitudes, we should be less grateful.
14
It has gotten better since my principal patted me and other women on the backside without fear of consequence because of his power over our positions. But it wasn't over. In the 2000s after suggesting to another macho principal that I repeat a successful event carried out in another district that empowered girls, I was told that girls had no problem, it was the boys who we had to worry about. I remember a computer class where we were asked to put a computer together, which I knew how to do. I was the only woman in the class and the men surrounded the table with the parts and wouldn't let me near it.
Thank you Mr. Trump for letting the country know that there is need for change in attitudes toward women, not only sexually, but intellectually and professionally.
Thank you Mr. Trump for letting the country know that there is need for change in attitudes toward women, not only sexually, but intellectually and professionally.
25
Trump has had a pretty long record on audio and video tape for the past couple decades, in which he pretty much boasts about his boorish and misogynistic behavior. And yet, Trump made it to the top of the Republican ticket, which conceivably represents conservative values! And despite all of the revelations after Trump became the Republican nominee for president, he still draws ~40% support of likely voters? This has dire implications on the real state of contemporary American society and our politics. Trump’s candidacy might have been one giant leap for womankind, but it has been several surreal steps backward for men, especially conservative men and their party, the GOP.
19
I've long thought Trump acted like he was raised in a whorehouse instead of a "nice" (!) middle class home
11
Acting as a lightning rod those insulted, Donald Trump has galvanized part of the electorate normally not involved so deeply in politics. Politicians babbling is not most people's cup of tea. Otherwise, C-Span would be the top rated network. What grabs most folks attention is what Trump brings: rockum sockum boffo show biz.
The Donald knows show biz. He knows how to create excitement, to make something boring as discussions on public policy fun. That's why we've had so little substance this time around. Trump doesn't do boring.
Hillary's forte is delving into the wonky details, losing most in the weeds. That is not Trump's idea of fun. Trump himself has said he's never read a book "all the way through" except of course "The Art of the Deal", which he did not author. Trump prefers quick snippets of news, bullet-point bursts of buzz words, things he can turn into simple bumper sticker sloganeering. Trump has an extremely short attention span. He does not retain or absorb a whole lot, except a slur, that he doesn't forget. Twitter is his domain, he is master of it, short, 13 year old IQ slurs. This is his great appeal, and he has captured a large segment of the voting public whose motto is: keep it simple, stupid.
But as we approach the finish line, though many have enjoyed the class clown this past year, when it comes to voting for class leader, we're voting for the nerd, just like in high school, a place which Trump has sadly never left.
DD
Manhattan
The Donald knows show biz. He knows how to create excitement, to make something boring as discussions on public policy fun. That's why we've had so little substance this time around. Trump doesn't do boring.
Hillary's forte is delving into the wonky details, losing most in the weeds. That is not Trump's idea of fun. Trump himself has said he's never read a book "all the way through" except of course "The Art of the Deal", which he did not author. Trump prefers quick snippets of news, bullet-point bursts of buzz words, things he can turn into simple bumper sticker sloganeering. Trump has an extremely short attention span. He does not retain or absorb a whole lot, except a slur, that he doesn't forget. Twitter is his domain, he is master of it, short, 13 year old IQ slurs. This is his great appeal, and he has captured a large segment of the voting public whose motto is: keep it simple, stupid.
But as we approach the finish line, though many have enjoyed the class clown this past year, when it comes to voting for class leader, we're voting for the nerd, just like in high school, a place which Trump has sadly never left.
DD
Manhattan
19
What Mrs Clinton could not have done alone to aid the feminist causes, with a bit of help from a foolish opponent she seemes ever so close to accomplishing. So foolish foes, after all, also have their uses.
7
I resent being part of a group used to support a political agenda. That women have endured much at the hands of men has been true throughout human history, in one form or another, in just about every society on the planet.
There are also millions of women, and I am one of them, now in her sixties, who entered the workforce at 15, and throughout the successive four decades, while I heard a few tasteless jokes now and then, was never groped, harassed, humiliated, or sexually coerced. Of course, I never ran in the circles of power and wealth that Donald Trump (and, if we are being honest) Bill Clinton inhabit where such men acquire a certain, shall we say, sense of privilege that the hum drum lawyers I worked with did not.
After watching the likely next President of the United States excuse, lie about, and enable quite similar behavior in her husband over their long marriage, why is it suddenly Donald Trump who is the poster child for the age-old connections among men, power, wealth, and sex?
I worked in offices filled with men for nearly half a century. I don't doubt that many women were not as fortunate as I was to have quite ordinary dealings with male co-workers and superiors. But is Trump or Vogue Magazine more the source for weight shaming and belittlement?
Bill Clinton's infidelity culminated in his public affair with a pretty, adoring, undemanding, smooth cheeked 20-year-old, many years younger than his accomplished, aging wife. Why is Trump the poster child?
There are also millions of women, and I am one of them, now in her sixties, who entered the workforce at 15, and throughout the successive four decades, while I heard a few tasteless jokes now and then, was never groped, harassed, humiliated, or sexually coerced. Of course, I never ran in the circles of power and wealth that Donald Trump (and, if we are being honest) Bill Clinton inhabit where such men acquire a certain, shall we say, sense of privilege that the hum drum lawyers I worked with did not.
After watching the likely next President of the United States excuse, lie about, and enable quite similar behavior in her husband over their long marriage, why is it suddenly Donald Trump who is the poster child for the age-old connections among men, power, wealth, and sex?
I worked in offices filled with men for nearly half a century. I don't doubt that many women were not as fortunate as I was to have quite ordinary dealings with male co-workers and superiors. But is Trump or Vogue Magazine more the source for weight shaming and belittlement?
Bill Clinton's infidelity culminated in his public affair with a pretty, adoring, undemanding, smooth cheeked 20-year-old, many years younger than his accomplished, aging wife. Why is Trump the poster child?
6
I am surprised this essay does not mention the most important factor in Trump's campaign that ought to mobilize feminists: his opposition to abortion and the disgusting way he described a late-term abortion in the last debate. Not all women are pro-choice but I'd hope that feminists, of whatever gender (and yes, it is possible to be a man and a feminist) realize that without control of our bodies we are nothing but brood mares. Belittling of women's abilities is a huge problem; in my professional life I've encountered enough men who tried to talk over me, condescended to me or felt that just because of their reproductive equipment they were more qualified than me. And of course, rape and sexual assault are a huge problem all over the world. But putting "fat-shaming" in the list of problems feminism has to contend with is ridiculous. Beauty is important for both sexes; just like smart people, beautiful people have an advantage in life. Fat is either sex is not attractive and you can't force people to change their aesthetic judgment for the sake of political correctness. If you are fat, lose weight rather than wasting your political passion on trifles.
8
This national conversation on the treatment of women is the best thing to come out of this election season. Now people finally know something essential about being a woman that our culture has suppressed and denied for -- well, I was going to say "for far too long", but it has always been this way up until now. Donald Trump is changing our culture for the better despite himself. Serves him right.
17
Perhaps this will become The Presidency of Equal Pay for women and the long overdue Paid Maternity Leave enjoyed by every new Mother in every Country on the planet except Somalia (Failed State) and Papua New Guinea (Tribal State)and of course the richest Country on earth, the United States.
I hope so.
I hope so.
27
As a white male, I still subscribe to equality, dignity and decency in dealing with all my fellow human beings. Trump's slander demeans us all. I feel dirty just writing this.
22
Very well written article. As a man, I totally agree with the author that women as a gender have suffered throughout history and their cries have gone largely unheard and unbelieved. You cannot oppress half the world's population and expect good to come out of it. When women do well, we all do well and men will benefit as well. It is time that more men need to stand up against other men who behave like Trump and let them know that their behavior is unmanly and unacceptable.
33
Beautifully done! As one who was "in the trenches" in the 60s--and a victim of sexual harassment on many levels, with no way to fight back or speak out--I thank you.
56
The debates were a good example of how women are judged in professional settings. Men are free to do and say whatever they want and women are judged not only on how they act, but also on how well they respond to men's bad behavior.
69
"Pretty enough" for what? Enough to make a man want to grope you, but not enough that he won't restrain his impulses?
I think, instead of being a catalyst for the feminist cause, Trump's accusers show how utterly ridiculous is the feminist mantra. The last of the Trump accuser (the 10th!, the NYTimes exclaimed) to come forward complained that she overheard him admiring her legs, and brushed the inside of her breast when he touched her arm. Really? This is the best you've got? This is evidence of female subjugation and oppression--that an intentionally attractively attired woman garners attention that she thinks went a bit too far and she's now scarred for life This is absurd. Talk about a first-world problem.
Feminism--the idea that women are subjugated and exploited and oppressed in the US is nonsense. Women have been the majority of voters ever since, in the early part of the 20th century, their right to vote was recognized. If they've been subjugated, exploited and oppressed since then, it's because they've done it to themselves.
I think, instead of being a catalyst for the feminist cause, Trump's accusers show how utterly ridiculous is the feminist mantra. The last of the Trump accuser (the 10th!, the NYTimes exclaimed) to come forward complained that she overheard him admiring her legs, and brushed the inside of her breast when he touched her arm. Really? This is the best you've got? This is evidence of female subjugation and oppression--that an intentionally attractively attired woman garners attention that she thinks went a bit too far and she's now scarred for life This is absurd. Talk about a first-world problem.
Feminism--the idea that women are subjugated and exploited and oppressed in the US is nonsense. Women have been the majority of voters ever since, in the early part of the 20th century, their right to vote was recognized. If they've been subjugated, exploited and oppressed since then, it's because they've done it to themselves.
7
You are clueless.
33
Having found it a very convenient dodge to blame any political opposition to President Obama on racism, it's clear that the next gambit for the establishment press will be blame all opposition to the prospective President Hillary Clinton on sexism. Those who do this are having the same problem removing the mental blinders on bias as the people whom they like to accuse of perpetuating all the 'isms' of our world!
4
This comment bears all of the hallmarks of the vast fiction continually foisted on the American people by the far right, namely that the "mainstream media" (read this as anyone who does not parrot the Hannity/Limbaugh/O'Reilly party line) is behind all of the ills faced by the country. Well, Fox News is part of the mainstream media, as evidenced by Chris Wallace's creditable performance as moderator of the third presidential debate. The commenter also implies that racism and sexism do not play any meaningful negative role in America, which only serves to further illustrate a blindness to reality.
17
Yes, some did base opposition to Obama on racism. But more based their obstructionist policies on putting their party before the country and its citizens. Hopefully, there won't be a repeat of this party obstructionism in the next four years.
12
and the right will continue to foam at the mouth about how "terrible, awful, the worst' she is, with little or no evidence. I fully expect after she is elected, there will be pressure brought to begin impeachment proceedings. Based on nothing much. But sexism? Oh, no, couldn't be that.
Dog whistle racism is still racism, and dog whistle sexism the same. You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
Dog whistle racism is still racism, and dog whistle sexism the same. You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
7
A former classmate of mine did his science education dissertation research on this phenomenon: Let’s say you are at a large-city science center with an enclosed display of the tiny, colorful, poisonous frogs. You look and look, but you cannot see even one.
Then – one moves, and you spot it. All of a sudden, you see them on leaves, on the mossy floor of the display, and on small branches throughout. Why do you now see so many, when a moment ago, you thought the case was filled only with plants? What happened to enable you to see?
One caught your attention, and then the whole enclosure became visible.
This seems to be what’s happened in the case of Trump’s Transgressions. Some of us could see the poison this colorful little frog was dispensing, but many could not – or would not. His bigotry, racism, misogyny, selfishness, etc., etc., etc., was somehow not visible to so many.
Now, at least and at last, after the “Grope Tape,” many are clearly seeing his perverted perspectives for the first time. It has also opened their eyes to attitudes, traits, and behavior that have been there the whole time – for years and years and years.
Some of his followers are blind – they will never see the frog. But many have decided to stay as far away from the frog display as possible.
97
plenty of them are frogs, too. and proud of it.
12
Actually Hillary hired Trump to demolish GOP and make sure Hillary becomes 45th. The Access Hollywood video leak was engineered by Trump himself.
6
Why would anyone sabotage themselves purposely in this way?
3
He been a catalyst for this exquisite shift in consciousness but he is No Hero.
18
I have never been in love with what the world and TV would consider a real beauty, so no matter what he says from his 5th grade mind about looks, it is generally meaningless. Despite his testimony, we don't look at just the parts. Of course, it's not good for the kids to hear. But newspapers are struggling and cable news needs eyeballs and our trade policy with China isn't as newsworthy. We are all conditioned to accept that sex trumps good taste and the public good. I feel like the last person at Woodstock, I'm commented out. Look at this mess.
7
Trump is is guilty but don't blame him because he is a man. That is a simplistic way to look at sexism. Ego and power are the things that drive human beings to ignore the basic rules of society.. Not all men but a lot of men are guilty. Power which leads to ego exists in all positions of life...teachers, coaches, police, supervisors and of course politicians.
But let me ask you one question.... Do you really think that women don't go for lunch together and not have discussions about men and rank them as sex objects? Do you really think that women in power hire and promote the short and fat guy over the tall and handsome guy?
But let me ask you one question.... Do you really think that women don't go for lunch together and not have discussions about men and rank them as sex objects? Do you really think that women in power hire and promote the short and fat guy over the tall and handsome guy?
4
"But let me ask you one question.... Do you really think that women don't go for lunch together and not have discussions about men and rank them as sex objects?"
That's a relevant question, but far from being the most important ones, which are: (1) do they loudly and proudly do that in public with the whole world watching, and (2) whether in public or private, do they brag about grabbing men by the genitals without their consent, and about being able to get away with it?
That's a relevant question, but far from being the most important ones, which are: (1) do they loudly and proudly do that in public with the whole world watching, and (2) whether in public or private, do they brag about grabbing men by the genitals without their consent, and about being able to get away with it?
12
No, women don't go to lunch and rank men as sex objects. They typically have more important things to discuss. No, women in power don't promote on the basis of looks but instead on ability to do the job--after all, they're accountable for results.
14
The women of this country finally got a dirty old man by the b--lls.
44
It is Hilary and countless other women who have stood up to abusers like Donald who are the feminist heros. Not Donald. Give credit where credit is due.
46
The example of Donald as feminist hero is an example of Sarcasm.
7
I have been in locker rooms since I was 13. I am now almost 70 and I have never heard any man boast about what says he does to women. Whether it was football, basketball, baseball and now, golf--never have I heard such language. There are no excuses for Trump's attitude towards women and he should never be the leader of the free world.
62
If Trump is the cause and catalyst for the eventual eradication of misogyny - well he would have served a positive service (without intending to do so).
I wonder whether he will serve as the cause and catalyst or the eventual eradication of the other evils he represents (bullying of the weak by the rich and powerful, xenophobia, racial hatred, religious bigotry). He is doing his part, and we must do ours.
