Today is a tale of tragedy for women.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s horrible news for many people. It’s heart breaking for LGBT people, it’s terrifying for immigrants, it’s dangerous for transgender people, it’s alarming for environmentalists and it’s catastrophic for peace keepers. But for women, it’s tragic.
Throughout this campaign, Donald Trump’s comments about women have been so offensive it’s almost comical. As the man continuously spewed hatred, misogyny and degrading comments, we watched on baffled that such a candidate be allowed run for office.
I admit I laughed in disbelief, I shared news about him ironically with face-in-hands monkey emoji, eye roll emoji and anger emoji. I did that in the naïve belief that others shared my distrust for this man, and assumed that the little monkey conveyed all my feelings of anger, confusion and sadness.
It never, for even a second, crossed my mind that a man so vile could be elected president.
Donald Trump, now the most influential man in the world is a creature whose every fibre of being supports rape culture and the oppression of women. The absolute worst element of the new POTUS is that he doesn’t even realise it. Trump does not see a distinction between rape culture and culture because to him, there is none. Trump views women as meat, as beauty pageant contestants, as things to grab by the pussy. In his eyes, a culture which supports the triumph of women, their education, their rights, need not exist.
When Donald Trump entered this race it was novel. We, across the pond, assumed that his opponent Hillary Clinton would seize the 2016 election, becoming, proudly, the first female president of the United States. We thought as much not because she was a woman, but because as a candidate, she had the experience, the knowledge and the ability to protect and represent the people of America. All of them too – not just the ones that add economic value. Not just the ones with a penis.
Many nightmares have been realised today with the fact that the majority of Americans support a man with so little experience, questionable morals and an abundance of hatred. It beggars belief.
But please, don’t take to emojis to share your anger. Don’t assume that those little animated faces of disbelief say enough about your resentment. Shout about your feelings, get angry, share content that proves what an absolute douchebag Trump is.
Don’t assume people will understand what you’re feeling.
Don’t assume people know how much of a tragedy it is because what we’ve seen this morning is that too many people don’t.
