Monday, February 24, 2020

Remove Trump, the Sexual Predator


Introduction: This is not new news, nor is it terribly organized, but it's a list of many of the reasons to recognize that the reality is that Trump is most likely a deviant sexual predator...

According to polls, a majority of US citizens (and a large majority of US women) believe that Trump has likely sexually assaulted women... we believe the women who've made allegations against Trump more than we believe Trump. For those who support Trump generally, they tend to NOT believe the allegations, again, according to polls.

"58% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the allegations of sexual misconduct made by several women against Trump
Women (63%) are more likely than men (53%) to believe the allegations of sexual misconduct made against Trump.
Eighty-three percent (83%) of Democrats and
55% of voters not affiliated with either major party believe the women’s allegations,
compared to just 34% of Republicans."


And let me be clear: We who believe Trump likely has sexually assaulted women (and is likely a sexual predator) are NOT saying that he should be arrested and sent to jail because we believe he's a predator, regardless of any conviction. We still support the criminal process. But, there's a difference between thinking there's not sufficient evidence to bring a conviction versus believing he's trustworthy around women. Sometimes, there may be insufficient evidence to convict, but more than enough to be dubious and think, "I'm going to leave teen-aged girls alone with this man... and I do not trust him to run the country..." We don't have to have a conviction to not trust and find someone unfit.

"If multiple people have accused an elected official of sexual harassment or sexual assault,
66 percent of Americans say that official should resign,
while 24 percent say the official should not resign."


And I should be clear that I don't think that reasonable doubt should just pop up based on very little evidence.

But we don't have "very little" evidence about Trump's sexual predatory nature.

We have ~24 women who have accused him of sexual assault/rape/sexual misconduct.


We have a president who presents as having narcissistic behaviors and the data that shows that narcissistic males are more likely to engage in sexual assault/rape.


We have a president who is ON TAPE laughing about how he "moves on women" without waiting for permission and that he can "grab them by the [crotch]" and get away with it because of his power and position.

We have a president who went on radio and laughed and boasted about how he could use his power, wealth and position to force his way into a beauty pageant and ogle teen-aged girls getting dressed.

We have a president who has a history of speaking abusively towards women in the most vulgar, rape-y, misogynistic and oppressive terms.

We have the data that shows that such a sense of entitlement and privilege and power is a sign of a sexual predator.


Here are "four thinking patterns" of sexual predators...

"Four thinking patterns figure prominently in the commission of sexual offenses in the workplace.

The pursuit of power and control.  A critical part of the perpetrator’s self-image is being able to dominate others.  He proceeds to do this as he pursues whomever he finds attractive.

A sense of uniqueness. Everyone is unique – physically, psychologically, and experientially. But the person who engages in sexual harassment, assault, or rape considers himself one of a kind.  Part of this self-perception is his certainty that he is irresistible to women, the answer to every woman’s desires.  When it comes to right and wrong, he makes his own rules.

Deception. These individuals are often extremely intelligent, charismatic, and talented.  Even people who know them well cannot conceive that they are even capable of exploiting others sexually. Such predators are masters of deceit.

An ability to compartmentalize and shut off fear of consequences. Perpetrators of sexual harassment, assault, and rape know right from wrong.  They are fully aware of the potential consequences of being apprehended.  They have an uncanny ability to ignore them long enough to do what they want, all the while maintaining a sense of invincibility. They eliminate considerations of conscience behaving as they please without regard to emotional, physical, or other damage they might inflict. When they are unmasked, their chief regret is getting caught with little or no remorse for the victim.  Instead, they regard themselves as victims because of the unpalatable consequences they must face."
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inside-the-criminal-mind/201712/the-thinking-processes-sexual-predators

We can read this and see that these are characteristics of Trump (with the exception of being "extremely intelligent," something he gives no indication of being.)

In short, we have a huge amount of testimony, including the president's own words, which lead us inescapably to the conclusion that Trump is almost certainly a sexual predator, and an unrepentant one.