Our part relates to rubbishing and eradicating everything that made the Trump phenomenon possible. Republican hate is fueled by the well funded institutions of hate TV, hate radio, hate churches. To be a republican today is to be clutching a powerful gun, finding someone weak to harass and destroy, thumping some version of hate church, forswearing education and reason, claiming first right to feed at the government teat, waving the Dixie flag, thinking wistfully of slavery, and doing everything possible to return to pre civil rights America. That too with pride.
I hope Trump galvanizes the 'not here, not now' movements for everything negative in our individual and collective psyches. I hope he galvanizes a true dedication to plurality.
To be clear, I don't want democrats dominating anything.
I want two sides who commonly wish for good in America but hold differing values constantly engaged in seeking common ground and compromise. Concentration of power was one evil almost all of us escaped from at one time or another.
Kalidan
I wonder whether he will serve as the cause and catalyst or the eventual eradication of the other evils he represents (bullying of the weak by the rich and powerful, xenophobia, racial hatred, religious bigotry). He is doing his part, and we must do ours.
Our part relates to rubbishing and eradicating everything that made the Trump phenomenon possible. Republican hate is fueled by the well funded institutions of hate TV, hate radio, hate churches. To be a republican today is to be clutching a powerful gun, finding someone weak to harass and destroy, thumping some version of hate church, forswearing education and reason, claiming first right to feed at the government teat, waving the Dixie flag, thinking wistfully of slavery, and doing everything possible to return to pre civil rights America. That too with pride.
I hope Trump galvanizes the 'not here, not now' movements for everything negative in our individual and collective psyches. I hope he galvanizes a true dedication to plurality.
To be clear, I don't want democrats dominating anything.
I want two sides who commonly wish for good in America but hold differing values constantly engaged in seeking common ground and compromise. Concentration of power was one evil almost all of us escaped from at one time or another.
Kalidan
6
Republicans in Congress since 2009 have not been "engaged in seeking common ground and compromise." The Republicans since Jan. 20, 2009 have literally been against anything and everything Obama was for. As one Republican Senator said, "if he was for it, we had to be against it." Now the Republicans want Donald Trump to be President and retain control of the U.S. Congress so they can dominate everything. Their dream utopia is when billionaires pay very little or no taxes, where Social Security and Medicare are destroyed, where U.S. corporations pay even less taxes than they do now, where "political correctness",i.e. racism and misogyny can be expressed freely without criticism. What a wonderful world it would be...
6
During the last debate, the only time Chris Wallace was in danger of losing control of the audience was when Trump said "Nobody respects women more than I do". The laughter was almost out of control.
Dan Kravitz
Dan Kravitz
12
What a great column and perspective.
Unfortunately, I fear that, if HRC is elected, we will see a rise in domestic violence against women, and violence against women in general, as well as a rise in workplace sexism. With the election of Barack Obama as the first African America president, as many predicted would happen, we have seen a resurgence of overt racism, people who, upon his election, could suppress their racist rage no longer. I think the same will be true, and actually worse, with the election of our first woman president. And considering that she is a Democrat, that makes it worse since white males tend to also vote Republican, as a group. So they will be feeling a double victimization: a woman and a Democrat? That is a horror show to many of those white, conservative men.
But change and progress always come with resistance and casualties, but they must come.
Unfortunately, I fear that, if HRC is elected, we will see a rise in domestic violence against women, and violence against women in general, as well as a rise in workplace sexism. With the election of Barack Obama as the first African America president, as many predicted would happen, we have seen a resurgence of overt racism, people who, upon his election, could suppress their racist rage no longer. I think the same will be true, and actually worse, with the election of our first woman president. And considering that she is a Democrat, that makes it worse since white males tend to also vote Republican, as a group. So they will be feeling a double victimization: a woman and a Democrat? That is a horror show to many of those white, conservative men.
But change and progress always come with resistance and casualties, but they must come.
6
To "thank" Donald Trump for being the pig he is, and state that he "could well go down in history as a feminist hero" insults the very gender that statement claims he intended to help...because when you're a hero, it involves "intent" and Trump cannot honestly claim that he intended to help anyone...in this situation, there was no agency on his part, no desire to help women, or feminism, in any way (quite the opposite, in fact).
I'm very happy this election cycle has awakened perhaps a new freedom to share stories of mistreatment openly and - very importantly - without any shame (for it is us men, who have treated women inappropriately, who must feel the shame). And I'm very happy so many men are finally seeing the pain that comments like Trump's and behavior like Trump's have caused the women in their lives.
But a "feminist hero"?
No, that's almost like someone saying he should be President.
I'm very happy this election cycle has awakened perhaps a new freedom to share stories of mistreatment openly and - very importantly - without any shame (for it is us men, who have treated women inappropriately, who must feel the shame). And I'm very happy so many men are finally seeing the pain that comments like Trump's and behavior like Trump's have caused the women in their lives.
But a "feminist hero"?
No, that's almost like someone saying he should be President.
15
I thought Trump's treatment of females was an outlier until last night. Sitting over dinner with my wife and daughter (she is 40), both recounted several stories of unwanted advances that in their lives they had experienced. I sat there with my mouth open, with the lame, question: when did this happen? Both were surprised at my reaction ---come on Dad don't be naive, men are men. To make matters worse, both then went on to describe elaborate strategies they both have employed over the years that would not place them in a compromising situation. What a night. And we get all bent out of shape over private servers and emails, and reduce a serial sex predator to "boy talk."
42
ACJ, thank you for hearing! Your recounting of "elaborate defenses" is so real to me. I developed two that were very effective against married men I met in the work world who propositioned me. One was to laugh, as if it were the most hilarious thing I'd ever heard. The other was to pretend to take the "offer" seriously and immediately begin asking for details, such as: exactly what do you have in mind? where will we meet? who will pay? am I supposed to keep this from your wife? will you pay for a babysitter? Worked like a charm.
9
One reason the old “dog whistle” issues about women haven’t resonated is because there are so, so many working women now, many of whom have blasted through glass ceilings in their own careers. Some of those glass ceilings, such as becoming CEO of a Fortune 500 company, are in some ways even more impressive than becoming the first woman president. Given the general tone of this election, I’m beginning to think of the presidency as just another back-stabbing name-calling partisan job in politics rather than an important position worthy of aspiration.
Yes, there is plenty of work to be done on gender issues, and a woman president will certainly put some emphasis there. But remember, Barack Obama did not place great emphasis on racial issues during his administration simply because, in his own words, he is “the president of all the people.” Hillary’s job will be the same. So it will continue to be up to all of us women to keep making our presence known.
I would not go so far as to say we should thank Donald Trump, but he has certainly put the spotlight on how women have been treated in and out of the work place since, well, forever. It’s all out in the open, it’s ugly, and women will not be putting up with it anymore.
Yes, there is plenty of work to be done on gender issues, and a woman president will certainly put some emphasis there. But remember, Barack Obama did not place great emphasis on racial issues during his administration simply because, in his own words, he is “the president of all the people.” Hillary’s job will be the same. So it will continue to be up to all of us women to keep making our presence known.
I would not go so far as to say we should thank Donald Trump, but he has certainly put the spotlight on how women have been treated in and out of the work place since, well, forever. It’s all out in the open, it’s ugly, and women will not be putting up with it anymore.
11
For years women have been frustrated by men and even other women who say, "That doesn't happen," or "It can't be that bad," or "I've never seen that happen" as a way of denying the reality of women's experience. Trump has done the unwitting service of putting entitled male behavior under everyone's nose, so even people who have had trouble entering into the experience world of women who have been abused can begin to "get it." Does he deserve personal credit? Of course not. But his boorish and appalling run for a seat he feels is the natural extension of all he has achieved as a male has brought this front and center.
35
A year ago, a leader of a church workshop I was in asked that all the people present who had experienced sexual assault in their lives, please step forward.
Having no sisters, and being gay, and obliviously male, I had no idea.
I gasped, and today weep, at the astounding proportion of women -- all ages, ethnicities, personalities, professional levels; grandmothers, mothers, daughters -- who stepped forward that day. Women I thought I knew. Women whose lives I thought I knew.
Today I will vote early in a swing state. My vote is dedicated to them, and to my nieces, and to their daughters, and, yes, their sons.
Having no sisters, and being gay, and obliviously male, I had no idea.
I gasped, and today weep, at the astounding proportion of women -- all ages, ethnicities, personalities, professional levels; grandmothers, mothers, daughters -- who stepped forward that day. Women I thought I knew. Women whose lives I thought I knew.
Today I will vote early in a swing state. My vote is dedicated to them, and to my nieces, and to their daughters, and, yes, their sons.
74
Andrew, that is a stunning and wonderfully empathetic comment. Thank you, and bless you.
10
now it is time to take a deep, psychologically analytical look at the women who support such boorish men - be it their husbands, their bosses, their dads or their presidential candidates. what are the gains of such support? what is the motivation lying beneath the surface? is it self loathing? a strange kind of envy? an identification with the aggressor? i'd like to see the nyt write on this topic.
23
ama, I have pondered why women excuse Trump also. One possibility is that they are brainwashed, somehow, into seeing themselves as creatures defined by men as to their place, beauty, sexiness, etc.
4
We need to raise our boys better. I'm glad that Donald's crass misogyny, in all its forms, has finally shown the world the truth of what women have been saying for decades. But it's still happening and it will continue to happen. I will tell you, the men I know do not treat women this way -- but it still happens, clearly, or those Trumpbots wouldn't be wearing T-shirts saying foul things about Hillary. Those are badly raised boys, those Trumpbots. They should be ashamed. And so should their parents.
35
May another movement forward be beginning in the treatment of women in our society. The first wave began when women united over the testimony and treatment of Anita Hill, may this be the start of the second wave.
18
Its wrong to believe any testimony without examining it with evidences. if this becomes the case then everyone will start giving testimonies against their enemy
Did he actually critique her behind?!? I have to wonder if the man has any filter at all because I cannot fathom the thought process that designates commenting on one's opponent's rear end as an appropriate thing to do.
I will be very disappointed if Mrs. Clinton does not bury him because I can't believe anyone would this man representing your country.
I will be very disappointed if Mrs. Clinton does not bury him because I can't believe anyone would this man representing your country.
23
Susan Chira, thank you for your piece on Trump's toxic and shambolic behaviour toward the women in and not in his life. He has unwittingly and brutally brought a new feminism to the fore, as Betty Friedan did with her Feminine Mystique in 1963. Not until sexual swagger and bullying by men is overcome by women's claiming all rights to their bodies, to their lives, to themselves, will kinder, kuche and kinder be a meme of the past. Women from Lilith to Eve and Lucy from Ethiopia - in Amharic "Dinkinesh" - "You are marvelous!" - have always endured the unendurable. The Tenno Hirohito suggested his Japanese Jingoistic peoples would have to do that after we won World War II with the catastrophic demolition of two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Tenno was undoubtedly addressing mainly Japanese men, but it was the women who also had to endure the bitter fruits of war which Japan had initiated with Russia, Japan, china and the US. Feminism will never be in Donald Trump's debt. More in Hillary Clinton's debt for her standing up to swaggering insufferable machismo and bullying by men.
9
Earlier in the campaign one of my male friends (and Bernie supporter)asked me why I thought the campaign had anything to do with feminism. He didnt just ask why I supporters Hillary, he asked why we needed support for feminism at all. Further he said that if I had concerns about women's rights Bernie would be better. Given that this Gsy man has faced a life of discrimination, I was surprised. But he made my case. Only a woman like Hillary, a strong, determined, leader, can make the case for Amwrican women. I am thrilled to be voting for her.
26
Most people do not have to live with rattlesnakes, but having once done that let me say I'd much rather see a snake on the porch that hear several under the porch, or even worse, not hear the one napping under the washing machine.
8
Why is electing a female president such a big deal in this country? Women have been heads of state in many parts of the world for a long time. In India and Pakistan which are not exactly hot beds of feminism. The woman who pulled together Liberia after a brutal civil war. Then there is Margaret Thatcher. While I didn't agree with her politics, she was a strong decisive leader who I doubt would have let EU membership come to a vote. Angela Merkel. Now there's a strong, capable leader if there ever was one. Most of us know Hillary Clinton is strong and capable whether you like her or her politics. To me electing Barak Obama was a bigger deal. Lots more women than black people in this country. All along I have felt Trump was doing the feminist cause a great favor in bringing the debasing of women into the spotlight and believe he is also doing men a favor by giving them a chance to evaluate themselves and the boys in the locker room.
16
"Why is electing a female president such a big deal in this country?"
Because it's in this country.
Because it's in this country.
9
Every day?
"how women are routinely groped, belittled, and weight-shamed."
"what women endure every day."
Yes, it happens, but let's not exaggerate to make the point. The men I know are not D. Trump. They have better things to do.
"how women are routinely groped, belittled, and weight-shamed."
"what women endure every day."
Yes, it happens, but let's not exaggerate to make the point. The men I know are not D. Trump. They have better things to do.
4
The word "women" is plural, which makes the statements absolutely true. What I would like to know is what motivates some men commenting here to feel the need to brush off or minimize this societal sickness. I don't pretend to know the answer, but none that I can imagine are appealing.
10
Most of the men I know aren't like Trump either, and it has nothing to do with "better things to do" and everything to do with being a better human being. There isn't a woman alive though, who hasn't had an encounter with someone like Trump.
10
it happens much more often than you think. many of us have been to ashamed to report the abuse.
9
Let's hope the racism that has played out so vociferously in the Republican congress for the last eight years won't be replaced by a vociferous sexism.
35
Dan Savage , in his column, has introduced us to "the Trump Talk", the talk that mother's need to give their daughters about unwelcome, unwanted, lewd and aggressive behaviour coming from men.
“Sometimes you have to be hypervigilant,” I tell my daughter, “because some gross men out there feel they are entitled to touch us.” We should call this the “Trump Talk.” The depressing conversation that every parent needs to have with their little girl about revolting, predatory, entitled men. The Trump Talk.
Mother And Daughter Discuss Enraging Realities
“Sometimes you have to be hypervigilant,” I tell my daughter, “because some gross men out there feel they are entitled to touch us.” We should call this the “Trump Talk.” The depressing conversation that every parent needs to have with their little girl about revolting, predatory, entitled men. The Trump Talk.
Mother And Daughter Discuss Enraging Realities
37
teenage girls should know a martial art..Wing Chun Kung Fu, created by a woman and involving leverage, movement and not strength, is very good. Really all it usually takes is an elbow and a shift of weight..or a knee
1
He's also made it OK for guys to discuss more some more subtle issues like "does it offend you if I hold the door?" I've had some good, long overdue discussions in the past month as we all navigate the shifting gender lines.
11
Here in Vermont we all hold doors for each other. It always takes some time when I travel outside of the state to get used to the fact that the rest of the country doesn't seem to do that.
About the door-holding: I've always felt that a reasonable approach would in general be this: The person who reaches the door first holds the door open for the person following....regardless of gender.
