Wednesday, October 12, 2016

First off; I’d like to apologize if I offend anyone with my blog as I do not intend to try to. This is just an area I’m rather passionate about. I’m not trying to tear down anyone. Also, before saying that just because I don’t like Trump, I must support Hillary; that is also not true. We’re screwed either way. I’ve also included links at the bottom of my blog in case you would like to fact check me or are interested in what happened and what was said.

Over this past weekend, a video was released of republican presidential candidate Donald Trump making lewd comments about women in 2005 while doing an interview with Billy Bush. Some of these comments included, “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful-I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait’ and ‘Grab them by the pussy, you can do anything.’ (The Huffington Post, 2016).  During the second presidential debate this past Sunday, Trump was asked about the comments he had made. He stated that is was ‘locker room talk’ and then proceeded to talk about ISIS. One comment he made was, ‘But it’s locker room talk, and it’s one of those things. I will knock the hell out of ISIS (The New York Times, 2016). Before anyone begins to get upset about my blog and think, I’m not trying to tear down Trump. I’m simply showing the down play of these comments and how they perpetuate rape culture within our society. Yes, rape culture is a thing and this is a prime example of it. When these comments about just kissing women and grabbing them by the pussy, without consent I might add, are downplayed you are automatically sending a message to everyone saying that it’s okay to do so. That you are allowed to do what you want, especially if ‘you’re a star’. It’s the downplay of comments like these, that lead to people such as Brock Turner who considered raping a girl behind a dumpster as ’20 minutes of action.’ 

Throughout the book, March, you see derogatory terms that are used towards the African American population within society. Over this time, these words were used consistently, thus making it seem as those they were okay to use. You could go ahead and use them nonchalantly and everything would be great. It was also conditioned that these words were not a ‘big deal’ either. However, there is one other area of the 2005 video, which should also be addressed. Trump was not alone during the interview on the bus. He was accompanied by television host, and then Access Hollywood host Billy Bush. What happened to Billy Bush you ask? He has been suspended from the Today show (he hosts the third hour) pending further review and investigation of the comments that were made through this interview (USA Today, 2016). Bush was suspended, Trump is still running for president? There is a differential in the power status here, which also ties into March. The entire book is about the civil rights movement. Where one race believed or felt as though they were superior to another and could do anything, they got away with it as well. Although we may have come some way from the civil rights movement, we still have a power differential in our country. The richer you are, the more power you hold. You can do anything from make lewd comments about women to deleting emails, and nothing will come of it. However, if you did that as a ‘normal’ person, you would have a multitude of charges hoisted upon you. In the end, you have an increase of ‘power’ if you are Caucasian, rich or a presidential candidate.  
Links:

5 comments:

  1. I agree with you when you talk about how if you have power then it is ok to say certain things. When Trump said those things, people brushed it off and really didn't care and when he said I'm a celebrity so it doesn't matter, really upsets me. If a regular human being who is not a celebrity did that, he could be put into jail possibly. I like how you connected it with March. White people felt like they had control and when they attacked the African Americans at the sit-ins, they did nothing wrong at it helped the African American's part.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would have to agree with you in regards to this language not being ok and it is associated with the holding power. As we have learned in a lot of our classes, power allows a person to do a lot of things that would normally be considered inappropriate or shameful if it was done by someone who doesn’t have a lot of power. You are also right on how it connects to March, Book 1 with the derogatory language being okay to use because they were Caucasian people and had all of the power.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's stunning how, even after these videos were released, there are still people who support trump. Like, in my mind trump supporters are the super conservative, "don't you dare touch my daughter" kind of people, right? But, this man, the man they support for president, says these kinds of things about women, and yes, he would say this to your daughter... To your mother, to every woman in your family. So many children see his hate filled rhetoric, and they imitate it. Neither candidate is good for our country... we need a restart button.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The whole dismissal as "locker room talk" really makes me irate. Yeah maybe it is talk that would take place in a locker room, but in no way does that make it okay. The fact that "locker room talk" is even a genre of conversation speaks to the perpetuation of rape culture, as you said. I also really like your connections to the derogatory terms used in March. The words you use describe the thoughts you have. If you think your race is superior you use the n-word. If you think your gender is superior your "grab them by the p***y."

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really hate how the media likes to say "it's just locker room talk". Connecting this concept with March was genius, and I think you made fair points. I especially liked your picture as it makes a great point. It's amazing how Brock Turner and Donald Trump can actually be used as an example to enlighten people of what not to do.

    ReplyDelete