It is for this reason that over half the nation recognizes that, whatever you may think of his policies, he is fundamentally unfit for office. We've put up with this reality for over three years and it is sickening to people from across the political spectrum and around the world.

If you are someone who has been saying to yourself, "Well, he's never been CONVICTED of sexual assault... therefore, we MUST ASSUME he is innocent..." no, we do not have to force ourselves to ignore all these warning signs. Trump is a narcissistic, damaged human being who is almost certainly a sexual predator. We have no reason to assume that two dozen (plus??) women are making up these claims, made independently across several decades. This should make him unfit for office, period. There doesn't have to be any further discussion, he IS unfit for office. We cannot abide having sexual predators in office, even if they have policies you like.

Read these articles. Listen to expert testimony about sexual predators/rapists/men who sexually assault women. Trump is a stereotypical rapist/sexual predator type of person. Listen to the women who've accused him. Listen to his own vulgar, disgusting, perverted, misogynistic words.
It's time, US. It's time conservatives. Listen to your own preachers (like ultra-conservative Reverend Al Mohler, who has said that white evangelicals are destroying their reputation by supporting this sexual predator). This isn't something I'm making up as a liberal. It's not fake news. It's just the likely reality that Trump is a sexual predator who has managed to abuse women for years and get away with it only because of his wealth and privilege, which only makes it more perverse and disgusting.

Let's end the reign of this predator, decisively, conclusively. Vote him out for this reason, if nothing else.  

Friday, February 21, 2020

Listen to the Sunset

I watched the deer
watching me in the field
we were watching each other
and after a while
the mother deer said to me

"Watch the sky
listen to the sunset"
and they quit watching me


and turned their backs to me
and so I watched the sky and
I listened

Hearing nothing
I climbed up the hillside
to watch the sky a little longer
and I listened a little more closely

Soon, the sky turned 
from blue to yellow
to amber to gold
and then ever-darkening
shades of bronze
which finally gave over
to a deep, soft violet

I'm not sure if I ever heard
anything
and maybe that was the point

Thursday, February 13, 2020

The Disinformation President

The author of this The Atlantic article, McKay Coppins, is talking on NPR right now. Please, if you're conservative or progressive or somewhere in between, read this article. Trump is using strategies of disinformation that undermine the idea of facts and truth and ultimately, a free republic. Please read this article.

"The president’s reelection campaign was then in the midst of a multimillion-dollar ad blitz aimed at shaping Americans’ understanding of the recently launched impeachment proceedings. 

Thousands of micro-targeted ads had flooded the internet, portraying Trump as a heroic reformer cracking down on foreign corruption while Democrats plotted a coup. That this narrative bore little resemblance to reality seemed only to accelerate its spread. 

Right-wing websites amplified every claim. Pro-Trump forums teemed with conspiracy theories. An alternate information ecosystem was taking shape around the biggest news story in the country, and I wanted to see it from the inside."

Don't Be Deceived

Seriously, don't be deceived, don't be an idiot, don't buy a con from an inept con man and don't be part of the problem of giving a single bit of support to this man. He and his followers are, whether on purpose or not, part of the greatest threat our nation has faced since probably the Cold War. What is amazing to so many of us - no doubt, at least half the nation and most of the world - is why so very many people (~30-40% of the nation??) are buying into a con that is so obviously a con.

Make no mistake: Trump is a moron, he is not an intelligent man. This is something that is measurable, observable. He speaks like a very unintelligent person. But he is quite a genius when it comes to conning a certain subset of people... people who buy into ridiculously stupid misinformation when it plays into their fears and prejudices/biases (and here, I don't mean racial prejudices - although that certainly is part of it for some subset of that subset), but their cultural biases and prejudices. But how can SO many people be fooled by such a buffoon who, in addition to being a buffoon, is a generally awful human being?

Read the article. Open your eyes. Don't be deceived.

No comments are necessary, I'm not looking for conversation, just pointing to something that should be obvious.