26
Well well written, not an extra un-necessary word, brilliantly revealing the extremely unfair life situations women chronically endure.
25
"Men have begun asking themselves what they can do to intervene in cases of sexual harassment."
Now they've got a ready-made line in these situations: "Don't be a trump!"
Now they've got a ready-made line in these situations: "Don't be a trump!"
36
I think the real answer is "Don't be a Billy Bush" who giggled inanely while Trump bragged about groping women.
2
Nicely said. Hypermasculinity is a disease, like 'gigantism' or obsessive-compulsive disorder; it has nothing to do with an individual, man or woman, who is able to recognize its self-worth by being nice and of service to others. And Trump never had the chance to grow up to know that making an a** of himself is not part of the deal. Trump is a sick man and a sore loser. And showing up as a bully, a disguise of a coward. Trump is emotionally sick, devoid of feelings, rapacious in his dealings and unscrupulous in his- cheat and- lie world. If his gross misogyny is 'helping' now, so be it. But no kudos please.
61
I just hope Tim Kaine is never confronted with the need to break a tie on an abortion-related bill. And if he is, that he realizes his responsibility.
9
what frustrates me (as a deeply feminist lifetime-committed Democrat 62-year-old white entitled male) is that it takes a "Donald" (and his millions of frenzied supporters) for women to realize that the Republicans are not their friends. I agree with the writer who said pass the ERA. May it be a litmus test to utterly replace Congress with women and men who see all citizens as full humans, and secure families and nurtured children the actual point of having this lovely nation from sea to shining sea.
66
@E Johns I, a woman, have always distrusted Republicans and voted agains them. What makes you think that women don't realize that Repubs. are their enemies?
2
Some days I feel like I am living during the Peron years in Argentina.
Or in a George Orwell novel.
The corruption of language in the service of politics.
The cults of personality.
The endless distractions from substance.
The we-will-take-your-human-card-away threats.
The triumphal pageant of Daisy Buchanan taking the oath of office, then grimly taking the wheel.
Or in a George Orwell novel.
The corruption of language in the service of politics.
The cults of personality.
The endless distractions from substance.
The we-will-take-your-human-card-away threats.
The triumphal pageant of Daisy Buchanan taking the oath of office, then grimly taking the wheel.
8
The majority of women I know are not intimidated by Trump's off color comments about women who have attacked him. Many of them have potty mouths too. They are strong women who want what men want, a strong economy, and a government free from corruption. These women are proudly voting Trump. They are not buying the media narrative and could not give a wit about electing the first female President.
2
A potty mouth isn't a sign of strength, it's a sign of a poor vocabulary and bad manners. Voting for a bigoted bully isn't a sign of strength either, it's a sign of ignorance and it's nothing to be proud of.
14
Are you their spokesman? The dignity associated with being a woman, the respect that we demonstrate to each other is a part of being a "strong" woman or a strong man. That respect for human dignity is a basic part of a strong economy...If you can't handle the facts, then don't read or watch TV.
10
Let me see if I have this right:
Trump is going to bring to good jobs back.
Trump is going to make the economy robust again.
Trump is going to rid the government of corruption.
Does Atlantic city or Trump university ring a bell?
How delusional can one get?
Trump is going to bring to good jobs back.
Trump is going to make the economy robust again.
Trump is going to rid the government of corruption.
Does Atlantic city or Trump university ring a bell?
How delusional can one get?
10
Now we need a similar grassroots movement to expose the #EverydayDiscrimination in the workplace that women endure, from the first day on the job and lasting throughout their careers. It's so pervasive, so taken for granted, that The Onion writes hilarious and bitter satire about it, and it hasn't changed since the 1970s. We still make 75 cents to the male dollar. We still work three times as hard yet account for just a fraction of C-suite executives and board members at big companies. We get pushed out of good jobs by incompetent men who feel threatened—we're literally punished for high performance. No man can imagine, in his worst nightmares, what the workplace is like for us. I wish a Trumpian candidate would expose this side of sexism too.
60
The word "boast" adopts the Trump view. Trump's words on tape were - more accurately - a confession. Note that Trump's wife Melania has argued in interviews that her husband's confession was "egged on" by the bantering and complicity of Billy Bush and, thus, empty. In contrast, "confessions" extracted by police in the Central Park jogger case - where the black teens were separated from each other, their parents, had no counsel, were deprived of sleep, food and water and given false promises of being able to go home if they confessed - resulted in false convictions and substantial jail time before DNA and other evidence led to the boys - now men - being declared innocent, released from prison, and given substantial civil settlements. After all that, Donald Trump this month asserted the Central Park Five were guilty because they had confessed! I see an extreme - to the point of perverse - double-standard here.
54
Giving Donald the credit for shining a light on feminist concerns is kind of like showcasing the white guy in the civil rights movement, but hey, I'll take it. Like it or not, the people who most need to be illuminated won't listen to just anyone.
34
A nice lead and a couple of rarely made good points in this article.
Unlike a stream of recent NYT articles, there is no over-generalized male-bashing. Instead there is some recognition that "men," as a category, are not the problem. Further, by showing the obsoleteness of hyper-masculinity, it points to the need for a fuller description of a what better model of being a man would look like. Avoiding "Trump-like" behaviors and language is part of it, but it quickly gets confusing these days.
Further, Susan's recent article on the problems of less educated males added another piece to a more comprehensive understanding of the problem. As she pointed out there, they are really struggling. While we already knew that helps explain the mystery of some of the support for Trump, perhaps it could help guide us, and provide some support for, initiatives to help them.
But we still haven't seen anything yet on the perspectives of educated males. They're invisible when not simply assumed to have problem-free "privileged" lives, or told to "shut up." One article called them "over-educated," as if there's any such thing. They have things on their minds, too, but no one is asking.
A risk of ignoring them is that while they may vote for Hillary this time (actually, I have seen nothing on how they poll), their frustrations could make them attractive for a Trump-lite candidate to peel off in 4 years as he/she tries to stop a second Hillary term.
How about some articles on them?
Unlike a stream of recent NYT articles, there is no over-generalized male-bashing. Instead there is some recognition that "men," as a category, are not the problem. Further, by showing the obsoleteness of hyper-masculinity, it points to the need for a fuller description of a what better model of being a man would look like. Avoiding "Trump-like" behaviors and language is part of it, but it quickly gets confusing these days.
Further, Susan's recent article on the problems of less educated males added another piece to a more comprehensive understanding of the problem. As she pointed out there, they are really struggling. While we already knew that helps explain the mystery of some of the support for Trump, perhaps it could help guide us, and provide some support for, initiatives to help them.
But we still haven't seen anything yet on the perspectives of educated males. They're invisible when not simply assumed to have problem-free "privileged" lives, or told to "shut up." One article called them "over-educated," as if there's any such thing. They have things on their minds, too, but no one is asking.
A risk of ignoring them is that while they may vote for Hillary this time (actually, I have seen nothing on how they poll), their frustrations could make them attractive for a Trump-lite candidate to peel off in 4 years as he/she tries to stop a second Hillary term.
How about some articles on them?
9
One "defense" that Trump and his minions have given against the accusations of sexual harassment and assault is that if he didn't find the women physically or sexually attractive, he couldn't possibly have assaulted them. That belies the truth that sexual assault is about POWER, not sex or attraction to the victim. To require a victim to be attractive to the perp to be credible is one more assault.
18
So relieved to finally see something that identifies power as fundamental to all forms of sexual assault. It's been remarkably absent in commentaries on Trump. Thank you.
8
We live in a world of ideas. Often those basic operational ideas are buried so deep under a mythic dreamscape that we can't see them. And of course, we are thoroughly trained NOT to see them, for our eyes to slide conveniently over the offending thing.
But if you want to know what these basic operational ideas actually are, they're not hard to find. Just take a good look at what you see around you, freeze the frame, and run the cause-and-effect logic backwards far enough so that a set of fundamental beliefs and values kick in that would logically produce the present state of things. Simple.
We live inside of stories. Donald certainly does, and he is being faithful to his script to the letter, just as he has always been. And I can tell you that he is one confused princeling of privilege at this point. His script tells him clearly who he is, what he gets to do (everything he wants - duh, and then deny, deny, deny, and punish any offending underlings), and what happens next. But now??
As Fitzgerald noted as an aside in his depiction of the Trumpian Tom Buchanan when he faced a similar "script malfunction" in The Great Gatsby, "There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and . . . (he) was feeling the hot whips of panic."
In danger of making the understatement of the year, I say it's high time to tunnel down to where our basic ideas hum away (i.e. Trump idolized and a candidate for president?!) and renegotiate them. Past time for new scripts.
But if you want to know what these basic operational ideas actually are, they're not hard to find. Just take a good look at what you see around you, freeze the frame, and run the cause-and-effect logic backwards far enough so that a set of fundamental beliefs and values kick in that would logically produce the present state of things. Simple.
We live inside of stories. Donald certainly does, and he is being faithful to his script to the letter, just as he has always been. And I can tell you that he is one confused princeling of privilege at this point. His script tells him clearly who he is, what he gets to do (everything he wants - duh, and then deny, deny, deny, and punish any offending underlings), and what happens next. But now??
As Fitzgerald noted as an aside in his depiction of the Trumpian Tom Buchanan when he faced a similar "script malfunction" in The Great Gatsby, "There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and . . . (he) was feeling the hot whips of panic."
In danger of making the understatement of the year, I say it's high time to tunnel down to where our basic ideas hum away (i.e. Trump idolized and a candidate for president?!) and renegotiate them. Past time for new scripts.
8
One wonders how there can be only a 4 point difference in some polls after Trump has insult every demographic other than old white men.
21
"wounds every woman who wonders if she's pretty enough' - are you serious? Doesn't that imply that getting groped should feel like vindication? Try this: a response like 'look at her' wounds every woman who does not want to constantly be held up for inspection and judged solely on what nature had given her. It wounds every woman who is tired of being seen as a vessel with no content. It wounds every woman who wants to be judged on her merits - all of them.
13
As a mother of a teenage daughter, I am thrilled about this moment. Maybe my daughter will feel the collective support of people around the country -- and world -- who think that our ideas of womanhood and manhood desperately need to change. Maybe she can live her adult life in a more enlightened world.
35
It's not difficult to sense and show respect for mothers. Being part of the creation of a life, with the woman bearing the brunt of everything physical, witnessing every day and night and in between, touching the belly that is being kicked by an unborn, but with a personality already developing, and more, as a husband, a father, a mentor, a lover, a source of stability and protection, being a good fifty percent of what it takes to maintain a healthy home, and more, somehow evades many men. It's never been difficult to be the insulting term from a movie, 'Mister Mom,' which is a label that ignores what a Dad does every day and night. Mister Trump is an aberration, a walking, talking evil human. His mere physical form, which is impossible to avoid, unless one lives in a cave, makes me sick. I can't stand the man, period. I do hope he loses the election, big time (for which he will blame everyone but himself...I accept that cowardly, hypocritical, bullying part of what he is...and I want to see him cry, the expletive deleted!
14
There once was a man named Trump
Who judged women by breast size and rump
But when this groping old goat
Asked for their vote
He was told in a lake to jump
Who judged women by breast size and rump
But when this groping old goat
Asked for their vote
He was told in a lake to jump
65
It is exactly this idea of masculinity that has allowed the current rape culture on campus to flourish.
37
Clinton is qualified, trump is not. I'm voting for Clinton.
If the ERA ever comes up again, I will support it.
Women got the right to vote only two years before my mother was born.
Old white guys like me have to deal with the old-white-guy negative stereotypes. I loathe guys like trump. i'm not even remotely like that guy.
The upside to trump is that he lifted the rock on virtually ever nasty thing that is wrong in this country, the largest being treatment of women ranging anywhere from childlike inability to make their own choices to just outright chattle.
I hope trump loses large. I hope the feckless obstructionist down ticket candidates lose large. Obama was about the most decent, intelligent president one could ever hope for. The of trump was a millstone around his neck. I do not wish to see this repeated for Clinton.
If the ERA ever comes up again, I will support it.
Women got the right to vote only two years before my mother was born.
Old white guys like me have to deal with the old-white-guy negative stereotypes. I loathe guys like trump. i'm not even remotely like that guy.
The upside to trump is that he lifted the rock on virtually ever nasty thing that is wrong in this country, the largest being treatment of women ranging anywhere from childlike inability to make their own choices to just outright chattle.
I hope trump loses large. I hope the feckless obstructionist down ticket candidates lose large. Obama was about the most decent, intelligent president one could ever hope for. The of trump was a millstone around his neck. I do not wish to see this repeated for Clinton.
74
I wish I could shake your hand and personally thank you for this.
1
Thanks, oldBassGuy. I wish men like you had been around when I was younger. Would have made my life a lot better.
1
Noteworthy too are the actions and attitudes of at least two of Trump's most important advisers and surrogates, Chris Christie and Rudy Giuliani. Testimony yesterday at the "Bridge-gate" trial revealed another instance of Christie bullying and uttering profanities at a woman. Giuliani's public humiliation of his first wife revealed his family values.
The Trump surrogates should be remembered for their embrace of Trump's racism, xenophobia as well as his misogyny.
The Trump surrogates should be remembered for their embrace of Trump's racism, xenophobia as well as his misogyny.
49
I lived the sexual harassment growing up because I was considered very good looking. I just wanted to be treated the same as the guys. For years I was paid less than the guys because they were men and I endured that to get and keep a great job.
The women who were not beautiful suffered indignities that I did not have to put up with. However, men would interview me for jobs, tell me that women (and blacks, I'm white) were not qualified but they, the interviewers, would then ask me out. Double insult. And the rumor was always that I had been Miss Virginia.
The women who were not beautiful suffered indignities that I did not have to put up with. However, men would interview me for jobs, tell me that women (and blacks, I'm white) were not qualified but they, the interviewers, would then ask me out. Double insult. And the rumor was always that I had been Miss Virginia.
29
I agree wholeheartedly with Susan Chira, and it is interesting that some comments I have read in response are already trying to minimize her points. Even I, at 69 years of experience, just yesterday, felt more empowered to speak up in the face of blatant sexism. At a college cross country meet, a middle aged male photographer who has been around for years was referring to the last young woman on the course who had not yet appeared, describing her to an Asian photographer as being "well endowed" and then describing and showing how her breasts swing when she runs...at that point I said to him to "Stop, right now you have no business talking like that" but it took several more challenges to even make him stop. So typical of what we women continue to endure but do not intend to endure in silence any longer.
50
Interestingly, the Times ran an article a week or so ago, that studies indicate that if there is a likelihood of failure, women are allowed into top slots. It is likely that whoever is in the White House, the next four years may be as or more contentious, with a divided Congress and a polarized population: a sure formula for failure. One must be careful for what one wishes.
