Trump's attacking Al Franken for not respecting women? What? Does this make any sense? Has my brain melted?
If you didn't know, Senator Al Franken has joined the many recently to face allegations of sexual misconduct. What did Al Franken do? While he was a comedian, Al Franken wrote a kiss into a sketch to entertain US troops deployed overseas in the Middle East. The woman he asked to perform this sketch with, Leeann Tweeden, wasn't comfortable with it, but went along, saying "I suspected what he was after, but I figured I could turn my head at the last minute, or put my hand over his mouth, to get more laughs from the crowd." Later he insisted they rehearse the kiss, and allegedly coerced Leeann Tweeden into it, despite her repeatedly saying no. He then allegedly grabbed the back of her head, and forced his tongue down her throat. Leeann Tweeden then pushed him away, and told him that if he ever did that again she "wouldn't be so nice". Later, on the flight home, someone took a picture of Al Franken making a grabby hand motion over Leeann Tweeden's bulletproof vest.
Likely the worst part of these accusations is the coercion. The coercion started the moment Al Franken asked Leeann Tweeden to be in the sketch. He likely should have made it clear that there would be a kiss in the sketch, and that she was free to say no. Al Franken was in a position of power as a popular comedian headlining the USO tour that Leeann Tweeden was on. If a famous comedian asked you to do a sketch with him, would you say no? The coercion then came to a head when he asked Leeann Tweeden to rehearse the kiss with him. He likely should have caught on that she wasn't comfortable with the kiss, and rewritten the sketch. Unfortunately, he did not, and instead insisted on them rehearsing the kiss, and then forced himself upon her.
The second part of the accusations aren't really in question, unless you're dumb enough to not realize that the face Al Franken was making was staged, as was his pose. He thought it was funny. This is more telling of a "rape culture", or more accurately, a change in societal viewpoints. People were raised thinking certain things were funny that are no longer socially acceptable. I seriously doubt that he actually grabbed her. He would have had to remove her vest to do so. He likely also wasn't trying to humiliate her. What he did do was violate her personal space, and use her unwillingly in a joke.
In steps Trump.
At 3AM this morning, Trump attacked Al Franken on twitter, calling him "Al Frankenstein", and asking where his hands were in the pictures that followed.
The reason I have decided to talk on this subject, and write this entire blog is the shear gall and hypocrisy of this. Not only has Trump still not addressed the allegations facing Roy Moore, who allegedly sexually assaulted minors, but he himself has faced multiple accusations of sexual assault. The Pussy Grabber in Chief really shouldn't call out someone else on actions of a nature that he himself has committed.
The accusations against Trump are numerous. He has faced multiple accusations of assault, rape, and has even been caught on tape saying that he assaults women. The accounts are so numerous that if I wanted to go through them this article likely would not come out until tomorrow. You can read a list of the women that have come forward that was tweeted by editor Judd Legum on October 9th though. It's covered in this post by the Advocate, "Editor Lists All the Women Who Said President Trump Sexually Assaulted Them".
Everyone has made mistakes in their life. Some people have done horrible atrocious things. Some people have acknowledged that what they have done was wrong, and apologized for it. Others have gone to jail for their actions, facing the consequences of living in a small cell, in a building full of other criminals, with limited privacy, and in danger of assault due to their surroundings. Then there's Trump. He has shown no signs of remorse. I'm not aware of him ever being arrested on any of these charges. He's managed to dodge every accusation like President Bush dodging a shoe.
While everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, Trump's actions show a pattern of abuse. The sheer number of accusers alone should make people question if the accusations are true. He should not be calling out Al Franken on his behavior. Al Franken will likely face consequences for his actions, and should seek the counsel of a psychologist, or other type of therapist, to work through these issues, in addition to the lawyer he likely has already obtained. Trump on the other hand, should likely be committed in a high security facility, and undergo extensive, and intensive, therapy.