I thought that my last political post would have been the first and last words I had to say about the American 2016 Presidential campaign, but here I am, once again unable to keep my thoughts to myself.
OK, when I first heard that Donald Trump had used “Locker-Room talk”, I actually thought that someone was reporting on what he had said in the locker room! And even though I’m certainly no Trump fan, I found myself defending him against what I imagined was someone baiting a trap in the locker room to embarrass him.
Having spent 24 years in the Navy, I think I know what “Locker-Room Talk” means; men bragging about their (mostly imaginary) sexual exploits, discussing the various physical assets of women and rating them on a scale of 1-10. This is what I thought the controversy was about. And I thought it was just a silly trick. I hadn’t seen or heard the now infamous video of Trump, who was not in the locker room, but in a studio. And then I did see it.
In my estimation there are 2 kinds of “Locker-Room talk” ; The first, which I thought was what people were talking about Trump saying, and the 2nd which I will call “Junior High School Boys Locker-Room talk”. As we all know, 12-14 year old boys with the onset of puberty and raging hormones can be disgustingly crude. And their mental development is put on hold for those few years. Most of them grow out of it to become decent men. Donald Trump didn’t. Bragging about sexually assaulting women is still his idea of normal “Locker-Room talk”. Even his wife, defending him calls it “Boys will be Boys”. A perfect description of the man arrested at the age of a Junior-High boy, who if he becomes President has promised to put his opponent in jail.
So now, the Presidential Campaign of 2016 will forever be known as the “Locker-Room Campaign”. When one thinks of the great speeches of some past American Presidents and leaders, how can one compare “Ask not what your country can do for you” or “I have a dream” or even more recently “Yes we can” to what we are now subjected to: “Locker Room Talk”, hacking emails and constant accusations of sexual abuse and impropriety on the part of one of the candidates and against the other candidate’s husband.
But I suppose when you take into consideration the degradation of language (The F word has become used in normal conversation) and the lack of decency especially evident in today’s pop music; Compare the lyrics of The Platters (Heavenly shades of night are falling, it’s Twilight Time) to one of today’s popular group The Lonely Island (I just had sex And it felt so good (felt so good) A woman let me put my penis inside her (her)I just had sex (Hey!) perhaps many people might accept the “locker room” explanation. But even if you do, is this what you want in a President of the United States?
Donald Trump is not a Junior-High boy. He is 70 years old and as to his mental development, I’ll refrain from commenting other than to say the some people think he’s smart.
10 replies on “The Locker-Room Campaign”
Very eloquently put, agree 100% I certainly could say a lot on this campaign, but it has all been said. I hope the Grown ups is this country see the truth i it all
Nothing else to say. You’ve said it all!
I love it Mary! John and I were saying the same things on our walk yesterday. He was 59, not 13 when he said these things. Another great adjectival phrase about him, you alluded to, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT! That should be the name of the book, someone writes about him. You have written about it very well. Enjoyed he read!
Donald Trump is an embarrassment to our country and completely unfit to run for the office let alone occupy the Oval Office.
The icing on this horrible cake of a campaign is likely going to be that he will refuse to accept the outcome of the election when he loses- which he will.
He’s like the giant toddler who will knock everyone’s blocks over before leaving the playroom for his “time out”.
Ah yes Mary…it is disgusting…every day
You absolutely hit the nail on the head.
Thank’s, Mary.
Thanks Mary, I was astounded at his crude comments but deeply offended which he talked of just doing whatever he wanted being famouse. Unfortunately this attitude exists. Sad to see him actually tuning for President even more apauling to see how rabbid his followers Are
My thoughts were similar, Mary, arrested development–a quality that shows itself in his general temperament. And yes, the deterioration of language and decency is depressing. What worries me even more, and why I think our society is eroding so rapidly, is the reality that anyone and everyone can create news regardless of factual content. This was brought home to me by an incident this week in one of Leland’s classes–someone posted an article on a “news site” that an incident occurred in his class. The report was completely fictitious except for a kernel of truth–something the professor said about human origins. The report turned it into a racial confrontation, picked up by another “news” outlet, and commented on extensively. Yet it is completely fabricated! This is what scares me.
Yes, Eva. You’re right about the proliferation of “news”. With the instant world-wide communications now anyone can write anything and it will be believed by someone, somewhere in the world. I guess the answer to that is that you have to know and have confidence in the writer. I know every generation has been accused of going to “hell in a hand basket”, and I never wanted be become part of the generation that does the accusing. However, it’s the rapidity of the erosion that makes it so much more true now. Oh well, we just have to leave it to the young.
Mary and others,
All well said. Pray that with Hillary Clinton’s election to POTUS on Tuesday, 08NOV2016, that the U.S. Senate will be controlled by the Democrats as well. Hillary will need at least one branch of the U.S. Congress on her side to secure judicial, cabinet and administrative appointments for her first four year term. Filling the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court will be critical to ensuring that womens’, gay & lesbian and civil rights are guaranteed in the years ahead. We can expect that the Republican controlled U.S. House of Representatives will continue to be obstructionist as it has been the last six years under Barack Obama. Donald Trump only represents white angry men and religious Christian right wing women who recognize that they are losing political control of governmental institutions to the changing demographics of the United States (i.e. African Americans, Hispanics & Asians). Unfortunately, Donald Trump’s supporters still represent 40-45% of the U.S. population. However, that is changing. Finally, we can all blame Phyllis Shafley, a right wing Republican lawyer woman (who died this year) for killing the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in the late 1970s. Clearly, the right wing of the Republican Party and conservatives in general do NOT want to see a woman as POTUS. And, yet, women have led other nations in our life time (i.e. Margaret Thatcher and the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Indira Ghandi of India; Israel and Brazil to name a few.) I will get off my soap box now. If you have not already voted in this 2016 Presidential Election, DO SO BY 08NOV. The future of our country depends upon sane people like yourselves to be responsible for our present and future. Warmest regards and as always, a Ted Kennedy liberal