5
Sharing our awful experiences? A suggestion=let's start teaching our girls self defense in elementary school, besides teaching our boys respect, let's back it up with an ability to defend ourselves. Imagine if we no longer had these "awful experiences" to share?
18
Trump's flamboyant misogyny is giving thoughtful men insight into the world American women actually inhabit. Street harassment, groping, body shaming, workplace discrimination, mansplaining, and Internet intimidation are familiar territory to all women. Mr. Trump has taught an accidental master-class on sexism which may be his lasting contribution to American society.
31
You're too kind.
Donald Trump unleashed a storm oh hate, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and religious discrimination. Trump promoted the worst in America for his own personal and political gain. Trump is evil.
The fact that good people looked into their hearts and sought to cleanse themselves if some of that evil us a good thing, but it is a reaction against the onslaught of all of this evil. It's like saying that Nazi Germany helped create Israel.
The hatred that Trump has unleashed is a stain on this nation. If nothing worse comes of his campaign than we have already witnessed, his place in history will lie as worse than George Wallace or Joe McCarthy, but not as deep a sin as slavery or as notorious as Lee Harvey Oswald or John Wilkes Booth.
The point is, Donald Trump will not be remembered for his effect on reducing fat shaming or elevating America's respect for women and girls. History may give some credit for that to Hillary Clinton, but not to Donald Trump.
Donald Trump unleashed a storm oh hate, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and religious discrimination. Trump promoted the worst in America for his own personal and political gain. Trump is evil.
The fact that good people looked into their hearts and sought to cleanse themselves if some of that evil us a good thing, but it is a reaction against the onslaught of all of this evil. It's like saying that Nazi Germany helped create Israel.
The hatred that Trump has unleashed is a stain on this nation. If nothing worse comes of his campaign than we have already witnessed, his place in history will lie as worse than George Wallace or Joe McCarthy, but not as deep a sin as slavery or as notorious as Lee Harvey Oswald or John Wilkes Booth.
The point is, Donald Trump will not be remembered for his effect on reducing fat shaming or elevating America's respect for women and girls. History may give some credit for that to Hillary Clinton, but not to Donald Trump.
10
It also illustrates how having hired someone for a responsible job, does not necessarily mean respect for every aspect of that person. For a person like Trump, an underling is an underling.
8
Trump spoke recently of how nice it was to have his "shackles off" - and presumably be able to be even nastier than usual to all who oppose him. I suppose we have to thank Mr. Trump for bringing sexual harassment firmly "off the bus" and into the public arena and allowing millions of women all over America to throw off the "shackles of shame" and pain that have prevented them from discussing this scourge openly and honestly before now. About time too!
15
It has to be said once again how didactic reading the New York Time is, and this article proves it; and the fact that we the readers have the chance to speak our minds by commenting is even more of a great teaching, always treasured. Indeed it is invariably a breath of fresh air to turn to international press to get unbiased news in an increasingly repressive and censored - if not self-censored - media world, whereas Italy is ranking pretty low out of a scale from 1 to 180 (77 for precision's sake) according to Reporters Without Borders' freedom of the press table (USA, 41). That is why Trump is accusing the NYT and the press in general of being biased against him (how so low, so low), when reporting the truth is journalism's nuts and bolts; instrumental, by the way, a while back, in bringing a very repressive, media-gagging, self-styled center-right (far-right instead) government (tycoon Berlusconi's last one out of several) down that, incidentally, behaved exactly like Trump belittling, weight-shaming women or using and enslaving them as poster girls only in his sick fantasy and very biased TV and media world.
8
I can't say I'm thanking Trump, and I think the issue is more subtle than the violence of groping.
What I find most discouraging is the little kernal of certainty that a woman, despite education and experience and know-how, will be listened to less, rewarded less, credited less and supported less in the workplace than she would have been as a he. That a brilliant idea generated by a woman meets with silence until it is respouted, a day or a week or a year later, by a male colleague.
I studied and work in a sector where men tend to be enlightened, where I have experienced friendships and mentor relationships in which I had no doubt whatsoever that my male counter-parts see women as 100% human. My frustration as a feminist comes not from these experiences, and not even from the 'gropers' (come on, not even 'normal' sexist people behave that badly, there's something else sick going on there), but from the unfairness of the dynamic that influences the perceptions and behaviors of colleagues and decision-makers. I would assert that sooner or later, most women have a moment in their career when she confronts the infuriating and disheartening reality that we still aren't there yet, that people, no matter how 'well-behaved' they seem, just don't get it.
I think more consistent exposure and coverage of just how much less female-earned degrees and experience pay off would be more mobilizing than the reprehensible behavior of a man who, really, doesn't represent hardly anyone.
What I find most discouraging is the little kernal of certainty that a woman, despite education and experience and know-how, will be listened to less, rewarded less, credited less and supported less in the workplace than she would have been as a he. That a brilliant idea generated by a woman meets with silence until it is respouted, a day or a week or a year later, by a male colleague.
I studied and work in a sector where men tend to be enlightened, where I have experienced friendships and mentor relationships in which I had no doubt whatsoever that my male counter-parts see women as 100% human. My frustration as a feminist comes not from these experiences, and not even from the 'gropers' (come on, not even 'normal' sexist people behave that badly, there's something else sick going on there), but from the unfairness of the dynamic that influences the perceptions and behaviors of colleagues and decision-makers. I would assert that sooner or later, most women have a moment in their career when she confronts the infuriating and disheartening reality that we still aren't there yet, that people, no matter how 'well-behaved' they seem, just don't get it.
I think more consistent exposure and coverage of just how much less female-earned degrees and experience pay off would be more mobilizing than the reprehensible behavior of a man who, really, doesn't represent hardly anyone.
7
I love how people are basing their ultra-confident belief that Hillary will win on the fact that she is beating Trump in many (perhaps not even most) opinion polls.
This is some of the most naive statistical thinking I have ever seen. Opinion polls, of course, do not track actions, just thoughts--in the case of some opinion polls, the thoughts of small groups of people, including even people who do not live in the US! Yet people are treating these polls as if they are giving the same kind of near guarantee of Hillary's victory as the 5-sigma LHC results did for the existence of the Higgs Boson.
I think liberals are going to be surprised come Nov. 8th. You underestimate how popular Trump is--and how unpopular Hillary is. You also overestimate how widely your liberal-cum-feminist beliefs have spread through the US--your beliefs are still mostly restricted to small pockets of the country.
Please see http://primarymodel.com/. This statistical model has accurately predicted the victor of every US presidential race since the model was introduced in 1996. And for 2016, it predicts a Trump victory.
This is some of the most naive statistical thinking I have ever seen. Opinion polls, of course, do not track actions, just thoughts--in the case of some opinion polls, the thoughts of small groups of people, including even people who do not live in the US! Yet people are treating these polls as if they are giving the same kind of near guarantee of Hillary's victory as the 5-sigma LHC results did for the existence of the Higgs Boson.
I think liberals are going to be surprised come Nov. 8th. You underestimate how popular Trump is--and how unpopular Hillary is. You also overestimate how widely your liberal-cum-feminist beliefs have spread through the US--your beliefs are still mostly restricted to small pockets of the country.
Please see http://primarymodel.com/. This statistical model has accurately predicted the victor of every US presidential race since the model was introduced in 1996. And for 2016, it predicts a Trump victory.
1
The only poll that counts is the one that will be taken on November 8th. Until then, Trump supports can dream of victory, while others experience nightmares. My bet is the Trump nightmares will soon end.
5
The prediction of this group does not take into account the behavior of Trump and the information that has come out about him. Presidential hopefuls have shot themselves in the foot in the past but Trump shot himself in the head.
1
Nope. Try looking at some demographic information. There simply aren't enough ignorant bigots to put Trump in the White House.
1
It does not go unnoticed that one of the most self entitled sexist creeps out there, Donald Trump, has just made life a whole lot harder for other sexist creeps by bringing the whole sexist creep problem to the forefront of the election. Donald Trump's legacy is that he will forever be known as that creepy sexual assaulter of women who once ran for president. Ever get in to an argument with a Trump supporter? Mention Trumps creepy sexual assaults and you can all but shut them right down. I never thought this election would have a silver lining to it, but here it is, a nation wide reckoning on the treatment of women as second class citizens. Now let's do something about equal pay and the right to determine our own health care.
15
I always hoped a day would come when I could explain to my son, now grown and successful in his career, why I had changed jobs frequently. That day came this fall thanks to the media attention. It was important to tell him that not only had harassment happened frequently, even up to age 60, but to be specific what was said and done, and to put it in context of how it impacted choices I made during his childhood and later, how he can make things different for women around him and educate his own son.
17
trump is an artifact of a culture that objectifies and demeans women at nearly every turn...H(R)C and other prominent voices so quick to pile on trump (has there been an easier target) remain silent, no, are complicit in the very thing they decry, the "looks matter" commercial enterprise that has women fretting over (and paying to address) every wrinkle and bulge, pursuing every fahion or fad that promises a slimmer, sexier, more youthful self and grinds that into the conciousness of every woman (talk to your teenage daughters) with film, tv (including women who sit at anchor desks) and runway images that remind women that they don't measure up.
harder to hit than trump, many of his fiercest attackers are participants or endorsers (silence being most eloquent) and, after all, it's a lucrative industry, lots of it shaped by women.
so, by all means buy the creams and lotions, the shoes and clothes that reveal or conceal but understand that hypocrisy is an inefficient fuel for outrage...get past trump and take on the culture that retails the drug.
and for those of political bent, H(R)C being the most prominent these days, it's time to stop coddling cultures that deny women rights and limit their opportunities for any reason and punish them (by actual or metaphorical stoning) for transgression of these repressive, controlling "cultural norms."
harder to hit than trump, many of his fiercest attackers are participants or endorsers (silence being most eloquent) and, after all, it's a lucrative industry, lots of it shaped by women.
so, by all means buy the creams and lotions, the shoes and clothes that reveal or conceal but understand that hypocrisy is an inefficient fuel for outrage...get past trump and take on the culture that retails the drug.
and for those of political bent, H(R)C being the most prominent these days, it's time to stop coddling cultures that deny women rights and limit their opportunities for any reason and punish them (by actual or metaphorical stoning) for transgression of these repressive, controlling "cultural norms."
3
Trump's bouts of anger, impulsiveness and lack of a filter in speaking and lashing out might also be the signs of mercury or other toxins, which can do a number on the gut and the brain. People with certain gene types are more susceptible to such impacts, because they do not methylate (clear toxins) well. See the four journal articles by James S. Woods et al 2011-2014 in PubMed. These conditions are much more common in the United States than suspected, because standard blood and urine tests only show circulating levels of heavy metals - not mercury stored in cells, organs and tissues. NHANES data show measurable mercury levels in the U.S. population, not surprising since it is still prevalent in dental amalgam fillings which off-gas small amounts, is rising in the tissues of fatty fish, passes through the placenta and breast milk, and recycles through crematoria emissions and dental wastewater in states that do not require amalgam separators. If we updated our health guidelines to screen for and treat such neurotoxins on a periodic basis, the level of political and civic discourse might be more pleasant, and fewer people get crotchety and experience memory loss as they age.
4
I don't think many men identify with Trump's attitudes toward women, and therefore I doubt many men will change their behavior much because of Trump's ways. For many of us, though, this election has led to a dialogue between men and women, with men seeking input into how they can do better. My dialogue suggests that the difficulties most women have with men aren't black and white situations, where men are solely to blame. The two leading causes for tensions among my women friends are: (1) fears whenever they are in public places based on their vulnerability, whether or not they have been groped or abused, and (2) vulnerability in consensual sexual matters because men often push the envelope and women often give in, much to their subsequent regret. I am inclined to watch more for uncomfortable public situations for my women friends and to respect sexual limits more. If I get entangled in an all-male locker room conversation, though, I am not worried that that will ever become known to any women since I am not a high profile public figure.
5
I really admire your honesty. Your posts are very thought provoking.
You sound like a thoughtful guy. So I was surprised at your last sentence. Doesn't it seem to you that "all-male locker room conversation" normalizes the mistreatment and objectification of women to the other men present? I mean, would you play along if your peers talked about your wife or daughter that way? And if such banter normalizes the bad treatment of women, don't the women in your locker-room peers' lives suffer? Why would you want to allow yourself to be "entangled" by this dynamic?
So since you can get away with it, it's okay to do it? Wow, did you miss the point!
I love this basic theory (that Trump has inadvertently become a champion for women) and hope that it's true. It would be wonderful if a mature feminism were reawakened in this era. It shouldn't be that hard, since so many capable women are out in public, working.
And the nineteenth amendment is deeply rooted now.
But there's a new article by David French, published in the National Review, which describes the ways in which he and his wife were attacked and threatened by alt-right online trolls after he denounced Donald Trump.
These are the guys who scare me. The white supremacists. Racists. They're the ones calling Hillary a bitch, and worse. And Donald Trump has awakened them. He has empowered and inspired them. When I imagine these men, I remember childhood nightmares of crocodiles ("Never smile at a crocodile, never tip your hat and ask to chat a while, Don't be taken in by his friendly grin, He is thinking of how you will fit beneath his skin.")
And I get scared again. Trump and Bannon and Ailes and Giuliani and Christie have thrown a lot of red meat into the water. And the waters are churning.
And the nineteenth amendment is deeply rooted now.
But there's a new article by David French, published in the National Review, which describes the ways in which he and his wife were attacked and threatened by alt-right online trolls after he denounced Donald Trump.
These are the guys who scare me. The white supremacists. Racists. They're the ones calling Hillary a bitch, and worse. And Donald Trump has awakened them. He has empowered and inspired them. When I imagine these men, I remember childhood nightmares of crocodiles ("Never smile at a crocodile, never tip your hat and ask to chat a while, Don't be taken in by his friendly grin, He is thinking of how you will fit beneath his skin.")
And I get scared again. Trump and Bannon and Ailes and Giuliani and Christie have thrown a lot of red meat into the water. And the waters are churning.
30
Ironically, if one works in research with contemporary male and female students, from high school through graduate school and post-graduate training, as I do, the real issue now is that young men are falling behind in both skills and performance. Similarly, in recruiting young professionals to deal with growth needs over the last 11 years, my group's only search criterion has been excellence and it has gone from 83% male to 42% male while doubling in size. Only 29% of recruits over the past 11 years are male. That seems to be the real emerging pattern of gender inequality. The current alienation of white men without college degrees may only be the beginning of the problem.
15
This is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed.
As a woman I've had my share of harassment. Luckily I spent most of my working life in the non-profit field, men behaving that way would have been bounced for that kind of behavior.
But, the reality is, something is happening to a large cohort of young men. They are not getting a post-education of any kind and many are idle or working in jobs with no future. What's up with that? Addressing it needs to be a part of Hillary's platform.
As a woman I've had my share of harassment. Luckily I spent most of my working life in the non-profit field, men behaving that way would have been bounced for that kind of behavior.
