Time magazine just named “The Silence Breakers” as its 2017 Person of the Year.
I respect, admire, and empathize with these courageous survivors who have revealed their sexual abuse at the hands of men in positions of power. They’ve spoken out despite often being disbelieved, ridiculed, and threatened.
I confess that I’ve previously admired a few of the accused men (chiefly Al Franken). Almost all have apologized and faced the consequences. That doesn’t absolve them, but it’s a start.
Others, I’ve detested. They’ve denied everything despite mountains of evidence against them. Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore and Republican President Donald Trump are two such detestable deniers.
Moore was a terrible candidate even before he was accused of inappropriate sexual conduct with many young women and girls, ranging from aggressively pursuing “dates” with teenagers while in his 30s, to forced physical contact and kissing, to sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.
In normal times, these well-researched, credible accusations would be more than enough to force a candidate to withdraw. But these are not normal times. In Moore’s Alabama, too many people follow a confused, right-wing, patriarchal version of Christian Sharia mixed with hatred of basic journalism bolstered by Trump’s dishonest cries of “fake news.”
Moore’s opponent, Democrat Doug Jones, has a different history with young girls. As a prosecutor in the late 1990s, he convicted two KKK members who murdered four children in a 1963 Birmingham church bombing. As of this writing, Moore is ahead in most polls approaching the Dec. 12 election. Alabamians may just choose a Republican child abuser over a Democrat who jailed racist child murderers. Let that sink in.
Trump has now fully endorsed Moore’s Senate run. Like Moore, Trump has been accused multiple times. More than a dozen women have claimed that Trump grabbed, fondled, or kissed them without consent in a clear pattern of abusive behavior spanning decades.
Trump has even been accused of rape, once by his first wife Ivana in 1989 and once by a woman who claimed that Trump raped her at a party in 1994 when she was 13 and threatened to murder her and her family if she told anyone. Ivana eventually backtracked to say that Trump hadn’t raped her “in a literal or criminal sense,” whatever that means. The other accuser dropped her lawsuit against Trump just before the 2016 election because she received “numerous threats.”
Major media outlets have yet to question Trump about these incredibly disturbing rape accusations. It’s hard to imagine any other public figure being given a free pass in similar circumstances. So much for the “liberal media” that Trump loathes.
Trump has, of course, been recorded bragging about his abusive exploits. In the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, Trump speaks coarsely about “moving on” a married woman not long after his own wedding to current wife Melania. Revealing that this married woman rebuffed his advances, Trump then ridiculed her appearance, probably to assuage his wounded ego.
He then admitted to being “automatically attracted” and powerless to resist attractive women, even popping mints in case “I start kissing” ArianneZucker, the woman waiting to lead him through a television set. He described Zucker by saying, “Oh, it looks good,” referring to her with a pronoun that normal people use for an object rather than a human being.
And, of course, Trump uttered the words that should have ended his political career: “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the py.”
It’s astonishing that anyone could have voted for Trump after hearing him make these nauseating comments. To clear up any confusion, grabbing someone’s genitals without consent is sexual assault. For anyone who thinks it isn’t, try having a big, sweaty, aggressive jerk like Trump grab your crotch without your consent. Good luck not feeling assaulted.
Trump half-heartedly “apologized” when the tape was released. Then he tried to explain it away as “locker-room talk,” claiming that Bill Clinton had said and done far worse. Recent reports have noted that Trump claims the “Access Hollywood” tape is a fake — despite his previous admission and rationalizations. Billy Bush, the television host who shared this disgusting conversation with Trump, recently called out Trump’s delusion: “Of course he said it.”
In a previous act of delusion, Trump said before the election, “All of these liars (his accusers) will be sued after the election is over.” More than a year later, he hasn’t sued anyone. If he did, he’d have to testify under oath about his actions. He’d sooner drink bleach that be compelled by law to tell the truth.
Bill Clinton testified under oath about his sexual behavior, and he faced impeachment over his misguided attempt to downplay his affair with Monica Lewinski. What would happen if Trump testified under oath about his multiple instances of sexual misconduct? He’d lie, of course. His lies would make Clinton’s seem like a speck of dust compared to Trump’s Dumpster of dishonesty. Would the Republican-controlled Congress have the courage to impeach him for his lies? That’s unlikely.
Moore’s candidacy portends how sexual abuse will be handled moving forward. Will Republicans refuse consequences for their politicians’ crimes, as they have with Trump? Or will they inch toward calling these men to account, as Democrats have done?
Will we fall into the predator-enabling past or progress toward a future where women are treated as fully equal human beings?
One thing is certain: We’ll know the heart and mind of the Republican Party after Tuesday’s election in Alabama.
John Sheirer is an author and teacher who lives in Florence. His most recent book is “Donald Trump’s Top Secret Concession Speech.” Find him at JohnSheirer.com.