Catching up with emails in response to my recent article about
Trump and rape culture. SO MANY men, all saying the exact same damn thing, like broken, paternalistic mandroids:
Emily not once did you mention Bill Clinton in your article? Something to think about.
...
I was reading your column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel regarding the treatment of woman at the hands of rich and powerful men and I notice something that was conspicuously absent. There wasn’t any mention of former president Bill Clinton.
...
Didn't see Bill Clintons name even once in your column. It's really sad that liberal journalists can bring themselves to cover an issue from both sides.
...there are a lot of people who can't tell the difference between reporters and opinion columnists, y'all.
These entries go on, and on.
Let me put this simply:
- Bill Clinton is not currently running for president. Trump is.
- Trump is on tape bragging about committing sexual assault.
- Hillary Clinton is not personally responsible for any crimes her husband may have committed.
I will end on this incredibly on-point post made by a friend of a friend, because it should be the most important take away from all of this:
WE DON'T GET TO PICK WHICH VICTIMS WE BELIEVE BY WHICH CANDIDATE THEY SUPPORT
Liberal friends: you know what's not cool?
Posting a link to allegations of rape against Trump and then trying to
demonize Juanita Broaddrick et al for allegations against Bill Clinton.
You're not forensic investigators. You're not gonna blow holes in
decades-old rape cases, and you damn well shouldn't be trying.
Conservative friends: you know what's not cool? Defending Trump's
harassment and rape and misogyny by pointing out someone else did those
things, too. That doesn't make it ok! Two people doing rape just means
both people are horrible! Also unfair: making Hillary culpable for all
of her husband's sins. She certainly has things to answer for, but she
didn't rape anybody. Keep that in mind, please.
Oh, are there
inconsistencies in someone's story? Yeah, I bet if you ask me about my
rape you'll find inconsistencies in mine; it was years ago and, you
know, traumatic. Do these accusers have something to gain? Maybe, but I
can tell you as a fact that they probably suffer a lot more than they
gain by making up stories like this; look at the way all these women
have been dragged through the mud for decades. Rape has a false
reporting rate of about 4%, just like most other crimes. While it's
possible these stories are made up, it's very very very likely that they
are not, especially when so many women have come forward.
Listen
up, y'all: WE DON'T GET TO PICK WHICH VICTIMS WE BELIEVE BY WHICH
CANDIDATE THEY SUPPORT. If you want justice for rape victims (and you
damn well better) then you need to accept that even someone you support
might be a horrible person, even if this fact makes your decision making
suddenly very morally fraught and messy.
So if you are outraged
about Trump or Bill Clinton, that's good! It's good to be outraged about
people who molest, demean, assault, and otherwise abuse others. But
don't act like your opponent's accusers are all telling the truth while
the ones accusing your team are all liars. Every victim deserves
justice.