But, the reality is, something is happening to a large cohort of young men. They are not getting a post-education of any kind and many are idle or working in jobs with no future. What's up with that? Addressing it needs to be a part of Hillary's platform.
1
There should be no doubt that the first female president will trigger a response from the masses that will include a not insignificant amount of sexist and misogynist venom, not unlike the racist and bigoted bile that the first black president elicited from too many of us. After breaking through the barriers of race and gender, however, I would hope that the nation will then cleanse itself of these poisonous hatreds, and that women and minorities in the future will be able to pursue higher office without being subjected to humiliation and degradation.
17
I graduated engineering school in 1972 as one of a handful of women, less than a single percent of engineers. I worked in construction and suffered horrendous harassment even up to the point that I was a vice president in charge of a major project. Trump has put the lie to those who say this doesn't go on. Intimidation, harassment and assault is much more common than acknowledged. And false accusations to the detriment of men are vastly overstated. We have an epidemic. As Anta Hill introduced harassment to the discourse. Now Trump has brought the reality of what goes on every day into the open discussion.
36
This is certainly an optimistic take on things. While I agree that some of his remarks (particularly those on the 2005 recording) have raised awareness about how common these issues are, I've definitely had a different take on how feminist this election is.
In fact, with every new Trump scandal and outburst, I've felt more aware than ever of just how deeply rooted the collective misogyny in this country really is. It has nothing to do with his actual supporters, but the legions of people who, month after month, have continued to refer to this decision as "the lesser of two evils." It's the people who claim to be liberal, yet are determined to vote for non-starter or not vote at all, just so they don't have to vote for Hillary Clinton – knowing full well that Trump intends to use the executive powers to wreak havoc in the lives of minorities. I didn't start this election passionate for Hillary Clinton. I liked a lot of what Bernie had to say. But objectively, she's a really solid candidate. The traits that are used to dismiss and criticize her – ambitious, calculating, pandering, whatever – are the exact counterarguments for why she's a safe choice; no one that concerned with proving herself is going to become the first female US president and then tarnish that legacy with wildly unpopular decisions.
And yet, here we are. It took Trump literally bragging about serial sexual assault to even tip the scales towards the infinitely more qualified lady candidate.
In fact, with every new Trump scandal and outburst, I've felt more aware than ever of just how deeply rooted the collective misogyny in this country really is. It has nothing to do with his actual supporters, but the legions of people who, month after month, have continued to refer to this decision as "the lesser of two evils." It's the people who claim to be liberal, yet are determined to vote for non-starter or not vote at all, just so they don't have to vote for Hillary Clinton – knowing full well that Trump intends to use the executive powers to wreak havoc in the lives of minorities. I didn't start this election passionate for Hillary Clinton. I liked a lot of what Bernie had to say. But objectively, she's a really solid candidate. The traits that are used to dismiss and criticize her – ambitious, calculating, pandering, whatever – are the exact counterarguments for why she's a safe choice; no one that concerned with proving herself is going to become the first female US president and then tarnish that legacy with wildly unpopular decisions.
And yet, here we are. It took Trump literally bragging about serial sexual assault to even tip the scales towards the infinitely more qualified lady candidate.
32
The hate speech by Trump and his followers has been intensive and is well documented. Hate speech is defined as "utterances, displays, or expressions of racial, religious, or sexual bias." Why is hate speech against women permitted? How can online vendors like Amazon sell some of the Trump merchandise that characterizes women in such an ugly way? They would not be permitted to sell similar merchandise about African Americans or gay people.
Yet the Republican Party and Trump supporters including at the national convention and in public rallies openly espouses hatred of women with obscenities and with incitement of "jailing" his opponent, with no legal support and a tactic of fascist dictators. This is the equivalent of lynching today. These mobs shout hatred at journalists, protesters, and Hillary Clinton.
Why is this permitted legally or ethically by the Republican Party? The GOP has turned into a large hate group, made up of white supremacists, racists, xenophobes, and sexists. The level of incitement may well result in violence, beyond that which has already happened.
Why are segments of America not protected from hate speech and displays? Why do Republican leaders never defend American citizens from being the targets of these open attacks? What violent action or tragedy will it take?
Yet the Republican Party and Trump supporters including at the national convention and in public rallies openly espouses hatred of women with obscenities and with incitement of "jailing" his opponent, with no legal support and a tactic of fascist dictators. This is the equivalent of lynching today. These mobs shout hatred at journalists, protesters, and Hillary Clinton.
Why is this permitted legally or ethically by the Republican Party? The GOP has turned into a large hate group, made up of white supremacists, racists, xenophobes, and sexists. The level of incitement may well result in violence, beyond that which has already happened.
Why are segments of America not protected from hate speech and displays? Why do Republican leaders never defend American citizens from being the targets of these open attacks? What violent action or tragedy will it take?
35
If women all over the world stand up for dignity and advance human rights we will all be better off. Frankly, I am tired of wars, terrorists, gangs, nukes, road side bombs etc. Throughout history there has been too much violence. When I visit revered locations, I see nature, art, architecture and hear music. The bullies are no where in sight.
21
not at all sure a President Clinton II will slow down our war industry - still far better than crazy Donald
HRC's candidature allows me the satisfaction of voting for a great candidate, even if she referred to her opponent as Putin's horse. But how would I feel if the candidate were a Democratic Trump? (Couldn't happen, I know, but supposing, supposing, as we used to say!) I'd assess the Supreme Court as of high priority. But would I risk allowing a Jeb or a Ted to be elected because I was repulsed by the standard bearer? I don't know, and am glad not to be tested. And I'm astonished at how really ill-prepared Trump is to deal with real people on an equal footing. I wondered if Hillary would send him some notes on preparation, and authenticate them with her monogram H.
9
Donald Trump has made me face my 70 plus years of living with male dominance. Watching him stand behind Hillary in the second debate was a visceral illustration of my times of being interrupted, talked-over, controlled. I realized that I had accepted those times as normal. Well, no more. Welcome to "nasty".
103
An excellent article that really hit the mark. Ms. Chira could go further with her analysis: implied in Trump's candidacy is (always) of course his wellspring of power: the GOP itself. Is the GOP inherently sexist in its unquestioning embrace of traditional Christian church values? The traditional Catholic and Protestant churches are of course fundamentally paternalistic, they are world views that fully embrace the dominance of male power. Women--the temptress Eve--are the handmaidens for men, as fully embodied in Genesis of the New Testament.
This helps to explain why the abortion question is so fanatically important to Christians, it boils down to gender control. Abortion itself should actually be a very minor political issue, as it is in most Western societies. In the end the question of abortion comes down to this Christian embrace of paternalistic control and power, as we are seeing again and again in American society. American Christians have relegated their religious impulse to building out social and legal control over a woman's body, it ultimately comes down to whether a male-dominated society can physically control a woman.
All of this is made palatable--and is masked--by the pseudo issue of "saving a baby's life", and hence the graphic representations exploited by Christians. It has nothing to do with saving a life, and many have pointed out the hypocrisy of these anti-abortion Christians doing little for the downtrodden of the world.
This helps to explain why the abortion question is so fanatically important to Christians, it boils down to gender control. Abortion itself should actually be a very minor political issue, as it is in most Western societies. In the end the question of abortion comes down to this Christian embrace of paternalistic control and power, as we are seeing again and again in American society. American Christians have relegated their religious impulse to building out social and legal control over a woman's body, it ultimately comes down to whether a male-dominated society can physically control a woman.
All of this is made palatable--and is masked--by the pseudo issue of "saving a baby's life", and hence the graphic representations exploited by Christians. It has nothing to do with saving a life, and many have pointed out the hypocrisy of these anti-abortion Christians doing little for the downtrodden of the world.
49
No understanding of separation between church and state.
The founding premise of the constitution.
The founding premise of the constitution.
6
Furthermore, what have these anti-abortion Christians done to promote contraception, which would reduce the number of abortions performed? --Whoops, contraception gives decision-making power back to women, doesn't it?
6
I recently read a poll that showed that if the electorate was limited to educated white men (essentially the democracy our founding fathers envisioned), Trump would be well ahead of Clinton in spite of all he has done and said, which goes well beyond his misogyny.
He has spilled his hateful bile so far beyond any single boundary of decency that some of his most bigoted and inflammatory actions and statements are barely noted by the press.
I was appalled when he used the second debate to spread a lie about Muslims, suggesting that some had seen bombs in the apartment of the terrorist couple in S. CA and did not report it. This single lie, spoken to inflame religious hatred, should have been enough to exclude him from any consideration for the presidency. The Times fact checked it as a lie but it got very little media attention in the dust kicked up by his awful remarks about woman.
And yet the majority of even educated white men in this country would prefer him over Clinton? I am very ashamed of my demographic right now. One has to assume that a deeply embedded sexism is at play here. We have such a long ways to go as a nation, but electing Clinton would be an important step towards fully accepting women in leadership roles. Not just for sexual justice, but towards improving our governance.
He has spilled his hateful bile so far beyond any single boundary of decency that some of his most bigoted and inflammatory actions and statements are barely noted by the press.
I was appalled when he used the second debate to spread a lie about Muslims, suggesting that some had seen bombs in the apartment of the terrorist couple in S. CA and did not report it. This single lie, spoken to inflame religious hatred, should have been enough to exclude him from any consideration for the presidency. The Times fact checked it as a lie but it got very little media attention in the dust kicked up by his awful remarks about woman.
And yet the majority of even educated white men in this country would prefer him over Clinton? I am very ashamed of my demographic right now. One has to assume that a deeply embedded sexism is at play here. We have such a long ways to go as a nation, but electing Clinton would be an important step towards fully accepting women in leadership roles. Not just for sexual justice, but towards improving our governance.
91
I"t’s an open question whether the election of the first female president would prompt an even more blatant and toxic display of sexism, as the election of the first black president forced American racism even more to the surface."
There is no question -- the backlash of misogyny and sexism and hostility towards women will happen. So let's be ready -- let's be the active women, partners, and parents that Susan Chira outlines in this article.
There is no question -- the backlash of misogyny and sexism and hostility towards women will happen. So let's be ready -- let's be the active women, partners, and parents that Susan Chira outlines in this article.
43
I was listening to NPR yesterday and a woman reporter was interviewing a man who called Hillary Clinton a hag. The reporter was shocked that someone would give their name and say that on a national broadcast. Sadly we are probably in for a lot more of that.
5
Yes, what a victory it all is. I am more concerned with what happens next, when the real problems of the country and the world, which have scarcely been discussed with any substance this entire election, will finally need to again be faced by us all. But let us not allow that worry to spoil our reveling in righteous indignation and smug victory that will be going on until the next crisis hits.
2
Ah, but will it last. A significant % of the population believed that electing Obama meant the end of racism in America. Once Trump fades from the headlines, once our first female President is in the Oval Office, will folks believe that women have now won it all and have no where further to go? Will this awakening really change things or will it too pass as we fall back to business as usual?
Even women are not exempt from sexist treatment of other women. A group of most Republican women with whom I play Trivial Pursuit from time to time falls into a full on critique of Hillary - not of her stances or experience, but of her pant suits, her "big a**" her "piano legs," and her hair styles. When I point out to them that in demeaning her they demean all women, they look at me like I had two heads.
Likewise, I have encountered many women who cannot understand why it infuriates me when men call me "Hon" or "dear" or "sweetie" (colleagues, or members of a church of which I am the pastor or a neighbor I barely know). I have been told that women like me "create the problem" because we simply refuse to understand that "that is just how men are. They don't mean anything by it." Real women, I am told, simply ignore it. If it bothers me, the problem is me, not the men... grrr!
Even women are not exempt from sexist treatment of other women. A group of most Republican women with whom I play Trivial Pursuit from time to time falls into a full on critique of Hillary - not of her stances or experience, but of her pant suits, her "big a**" her "piano legs," and her hair styles. When I point out to them that in demeaning her they demean all women, they look at me like I had two heads.
Likewise, I have encountered many women who cannot understand why it infuriates me when men call me "Hon" or "dear" or "sweetie" (colleagues, or members of a church of which I am the pastor or a neighbor I barely know). I have been told that women like me "create the problem" because we simply refuse to understand that "that is just how men are. They don't mean anything by it." Real women, I am told, simply ignore it. If it bothers me, the problem is me, not the men... grrr!
165
Obama's election brought the racists from beneath their rocks. Trump's candidacy has caused legions of deplorable people to expose themselves in public. Clinton's victory will cause whip those people to a frenzy, but we know who they are, and can put them in their place.
7
I am with you. Hon, dear, etc. demean us deeply. I once worked with a surgeon who called all women nurse and all men George.
1
"Even if their defense of women was based on outdated Victorian notions of chivalry, there was something about Mr. Trump’s unvarnished male entitlement, that droit du seigneur, that many Republican men could not stomach."
Trump hasn't changed the male-female dynamic in business, as in love, but he's sure peeled back the level of tacit control men have long claimed in being arbiters of female sexuality, intelligence, and strength.
I'm almost glad that Trump has got America talking about all this. And I'm very glad that Clinton has had a chance to show how she can easily dispatch a demagogue and a bigot in front of millions of people.
I've never considered myself a feminist except when it comes to pay and career advancement. And yet, Clinton's strength is a source of great admiration. The old saw about women having more to prove, more to work on, a higher level to reach in order to convince people they're up to the job is slowly crumbling.
But it won't be totally obliterated until both sexes are judged equally on a level playing field-- in other words, when one's sex ceases to be a factor in evaluating one's ability to do the job.
Trump hasn't changed the male-female dynamic in business, as in love, but he's sure peeled back the level of tacit control men have long claimed in being arbiters of female sexuality, intelligence, and strength.
I'm almost glad that Trump has got America talking about all this. And I'm very glad that Clinton has had a chance to show how she can easily dispatch a demagogue and a bigot in front of millions of people.
I've never considered myself a feminist except when it comes to pay and career advancement. And yet, Clinton's strength is a source of great admiration. The old saw about women having more to prove, more to work on, a higher level to reach in order to convince people they're up to the job is slowly crumbling.
But it won't be totally obliterated until both sexes are judged equally on a level playing field-- in other words, when one's sex ceases to be a factor in evaluating one's ability to do the job.
87
There is already an article on the topic of greater recognition of low level verbal and physical abuse of women in today's paper. Does the NYT have anything else to write about? I suggest not falling for the click bait.
5
Considering the decades of silence before, two articles in one day is not really out of balance.
6
Personally, the whole paper could be on this issue and there'd still be more to say when it comes to fully acknowledging women's reality....
4
Female voters will terminate the resulf of Nov. 8th. The grope scandals hurls a heavy blow to Trump. With more and more Republican-tilted women leaning toward the Democratic side, Republican will cost a general voting for Trump’s nastry demeaner. The more self-defendedness the Trump side oozes, the less women voters will choose them. American people will choose a stronger women president than Obama, who has weakened American’s world police role, and Clinton’s coming presidency will add more pressure on China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. i ineluctablly feel a new wave of thunderstorm is on the way of buffeting world politics.
