Surprise! Men Called Me Whiny For Posting About Trump!
“You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful [women]— 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 pussy. You can do anything.” - Donald Trump, 2005
This afternoon, I posted on Facebook a simple status: “This is the darkest of days.” Donald Trump was about to be inaugurated as our 45th President, and I was filled with a strong feeling of dread. I am not the only one: about 200,000 women are expected at the Women’s March on January 21. Putting aside for a moment the blatant objectification of women that Trump has expressed on multiple occasions, the administration has also promised to do away with services and legislation that benefit women. For example, Trump has expressed a desire to overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal. Members of the administration and Congress have already begun proceedings to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which many women rely on for birth control and other services. This is in addition to the slew of race-baiting, scapegoating, and fear-mongering that are by now known to everyone.
Almost immediately, I received a reply from a Trump supporter. She informed me that the Trump presidency was God’s will and that I should, “... hang in there.”
Not only did she seem to need to be reminded that Donald Trump is not, in fact, God, she also used the ridiculous argument that God “...uses the despised for his good....” While utterly absurd, I cannot really feel too angry at her; she is a very religious woman, and it is her right to believe as she will.
However, that’s when the men started to chime in. First I was chided as being a whiner:
Basically I was told to roll over and deal with it. Or, perhaps I should, as Clayton Williams so eloquently stated, “...just relax and enjoy it.” Or maybe my body has ways of shutting this whole presidency down, as Todd Akin would say. (If that doesn’t work, I guess the presidency was not legitimate!) The fact that I said, “This is the darkest of days” upon the inauguration of this joke of a president automatically made me a whiny woman who just needs to calm my tits.
Another man decided that I was being too alarmist:
First and foremost, becoming.* Second of all, did he really earn the chance? He lost the popular vote by about 3 million votes. There are also rumors that Russia had something to do with the election, but I will wait for official word (if it ever comes) before I make any statements on that. Not only did he lose the popular vote, but he based his entire campaign on playing to the fears and bigotries of his conservative base. Raping, job-stealing Mexicans. Crime rates in the inner cities (although they are on the decline). Dangerous Muslims. He researched every racist, homophobic, misogynistic thought that his base had, and campaigned on it. And he won. Now he’s bringing this way of thinking to the White House. We are going to lose the progress that so many have fought and died for since the beginning of this nation. No. I will not give Donald Trump a chance.
“Whining won’t fix it.”
“Give the man a chance.”
These are far from the worst comments that people around the country have been receiving on the subject. However, it says a lot when men still feel that they can dictate how women should feel and act, and call them whiny and irrational when they stand up for themselves and express concern. I am expected to give a sexually abusive, manipulative man a chance. Rape culture is still around, and it just got a gigantic boost from the pussy-grabber-in-chief.
I shudder to think how long it will take us to get back the progress we are about to lose over the next four years.