5
Well, someone who sees Ms. Clinton as a strong person. I agree. I like my Presidents strong and also smart. President Obama is an example that a President can be strong yet indeed has "weakened America's world police role." Just because Clinton is a strong woman, it doesn't mean she is out to have America be the world's policeman. Why? She is also smart.
3
New York Times' Susan Chira writes that every woman who ever wondered if she was pretty enough was wounded when Trump "talks about a woman being a 10 or a 4, when he says 'look at her' as a way to deny a groping accusation."
.
Susan, it appears you accuse women of suffering from extreme-low-self-esteem when you claim they are “wounded” whenever a man either verbally or physically expresses his attraction to women or lack thereof. Furthermore, it seems you accuse "every woman" of wondering if she is “pretty enough” to be groped or to be rated a 10.
.
Can you see how easily someone is insulted when, surely, it was not your intention to do so?
.
Please issue an apology for insulting women when you wrote the following sentence, which I quote:
.
“When he talks about a woman being a 10 or a 4, when he says ‘look at her’ as a way to deny a groping accusation, he wounds every woman who ever wondered if she was pretty enough.”
.
Thank you.
.
.
Susan, it appears you accuse women of suffering from extreme-low-self-esteem when you claim they are “wounded” whenever a man either verbally or physically expresses his attraction to women or lack thereof. Furthermore, it seems you accuse "every woman" of wondering if she is “pretty enough” to be groped or to be rated a 10.
.
Can you see how easily someone is insulted when, surely, it was not your intention to do so?
.
Please issue an apology for insulting women when you wrote the following sentence, which I quote:
.
“When he talks about a woman being a 10 or a 4, when he says ‘look at her’ as a way to deny a groping accusation, he wounds every woman who ever wondered if she was pretty enough.”
.
Thank you.
.
13
The author is pretty clearly referring to the fact that women in our society are frequently made to feel like their value and worth is directly related to how physically attractive they are to others. Some women struggle with this more than others, and yes, that is exacerbated when a presidential candidate ranks women numerically according to their attractiveness, and publicly states that allegations of sexual harassment and assault should only be taken seriously when they come from beautiful women.
Of course no woman wonders, "Am I pretty enough to be groped?" But plenty have wondered, "If I tell people what he did to me, will they even believe it? Or will they laugh because a guy like him seems out of my league?"
Of course no woman wonders, "Am I pretty enough to be groped?" But plenty have wondered, "If I tell people what he did to me, will they even believe it? Or will they laugh because a guy like him seems out of my league?"
18
Well put. But I wouldn't expect this partisan piece to conform to common sense or logic: its only goal is to preach to the choir; those already willing to vote for HRC simply because she's a woman. It also serves to feed the daily Trump-bashing we've become accustomed to, and to try to distract from the shocking revelations about HRC's campaign. Nothing new.
Learn to read. She didn't day every woman wonders, she said every woman *who* wonders, clearly implying is not every woman. And of course they're not wondering if they're pretty enough "to be groped." That's just dumb.
7
Yes, thank you donald. I was hoping you would lead the Republicans to defeat and give humanity a fighting chance for victory. We've got a better chance now. Thanks.
20
I have several times aired my suspicion in my comments that Donald Trump is secretly working for the benefit of the Democrats, - as no sane man would intentionally wage a campaign the way he has done -, but I have never (yet) considered this theory.
I think the point of this ariicle supports my view.
I think the point of this ariicle supports my view.
8
Yes!
Women need to prove that this jerk Donald J. Trump who is unbelievably comfortable dehumanizing women cannot be elected president! (also hi constant dehumanization of POC, Muslim-Americans, immigrants.....)
Come on sisters! I know you can do it! If only women voted, Secretary Clinton would win in a 470+ electoral vote landslide.
Let's make this happen. We are the most powerful voting block in this country. Let's make "Women voters defeat Donald Trump in a Landslide!" the biggest news story this year.
Men, please get on board. We welcome your help. But we're going to make Hillary Clinton the next president - with or without you!
Women need to prove that this jerk Donald J. Trump who is unbelievably comfortable dehumanizing women cannot be elected president! (also hi constant dehumanization of POC, Muslim-Americans, immigrants.....)
Come on sisters! I know you can do it! If only women voted, Secretary Clinton would win in a 470+ electoral vote landslide.
Let's make this happen. We are the most powerful voting block in this country. Let's make "Women voters defeat Donald Trump in a Landslide!" the biggest news story this year.
Men, please get on board. We welcome your help. But we're going to make Hillary Clinton the next president - with or without you!
68
Problem #1: Women are their own worst enemies, so don't expect your exhortation to succeed.
Problem #2: If HRC becomes our next president, things will get worse for women, just as they did for African Americans when Obama became president. Very likely, domestic violence will increase, harassment at the workplace will increase and the secret society of women haters will have to open new chapters throughout the country to handle increased membership.
Having said that, I will vote for HRC.
Problem #2: If HRC becomes our next president, things will get worse for women, just as they did for African Americans when Obama became president. Very likely, domestic violence will increase, harassment at the workplace will increase and the secret society of women haters will have to open new chapters throughout the country to handle increased membership.
Having said that, I will vote for HRC.
He will go down as a feminist villain: the classic perpetrator, the text book narcissist, a serial grouper with the denials/put downs/and excuses that attempt to diminish his assaults but only damage his victims again as he attacks their worth--measured in his physical fantasies.
He is the lone wolf, difficult to stop. Calculating his chances and opportunity, he is bold to use public and private ventures as cover for his crimes. His was no secret life, but part of his public personna. He quoted tabloid copy to women about his prowess; he was sneaky and silent; he was brutal and overpowering; in every case, he thought he was entitled and he could get away ("they let you").
Even now, he cannot see his crime or shame. He cannot see the horrificness of his public bashing of his victims in sexual terms; he is a cruel misogynist. His single dimensional thinking has done multi-dimensional damage to women, as he proclaimed their silence and their bleeding (furthering stereotypes), admitted peeking at nude teenagers (lewd and sick), and blocks the reports of friends/family/and co-workers (who refute his lies). He does not understand why his thinking and actions disqualify him for President.
His filth and chronic sadism is not fit for high office. Voters--women and men--will not let him get away.
He is the lone wolf, difficult to stop. Calculating his chances and opportunity, he is bold to use public and private ventures as cover for his crimes. His was no secret life, but part of his public personna. He quoted tabloid copy to women about his prowess; he was sneaky and silent; he was brutal and overpowering; in every case, he thought he was entitled and he could get away ("they let you").
Even now, he cannot see his crime or shame. He cannot see the horrificness of his public bashing of his victims in sexual terms; he is a cruel misogynist. His single dimensional thinking has done multi-dimensional damage to women, as he proclaimed their silence and their bleeding (furthering stereotypes), admitted peeking at nude teenagers (lewd and sick), and blocks the reports of friends/family/and co-workers (who refute his lies). He does not understand why his thinking and actions disqualify him for President.
His filth and chronic sadism is not fit for high office. Voters--women and men--will not let him get away.
49
The good news is women are talking about it and sharing our awful experiences with the men in our lives. No more shame, no more I asked for it. Perhaps there is hope for the future.
310
Sometimes you need a good contrast to see the truth
1
Some of you remember the famous American columnist Art Buchwald. He may have written for this paper. He frequently wrote about his experiences in the Marine Corps. One column he wrote was about standing guard duty in the pouring rain when a Gunny Sergeant (a Marine non-commissioned officer) who would have outranked him pushed him into a corner and forcibly tried to kiss him. A male Gunny. Art was outraged! He was apoplectic! He was insulted and felt demeaned and degraded! He was disgusted! I remember just shaking my head and realizing that men have no idea what it's like to be a women. No idea.
65
Most people are sick of him and his issues.
21
The article states: "When he talks about a woman being a 10 or a 4, when he says “look at her” as a way to deny a groping accusation, he wounds every woman who ever wondered if she was pretty enough." Seriously? It's important to raise daughters to know that "pretty enough" is in no way a measure of her worth.
23
Yes, that is very important, and possibly easier said than done. If you aren't pretty enough, men might think they can assault you in private and insult you in public if you dare to complain, and get away with it. Because you weren't pretty enough to merit his attention, even though somehow you did.
4
It's like a revival of the same women's strength when women got their own boat to go out to celebrate the Statue of Liberty when only men were invited, and away they went!
Yes, in a weird sort of way, Donald Trump has been a liberating force.
Yes, in a weird sort of way, Donald Trump has been a liberating force.
14
I'm voting for NASTY!
38
Trump's repugnant words and behavior have prompted women to open up to people they're close to about their experiences with sexual harassment, verbal and physical assault, and other forms of sexism. The quality of listening and caring seem to be high. It's been great to see and hear about.
But before we celebrate this as a shiny silver lining, people who see Trump as the appalling problem that he is need to get out and vote and make sure Trump does not win this election.
But before we celebrate this as a shiny silver lining, people who see Trump as the appalling problem that he is need to get out and vote and make sure Trump does not win this election.
25
Donald J Trump is a magnet for misandrists. That is the only conclusion I have been able to state with conviction.
All other adjectives fail me. Sorry.
"Hateful, truthful, idiotic, prescient, entertaining, frightening, smart, dumb, foreboding, ridiculous, amazing, boring"......or all of the above?
You got me. I defer to the rest of the world, but not just the misandrists and their male minions.
http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/women-to-trump-hands-off?articleId=U...
All other adjectives fail me. Sorry.
"Hateful, truthful, idiotic, prescient, entertaining, frightening, smart, dumb, foreboding, ridiculous, amazing, boring"......or all of the above?
You got me. I defer to the rest of the world, but not just the misandrists and their male minions.
http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/women-to-trump-hands-off?articleId=U...
9
Americans want change. Trump is supposed to be the candidate of change, the political outsider who comes to rile up the status quo. Then the career politician, Clinton, criticized for her lack of message, inspiration. This could not be more wrong.
The astonishing irony is that it’s Clinton who is the agent of change. Here we have a man and a woman of approx. same age, who grew up in the same time in America; who witnessed the same social changes, the same wars, the same economic upheavals.
Trump chose a traditional male path, richly underwritten by dad. Clinton started with little and forged her path through the thicket of sexism. As a young woman, she believed in herself in a way that was not open to females. She became a lawyer when law school classes had only 4% women. On graduation she chose not the golden ring corporate job, but public service working for children’s rights. As first lady, she tried to do substantive work, to use her skills to make a difference. She made sure the world knew that women’s rights are human rights. The list goes on and on.
She has never backed down. She remains undaunted.
Then we have the old-school sexist man, literally a groper, who hearkens back to a time when men felt entitled to use women. Contrast that with a woman who has defied gender stereotypes; who asserts herself; who insists that all women take control of their bodies and their lives; who insists that women deserve the respect and rights all human beings do.
I'm with her.
The astonishing irony is that it’s Clinton who is the agent of change. Here we have a man and a woman of approx. same age, who grew up in the same time in America; who witnessed the same social changes, the same wars, the same economic upheavals.
Trump chose a traditional male path, richly underwritten by dad. Clinton started with little and forged her path through the thicket of sexism. As a young woman, she believed in herself in a way that was not open to females. She became a lawyer when law school classes had only 4% women. On graduation she chose not the golden ring corporate job, but public service working for children’s rights. As first lady, she tried to do substantive work, to use her skills to make a difference. She made sure the world knew that women’s rights are human rights. The list goes on and on.
She has never backed down. She remains undaunted.
Then we have the old-school sexist man, literally a groper, who hearkens back to a time when men felt entitled to use women. Contrast that with a woman who has defied gender stereotypes; who asserts herself; who insists that all women take control of their bodies and their lives; who insists that women deserve the respect and rights all human beings do.
I'm with her.
194
What has Donald Trump done for women? He has made us angry, but he has also, most importantly, made us unwilling not to speak out when we are very subtly bullied, quietly humiliated or made fun of, in front of others, being told it was "all in fun" and we need to have a "sense of humor."
As Hillary has found her voice in this election, so have the women of America, and the men who love and support them. The men who are raising daughters to be strong women will now stand with Hillary, against all those creeps who excuse their crude behaviors with the excuse that "boys will be boys." How ironic is it that Melania finally revealed what so many of us knew? She has two ten year old "boys" that she is raising in Trump Tower - thank God neither of them will be our next president.
As Hillary has found her voice in this election, so have the women of America, and the men who love and support them. The men who are raising daughters to be strong women will now stand with Hillary, against all those creeps who excuse their crude behaviors with the excuse that "boys will be boys." How ironic is it that Melania finally revealed what so many of us knew? She has two ten year old "boys" that she is raising in Trump Tower - thank God neither of them will be our next president.
44
We also need the parents raising boys to teach them to understand their urges and channel those urges in a healthy positive and loving fashion, and to instill in them the character to respect girls and women (as well as respect others who are different from them, and I think respect other living things in general?), and behave like responsible people.
7
Donald J. Trump has disgusted me as a human from day one. His misogynistic comments and dismissive attitude towards women, talking over Hillary, acting as if her intelligence, preparation and integrity did not matter (in fact, trying to use that against her) brought up so many memories of a former abusive boss that I was unable to watch the 3rd debate. The horrible feeling in the gut that Michelle Obama talked about was with me for days and I felt I was reliving the degradation. I will be so happy to send this man back to reality tv where I can change the station and hopefully, not have to read about him every day in the NYT. You have glorified and promoted his garbage - you should cover train wrecks better after this.
57
If simply seeing a political candidate triggers memories so unbearable that it affects your behavior, you need therapy more than anything else. You also need to understand that Trump's attitude towards HRC during debates isn't about the imaginary "war on women" feminists harp on about, it's about a better usage of dialectics, every politician or debater on TV is trained at (Hillary as well). It isn't about polite conversation: it's about coming out of a debate victorious by using one's strengths, the opponent's weaknesses, loud speech, confusing and interrupting the adversary, and using an array of verbal, emotional, and physical tools to make the opponent seem wrong, confused, angry, or anything that might make her/him appear defeated, if not by arguments alone. They are both trained at dialectics, and they BOTH use the resource.
1
Chris - Vile hate speech isn't a sign of strength, it's the exact opposite. Only bullies and cowards resort to Trump's behavior.
8
Hillary Clinton IS a bad person. Let's all be honest......SHE'S NOT A GOOD PERSON. What's so offensive. She IS a nasty person. She IS a women. What do you guys want Trump to call her? A Nasty man? We're all becoming way too politically correct. That probably the biggest reason I'm voting for Trump.....the left is going nuts. Face it, you've become the intrusive, annoying and boring establishment.
6
Please step aside while the rest
of America marches into the future.
Whenever someone loudly decries "political correctness" as the source of such a serious and pervasive problem, you know they've got nothing useful to add to the conversation.
of America marches into the future.
Whenever someone loudly decries "political correctness" as the source of such a serious and pervasive problem, you know they've got nothing useful to add to the conversation.
10
Correction, Hillary is a human being. The hate machine against her started when she tried to keep her maiden name and (gasp) kept working after her husband won office in Arkansas.
It continued after her husband became president and went with him to Washington to work beside him, even daring to have an office near him in the West Wing.
After years of vile and abusive language thrown at her, I'm amazed she is not only still standing but has remained a human being , capable of creating enduring friendships and laughing at what life has tossed at her.
It continued after her husband became president and went with him to Washington to work beside him, even daring to have an office near him in the West Wing.
After years of vile and abusive language thrown at her, I'm amazed she is not only still standing but has remained a human being , capable of creating enduring friendships and laughing at what life has tossed at her.
12
What you call politically correct I call civilized. Senators refer to each other as 'the distinguished gentleman [or woman] from Michigan'.
There are rules of communication: when you have the floor, no one else can interrupt. There are rules of communication in every walk of life, and we choose whether we will abide by the rules or not.
Mr. Trump chooses not to follow the rules. This disqualifies him from participating. If he was playing golf in a tournament - you know, a formal setting - and picked up his ball from a sand trap and threw it onto the green, he would be DQ.
So, you and I are able to vote for whomever we choose: you want to vote for Trump, you can do that. I will be voting Clinton.
Have a wonderful life, Mr. Wilson.
There are rules of communication: when you have the floor, no one else can interrupt. There are rules of communication in every walk of life, and we choose whether we will abide by the rules or not.
Mr. Trump chooses not to follow the rules. This disqualifies him from participating. If he was playing golf in a tournament - you know, a formal setting - and picked up his ball from a sand trap and threw it onto the green, he would be DQ.
So, you and I are able to vote for whomever we choose: you want to vote for Trump, you can do that. I will be voting Clinton.
Have a wonderful life, Mr. Wilson.
9
Most men have as much in common with Donald Trump as most women have in common with Lucrezia Borgia or Lady Macbeth.
Chira opportunistically uses Trump to smear an entire sex. And Chira wonders why feminism is a dirty word.
Once upon a time, didn't feminists teach us that stereotyping was wrong?
Chira opportunistically uses Trump to smear an entire sex. And Chira wonders why feminism is a dirty word.
Once upon a time, didn't feminists teach us that stereotyping was wrong?
12
You miss the point. This does not smear an entire sex. It has simply opened a door for discussion, since many women have been victims of unwanted advances. We're saying it happens more frequently than good men would think.
"A man who prides himself on being a red-blooded embodiment of masculinity – with bodacious women there for the taking, big hands and more, political correctness be damned – has unleashed a wave of revulsion about that vision of manhood.
Men have begun asking themselves what they can do to intervene in cases of sexual harassment or denigration – how not to stand by silently. Mothers and fathers have been asking how to raise sons who do not act like this."
"A man who prides himself on being a red-blooded embodiment of masculinity – with bodacious women there for the taking, big hands and more, political correctness be damned – has unleashed a wave of revulsion about that vision of manhood.
Men have begun asking themselves what they can do to intervene in cases of sexual harassment or denigration – how not to stand by silently. Mothers and fathers have been asking how to raise sons who do not act like this."
13
You're right, it's not all men - millions of decent men live and breathe every day. But it is the experience of the majority of women. If you look at sex offender stats, for example, most of them offend many, many times. And let's not even talk about child molesters - remember the stories on priests who had molest hundreds of kids - one priest, over 100 kids?
5
No one has made the claim that all men are like Trump but there isn't a woman out there who hasn't had at least one encounter with someone like Trump.
6
Hearkens back to the good ol' days of Joe McCarthy. Then the slogan was "put a tail-gunner in Congress" Now it's put a sexual predator in the White House.
13
Do we live in an age of false equivalencies?
It is claimed that the women who have accused Donald Trump of sexually assaulting them are merely in a "he said-she said" situation with Mr. Trump. Reporters, commentators and Mr. Trump's defenders state or imply that the women's testimonies provide only circumstantial evidence against Mr. Trump and that his vehement denials constitute equally credible, countervailing evidence.
An example: Last Sunday on "Meet the Press", the GOP vice presidential candidate dismissed the charges against Mr. Trump as "unsubstantiated".
But at least some of the women, while still shaken by the alleged assaults, made near contemporaneous reports of the events to friends or partners. The friends and partners have corroborated that the women did so and that some of the women were in a state of tearful distress when they made their emotional statements.
Aren't these friends and partners bearing witness to "excited utterances" that have considerable evidentiary force?
Let us put legal niceties to the side. Even if their testimony does not fall strictly within the legal category of a reported excited utterance, shouldn't corroboration, by friends or partners, of the alleged victims' public claims be granted a high degree of common sense evidentiary force?
And isn't common sense the standard by which we judge the credibility of political candidates?
It is claimed that the women who have accused Donald Trump of sexually assaulting them are merely in a "he said-she said" situation with Mr. Trump. Reporters, commentators and Mr. Trump's defenders state or imply that the women's testimonies provide only circumstantial evidence against Mr. Trump and that his vehement denials constitute equally credible, countervailing evidence.
An example: Last Sunday on "Meet the Press", the GOP vice presidential candidate dismissed the charges against Mr. Trump as "unsubstantiated".
But at least some of the women, while still shaken by the alleged assaults, made near contemporaneous reports of the events to friends or partners. The friends and partners have corroborated that the women did so and that some of the women were in a state of tearful distress when they made their emotional statements.
Aren't these friends and partners bearing witness to "excited utterances" that have considerable evidentiary force?
Let us put legal niceties to the side. Even if their testimony does not fall strictly within the legal category of a reported excited utterance, shouldn't corroboration, by friends or partners, of the alleged victims' public claims be granted a high degree of common sense evidentiary force?
And isn't common sense the standard by which we judge the credibility of political candidates?
42
It's not as though Trump's piggish behavior and filthy mouth have been hidden away all these years: he's been on Howard Stern, in the tabloids, in Playboy interviews, pushing himself on the media and bragging about his alleged virility and 'swordsmanship' for decades.
Query why it comes as a sudden shock that he's every bit as horrid as he has been trumpeting that he is, lo these many years?
Query why it comes as a sudden shock that he's every bit as horrid as he has been trumpeting that he is, lo these many years?
298
Because people thought it was part of a show. And there is that boys-will-be-boys double standard that was applied to Trump all through his campaign.
People project their desires onto their favored candidates; they mentally sanitize them. Trump was continually being reinterpreted, his statements bent around with omissions and new aspects to create plausible meanings.
People project their desires onto their favored candidates; they mentally sanitize them. Trump was continually being reinterpreted, his statements bent around with omissions and new aspects to create plausible meanings.
6
Boys will be boys. But Trump is *supposed* to be a man.
Because such a Lout and Misogynist has the audacity to vie for the Presidency of the United States.
That role is so much bigger than such a small man as he could ever hope or be able to fill.
That role is so much bigger than such a small man as he could ever hope or be able to fill.
2
If The King Predator and Con Don taught women anything it's that it is time to DEMAND passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to our United States Constitution NOW!
Women should not have to depend on the good will of men, or anyone, to exercise their inalienable right - given to them by their creator - to choose what they do with their own bodies and lives. The very idea that women are somehow "less" than men is ludicrous and it is time to put and end to the institutionalization of it NOW!
Women should not have to depend on the good will of men, or anyone, to exercise their inalienable right - given to them by their creator - to choose what they do with their own bodies and lives. The very idea that women are somehow "less" than men is ludicrous and it is time to put and end to the institutionalization of it NOW!
259
"... to exercise their inalienable right - given to them by their creator - to choose what they do with their own bodies and lives" . We are in a civilized society having decent rules both written and unwritten. As long as wee are within those rules it is fine. If we cross, we become like animals. I hope Njglea meant to stay within rules
njglea, Reagan killed the ERA like he said he would, and many women elected him TWICE.
1
Allow me to propose a radically divergent thesis:
First: The psychological background:
What we think is our problem often is not our problem. Our real problem hurts so much that we cannot admit what it is so we displace it onto something else. Sometimes this is called neurotic displacement (Freud). Sometimes in cases of hysterical blindness a patient who cannot see complains to the doctor of trivial issues, such as a pain in her finger.
(Three Studies in Hysteria, Freud, 1899)
Applying the theory to Muslims and Americans:
In some Muslim nations, people brutally attack women if a small stretch of skin is showing. In these nations, they think their problem is female aggressiveness. This is their neurotic displacement. Their real problem is extreme male chauvinism and brutality toward women, but they can't bear to admit it so they conceal the truth by claiming that the opposite problem exists.
In America, we see the reverse: We complain incessantly about the subjugation of women, but men are oppressed. While Muslim nations may mutilate the genital of girls, we conduct unnecessary circumcisions on baby boys. (Maimonides thought this would chastise male aggression). We talk about the scourge of breast cancer all the time; we hardly address testicular cancer which is rising. Male psychotics, prisoners, homeless people and suicides outnumber their female counterparts by an enormous factor. 60 percent of college students are female. What about the boys.
First: The psychological background:
What we think is our problem often is not our problem. Our real problem hurts so much that we cannot admit what it is so we displace it onto something else. Sometimes this is called neurotic displacement (Freud). Sometimes in cases of hysterical blindness a patient who cannot see complains to the doctor of trivial issues, such as a pain in her finger.
(Three Studies in Hysteria, Freud, 1899)
Applying the theory to Muslims and Americans:
In some Muslim nations, people brutally attack women if a small stretch of skin is showing. In these nations, they think their problem is female aggressiveness. This is their neurotic displacement. Their real problem is extreme male chauvinism and brutality toward women, but they can't bear to admit it so they conceal the truth by claiming that the opposite problem exists.
In America, we see the reverse: We complain incessantly about the subjugation of women, but men are oppressed. While Muslim nations may mutilate the genital of girls, we conduct unnecessary circumcisions on baby boys. (Maimonides thought this would chastise male aggression). We talk about the scourge of breast cancer all the time; we hardly address testicular cancer which is rising. Male psychotics, prisoners, homeless people and suicides outnumber their female counterparts by an enormous factor. 60 percent of college students are female. What about the boys.
45
as they control the power in this world they wont be getting my tears
circumcision is now more about hygiene than anything else not like the mutalation of young girls to take away any enjoyment of the sexual act
circumcision is now more about hygiene than anything else not like the mutalation of young girls to take away any enjoyment of the sexual act
12
The boys are still on top. When they are not, let them cry.
10
What about 'em?
Here's my presidential progression dream: Obama, Clinton, and then a Latino president (other than Cruz or Rubio!).
The realization of this dream will surface and make evident to all, the racism against blacks, the denigration of women, and of course then the belittling of Hispanics that so often go on in our society.
And if President Clinton and the hoped for next Latino President can do even half as well, in terms of accomplishments, as President Obama has done, then the tsunami of disinformation and mischaracterization that President Obama has endured, ultimately will be swept aside, to focus on the magnificent actual accomplishments of our first African American President and the sure to be amazing accomplishments of our hoped for next first woman President, followed by those of our hoped for first Latino President.
I have a dream. That is it.
The realization of this dream will surface and make evident to all, the racism against blacks, the denigration of women, and of course then the belittling of Hispanics that so often go on in our society.
And if President Clinton and the hoped for next Latino President can do even half as well, in terms of accomplishments, as President Obama has done, then the tsunami of disinformation and mischaracterization that President Obama has endured, ultimately will be swept aside, to focus on the magnificent actual accomplishments of our first African American President and the sure to be amazing accomplishments of our hoped for next first woman President, followed by those of our hoped for first Latino President.
I have a dream. That is it.
231
My dream is the dismantling of the military-industrial complex.
10
Nice dream!
1
Yes. How I wish Secretary Clinton had chosen Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez as her running mate, setting him up as the eventual frontrunner for the Democratic nomination 8 years from now. Perez would be a great progressive choice for President.
1
My thoughts exactly. He's done us a great service by helping uncover the massive numbers of women haters in the country. It is what it is. We women should not be fooled into thinking all or most men support our success. No worries. We will continue to fight and be strengthened, and not become puffy and flabby as those with privilege tend to get.
140
You better go to your safe zone right now because reality is at your door.
"This was supposed to be an election where Hillary Clinton had to convince voters that a woman had the fitness and temperament to be president."
No, Ms. Chira. This was supposed to be an election where the best policies for our suffering planet, from the best qualified candidates, could be thoroughly discussed and vetted. Thanks to a media-buoyed Trump circus, we have heard little but scandal.
As a working-class single woman, I understand that the issue of how women are treated is critical. As a woman, I have to live and work less than a mile from where I was serially harrassed and groped in a service position. (Welcome to male-dominated Silicon Valley.) I want progress on this issue.
But it is not the only issue. Mass incarceration of African Americans, the question of our obligation to Syrian refugees, education, health care and climate change matter just as much to me, in fact more. While Trump is an obviously unacceptable alternative, I know few women my age who are voting for Hillary as anything other than "the lesser of two evils."
So, no, I am not "thanking Trump."
No, Ms. Chira. This was supposed to be an election where the best policies for our suffering planet, from the best qualified candidates, could be thoroughly discussed and vetted. Thanks to a media-buoyed Trump circus, we have heard little but scandal.
As a working-class single woman, I understand that the issue of how women are treated is critical. As a woman, I have to live and work less than a mile from where I was serially harrassed and groped in a service position. (Welcome to male-dominated Silicon Valley.) I want progress on this issue.
But it is not the only issue. Mass incarceration of African Americans, the question of our obligation to Syrian refugees, education, health care and climate change matter just as much to me, in fact more. While Trump is an obviously unacceptable alternative, I know few women my age who are voting for Hillary as anything other than "the lesser of two evils."
So, no, I am not "thanking Trump."
92
Well, I for one am not voting for Hillary Rodham Clinton as the lesser of two evils. First, there is only one evil in this race: DJT. Second, she is highly qualified, eminently experienced, empathetic, and made an excellent choice of a vice presidential candidate in Tim Kaine. Plus, she has as great, hearty laugh.
55
b: Perhaps you need to meet more women across a broader range of experience. Clinton is decidedly not "the lesser of two evils." She is simply the most competent candidate against what one Republican last year referred to as "a deep bench of talent," and all that they could offer was Trump.
10
Well, Mr. Trump may be a reluctant gift, but he just keeps on giving. Who knows? Maybe he should end up on the twenty-dollar bill as America's proto-feminist, even though no self-respecting woman would rate him higher than a 2.
Look at him! They don't think so!
www.endthemadnessnow.org
Look at him! They don't think so!
www.endthemadnessnow.org
72
How about a minus-2. His appearance is frightful, his attitudes frightening.
7
For someone who is always rating how other people look, he has quite a bit of avoirdupois, cunningly disguised by the large business suits he wears.
I had to laugh seeing him at the Al Smith dinner looking like Humpty Dumpty in the unforgiving white tie outfit.
I had to laugh seeing him at the Al Smith dinner looking like Humpty Dumpty in the unforgiving white tie outfit.
4
There will be a backlash when she wins--count on it. Just as with Obama's election. But these are regressions like those that kids inevitably fall into just after (or during!) making substantial developmental progress. We are still a young nation--early adolescent, by European standards--and we've made substantial strides in equality. Much more to do, but the recent backlashes are the vigorous last gasps of our juvenilia as we move forward. A woman as president: think about that.
122
Real men do not treat women the way Trump treats women.
If he had assaulted my girlfriend as so many women have testified, I, like millions of American men and millions more around the world would have tracked him down and given him a couple of black eyes. Yes, I love Gandhi, but some times a real man is compelled to embrace their primal essence, not over a woman, but against another man. Body guards be damned.
He is a cowardly, egocentric fool who is getting his long overdue outing. He will be the big loser. Cry foul as the wuss that he is will surely do, he has been the perfect opponent for our first female President. And the perfect, ugly misogynist to shine the light on oppressed women around the world.
If he had assaulted my girlfriend as so many women have testified, I, like millions of American men and millions more around the world would have tracked him down and given him a couple of black eyes. Yes, I love Gandhi, but some times a real man is compelled to embrace their primal essence, not over a woman, but against another man. Body guards be damned.
He is a cowardly, egocentric fool who is getting his long overdue outing. He will be the big loser. Cry foul as the wuss that he is will surely do, he has been the perfect opponent for our first female President. And the perfect, ugly misogynist to shine the light on oppressed women around the world.
279
If he'd assaulted me, I wouldn't have needed a boyfriend. I'd have either kneed him or pressed charges.
9
Hmm. Might be better to train women in martial arts (and feminism) and let them deal out the black eyes, rather than relying on their boyfriends.
First place to punch Trump where it hurts? Ballot box.
First place to punch Trump where it hurts? Ballot box.
8
God bless his heart. Mr. Trump has made this election mostly about gender issues. Hillary has nerves of steel and refuses to quit. She has (YOUCH!) eviserated him!
204
Made the Donald impudent.
3
I am very sorry that Trump's earlier horrors didn't elicit the flood of response they deserved. But I am very grateful for the reactions of men and women to his bragging about sexual assault. I think the conversation has changed in an important and permanent way.
358
As to revealing the true Donald Trump, it took the media (which provided him the springboard to the nomination) to bring him down. His past offenses were not widely known outside of metro New York until he was on the national stage.
5
Trump's despicable on-the-job statements on the Access Hollywood bus (and his subsequent implausible denials) have driven us to a watershed moment not unlike the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas days. Trump has served as an excellent bad role model in myriad ways, but mostly as a misogynist. What's been going on is #notokay. Women are done putting up with these shenanigans. We will be putting Hillary in office in a few weeks, and I've already seen people calling out sexist behavior at work and in public. The tide is turning. Finally. Thanks, Donald.
302
If Anita Hill was such a "watershed," why do we still have much the same problems a quarter of a century later?
4
Yes, but in the Anita Hill / Clarence Thomas embroglio, the sexist pig won, and we are stuck with him until he dies. Times have changed.
7
Among other characteristics, the POTUS needs to be steady, tough and strong. And it was pretty obvious during the debates that there was only one candidate up on the stage who displayed those virtues.
497
Great article. Please, women of America, show up to vote and teach this boor a lesson.
647
I am a woman and would not vote for Donald Trump even if you set my hair on fire.
I am also proud to have raised a son who, a couple of weeks ago, convinced 13 out-of-state students (young men and women) to be heard at the ballot box. They were considering skipping this election because they hadn't registered in time to vote in their assigned college precinct. He had been talking politics with them for several weeks. He printed out absentee ballots for them and left them in their dorm rooms. He said he would pay to mail them in if they would just exercise their franchise, a right every American has only because so many fought and died for it.
While most were fans of Johnson or Stein, all 13 ended up voting for Hillary Clinton. Most of the ones who decided to vote said it wasn't really so much a vote for Clinton as a vote against someone as dangerous to democracy as Donald Trump. While I think a viable third party might some day rise, the stakes are too high in this election at this point to vote any other way.
I'm very proud of him.
I am also proud to have raised a son who, a couple of weeks ago, convinced 13 out-of-state students (young men and women) to be heard at the ballot box. They were considering skipping this election because they hadn't registered in time to vote in their assigned college precinct. He had been talking politics with them for several weeks. He printed out absentee ballots for them and left them in their dorm rooms. He said he would pay to mail them in if they would just exercise their franchise, a right every American has only because so many fought and died for it.
While most were fans of Johnson or Stein, all 13 ended up voting for Hillary Clinton. Most of the ones who decided to vote said it wasn't really so much a vote for Clinton as a vote against someone as dangerous to democracy as Donald Trump. While I think a viable third party might some day rise, the stakes are too high in this election at this point to vote any other way.
I'm very proud of him.
33
"Mrs. Clinton, who shied away in 2008 from the historic nature of her candidacy and was wary of presenting herself as an advocate for women, has changed course this time."
I think the main reason Mrs. Clinton didn't make a bigger deal about being a woman in 2008 is that she was running against Barack Obama, who had his own history-in-the-making as an African-American -- and who likewise didn't make his race a campaign focal point. But despite their not keeping gender/race front and center, everyone was nonetheless aware of what both of their candidacies meant.
This time finds her in different circumstances. Her opponent is derogatory towards women, and she stands up to him. But she also stands up for immigrants, Mexicans, Muslims, the Khan family and everyone else Trump denigrates. Unfortunately, because she's running against a human insult machine, she has a fantasy number of opportunities to stake out the high ground. And good for her for seizing them all.
That said, let's not thank Trump for any of this, any more than we would thank George Wallace for galvanizing us against racism by standing in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama. Trump proves daily that he's beneath our gratitude, and we already know what we stand for.
I think the main reason Mrs. Clinton didn't make a bigger deal about being a woman in 2008 is that she was running against Barack Obama, who had his own history-in-the-making as an African-American -- and who likewise didn't make his race a campaign focal point. But despite their not keeping gender/race front and center, everyone was nonetheless aware of what both of their candidacies meant.
This time finds her in different circumstances. Her opponent is derogatory towards women, and she stands up to him. But she also stands up for immigrants, Mexicans, Muslims, the Khan family and everyone else Trump denigrates. Unfortunately, because she's running against a human insult machine, she has a fantasy number of opportunities to stake out the high ground. And good for her for seizing them all.
That said, let's not thank Trump for any of this, any more than we would thank George Wallace for galvanizing us against racism by standing in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama. Trump proves daily that he's beneath our gratitude, and we already know what we stand for.
405
D Price: To your point, yes, but the writer was clearly being ironic when thanking Donald. "Human insult machine" is a great way to describe his cretinous behavior.
2
NYT,
You might want to go a bit easy on politicizing sexual abuse. By overdoing it, you are in danger of crying wolf, and hurting the real cause.
BTW, I wish you paid as much attention to gun violence as well (apart from one article today on the front page after a long time). Not much political ROI there, huh ?
You might want to go a bit easy on politicizing sexual abuse. By overdoing it, you are in danger of crying wolf, and hurting the real cause.
BTW, I wish you paid as much attention to gun violence as well (apart from one article today on the front page after a long time). Not much political ROI there, huh ?
16
Bhaskar: You seem to not appreciate how long women have suffered from their institutionalized treatment by cretins like Trump, and the disregard for their outcries in the past. Why shouldn't sexual abuse be politicized? Any type of systemic abuse should be politicized. And what is the real cause? Please explain.
It may come as a surprise, but mass shootings are much less of a problem in the NYC area because both New York State and New York City have strict gun control laws, and other states could take a page from our book if they really wanted to rein in gun violence.
It may come as a surprise, but mass shootings are much less of a problem in the NYC area because both New York State and New York City have strict gun control laws, and other states could take a page from our book if they really wanted to rein in gun violence.
10
@Miriam
I agree with you on the extent of abuse. And what we are reading are just reported ones, a tip of the iceberg.
Some articles and comments that profess to fight the abuse do so by denigrating and ridiculing men (not just Trump). If they keep doing that, it will start turning men (and women) off.
It must be seen as a fight together, not one for one gender at the cost of another. Sometimes I wonder if Michelle would have given a slightly different speech if she had a son and a daughter instead of both daughters.
You know what, here is an idea. Galvanize "women against guns", it will garner both genders around the cause and show the true power that women can achieve. Real, tangible, power.
I agree with you on the extent of abuse. And what we are reading are just reported ones, a tip of the iceberg.
Some articles and comments that profess to fight the abuse do so by denigrating and ridiculing men (not just Trump). If they keep doing that, it will start turning men (and women) off.
It must be seen as a fight together, not one for one gender at the cost of another. Sometimes I wonder if Michelle would have given a slightly different speech if she had a son and a daughter instead of both daughters.
You know what, here is an idea. Galvanize "women against guns", it will garner both genders around the cause and show the true power that women can achieve. Real, tangible, power.
We need to get Democrats in office to do anything about gun violence.
Vote Dem!
Vote Dem!
5
This piece supports the notion that women are not equal to men, but are the weaker sex. Interesting feminist take.
7
We are physically weaker. Our strength is between our ears. WE are not ruled by our emotions and our hormones.
13
No, it is recognizing that women have been subjugated by men. Not that women are weaker, but that women have been discriminated against.
25
Did we read the same article?
13
Nobody wants to be a clown. Donald John Trump is a clown and he is facing defections from men as well as women over his grotesque and totally unconvincing effort to masquerade as a male human being.
Dan Kravitz
Dan Kravitz
122
Speaking of clowns, I figured out this morning why there has been such an outbreak of clowns recently. It's because they now feel empowered since one of their own is running for President on the Republican ticket.
7
The Al Smith Effect . . .
Your comment is interesting, that this is the election where voters are considering whether the man in the race is too emotional, impulsive and unqualified for high office.
The other side of it is that his contact with Hillary at the Al Smith dinner seems to have changed his own attitude. Looking at him during the dinner, I think he saw how large, deep, and presidential Hillary was. And saw the contrast between her in that setting and his own limited contribution.
Her comment that it is not what you build but how many lives you touch seemed to register with him.
I think he is a bit more subdued today because he no longer minds if she wins—and even thinks she should.
Your comment is interesting, that this is the election where voters are considering whether the man in the race is too emotional, impulsive and unqualified for high office.
The other side of it is that his contact with Hillary at the Al Smith dinner seems to have changed his own attitude. Looking at him during the dinner, I think he saw how large, deep, and presidential Hillary was. And saw the contrast between her in that setting and his own limited contribution.
Her comment that it is not what you build but how many lives you touch seemed to register with him.
I think he is a bit more subdued today because he no longer minds if she wins—and even thinks she should.
110
Not likely.
5
You are a very kind person.
I try to practice Buddhism. My greatest goal and greatest disappointment is Compassion at the level I would like to achieve.
I am also a combat veteran of the war than the donald avoided because of his bone spurs (I have a serious congenital spinal defect, but still became an Airborne Infantry Officer who served in combat).
Donald Trump as a sentient being deserves the compassion and even pity of every voter in America. Donald Trump as a total fraud deserves the brutal ejection of every intelligent voter in America. Lots of people will still vote for him. The equation solves itself, doesn't it?
I try to practice Buddhism. My greatest goal and greatest disappointment is Compassion at the level I would like to achieve.
I am also a combat veteran of the war than the donald avoided because of his bone spurs (I have a serious congenital spinal defect, but still became an Airborne Infantry Officer who served in combat).
Donald Trump as a sentient being deserves the compassion and even pity of every voter in America. Donald Trump as a total fraud deserves the brutal ejection of every intelligent voter in America. Lots of people will still vote for him. The equation solves itself, doesn't it?
11
You're reading into his demeanor how you imagine you would feel in his situation. Meaning, you are showing normal human empathy. I don't think Trump has the insight, or the empathy, to in fact put himself in others' shoes - and certainly is unable to acknowledge to himself that she is right and that he has been wrong.
5
You could not script a more perfect contest to promote the awareness of feminism. The obscenity of Donald Trump's attitude toward women has gone further in a few months to awaken our society to the second class treatment of women in America than decades of heroic activism. Let's keep the ball rolling with Hillary and as many of her sisters as we can elect to political office,
555
It's a paradoxical truth that Trump (and I am assuming he will lose decisively) could go down as a sort of hero, not only for helping shine light on the horrendous problems of abuse but also for so altering the GOP that it may never again be able to bully us into the humiliating context of the Obama years, when a great Presidency was demeaned by the persistent and noxious performance of what has rightfully been called the Party of No. There may be other reasons to be glad that Trump was about. But these two seem to me to be equally important. Women would suffer mightily under a GOP regime that I devoutly hope Trump's shameful performance has put out of reach.
418
I wonder if Trump will take credit for bringing this issue to the forefront?
Stephen Rose, I hope you're right, but I don't see much contrition on the part of John McCain, who said he will be united with Republicans blocking HRC's Supreme Court nominations. Don't over estimate these men (Ryan, McConnell) who seem to lack anything resembling a moral core. There will have to be consequences and we need to make a lot of noise if we end up with a do-nothing, just-say-no Congress again.
7
Bravo Susan Chira, bravo! You have read my mind.
81
Not many people will go so far as to call Trump a fascist, but I am one of the few. If he is even aware of his own political philosophy, I would be much surprised. There is an old saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." The Republican Party hoped otherwise, but now they see in increasing numbers what a smuck Trump truly is.
My little ditty involving Mr. Trump runs as follows: Trump is chump; Trump is a smuck; Trump was born with silver plate in front of his face.
My little ditty involving Mr. Trump runs as follows: Trump is chump; Trump is a smuck; Trump was born with silver plate in front of his face.
5
Amen to this! While I doubt things will change drastically or overnight, this is the first time I can remember (I'm 50) that these issues have been acknowledged and debated widely without an underlying current of disdain and disbelief. Without dismissive eye-rolling or laughter. When I stop worrying about the people openly threatening to open up a can of the 2nd amendment on the majority of sane people in this country, I feel hope for the future!
198
Leaders do not lead but rather follow on the heels of their minions. They are figureheads who manifest the spirit of their people. Whether it is a dishonest warmongering bureaucrat or a greedy chauvinistic billionaire, the leaders merely manifest the character of their people.
21
What?
63
Sanders supporter?
27
True leaders do that lead usually with a vision and passion
which Hillary definitly does but you are correct about trump
He isnt anyone's idea of a leader .
you could characterize him as a cheerleader of hate, sexism and bigotry
which Hillary definitly does but you are correct about trump
He isnt anyone's idea of a leader .
you could characterize him as a cheerleader of hate, sexism and bigotry
8
saying, "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?"