I am going to try hard (REAL HARD) to make this my next to last post about Trump, Clinton and this election. I am going to stop asking friends (Facebook and otherwise) to defend anything that I could post regarding Trump as it has been pointed out to me that its not really fair. There are some folks who might otherwise engage in a debate except that debate or discussion on Facebook, even about important subjects such as this, can turn into an uncivil atmosphere that many don’t wish to wade into for such a debate for understandable reasons. I have had a few direct messages point this out to me and engage me in civil discussion and I appreciate it. The fact that these discussions get heated and uncivil at times (often?) doesn’t bother me too much, but it does (rightfully) bother many who otherwise would speak up. So I regret making any inferences to the fact no one (or not many) would come to one of my posts and defend Trump means no one is willing to do so. And by posting such “call outs” I do not further the conversation that needs to happen, I only ensure the atmosphere stays contemptuous. So no more of that and I apologize for making that mistaken assumption and making anyone feel pressured to be a part of what becomes uncivil discourse far too often.

But please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I am not backtracking on anything I have posted or stated in the past. To the contrary, after the video that surfaces last weekend I feel more strongly than ever that this vile man has no business being this close to becoming the leader of the free world and the President of the greatest (though flawed) country in the history of mankind.

To that end, I have thought of how to address the video (audio really) of Trump’s “locker room talk” that was released this past weekend. You all know what the video is, if you don’t you have had your head in the sand and have avoided it on purpose. What I will say is this: as someone who has spent more than half of my life living in locker rooms (sometimes literally) as a player (in high school and college), then as a college coach, this is NOT normal locker room talk. I understand most (all?) women don’t have any perspective on this as most (all?) have spent no time of substance in a male locker room. To that point, to women who have male friends telling them this is normal locker room behavior I say this: you need to get NEW DAMN FRIENDS. This is not normal locker room banter in any normal locker room I have been a part of. Further this would not be accepted and overlooked in any locker room I have been a part of. I have seen fights occur over less offensive statements and friendships rendered untenable over less. And any male who brushes off this talk as locker room talk, I do not want them anywhere near my mother or daughter in any way, shape or form. I am not OK with anyone grabbing any body part of my family members’ (male or female) without consent. Period. No gray area. And be advised that any such conduct made aware to me will be met with harsh consequences (take that however you please).

And please understand my issue with this video. Those who know me at all know that foul, bawdy, rough (whatever you want to call it) language is not an issue with me. I have argued frequently that words are words; its not the words themselves that give a sentence or idea meaning…it is the intent behind those words. For example, which sentence is more offensive to you and why? Sentence 1: The dog took a shit on the floor, I am so tired of picking his shit up, I wish he would take to potty training already. Sentence 2: I am going to beat the poop out of you…I don’t agree with any of your beliefs; your religion and politics are poop and you are not worth poop in my eyes as a result!

It seems obvious to me sentence #2 is most offensive. Poop and shit describe the same physical thing: excrement. The words themselves (to me) don’t change what it is describing. However the INTENT of sentence one (frustration with my dog for being slow to potty train) vs the INTENT of sentence #2 (physically harming someone solely because they believe something different that you) is not even remotely close. The intent makes the difference here, not the words. So, if Mr Trump had said “I don’t even wait. And when you are a star they let you do it. You can do anything…Grab them by the vagina. You can do anything.”…the sentence would not be any less horrific. Its not that he used the word “pussy” where I have inserted “vagina” that is the issue…and for those of you arguing that please stop. The word is not the problem. The intent of the entire statement is the issue. The idea that he believes “when you are a star” that “you can do anything” like “grab them by the pussy” is the heart of the matter. He is describing sexual assault. Point blank, clear as day, letter by letter, the definition of sexual (referencing female genetalia) assault (unwanted physical groping/grabbing). If you are not able to see the real issue here as I have described it, then I can’t help you beyond this. You either choose not to see the distinction (so as to be able to morally continue to support Trump) or you are intellectually incapable of understanding these simple concepts learned in grade school with regards to sentence structure and meaning. Either way, nothing I (or anyone else) can say will educate your ignorance at this point.

We are 27 days away from the election. I am well aware at this point nothing I say or do is going to change many (if any) minds. So I wrote this knowing that if just one person has their eyes opened where they were once closed regarding this most unpalatable choice we have before us, it is a great accomplishment. But I hold no illusions that simple words from a simple mind such as my own, will make any appreciable difference. To that end I will say that I do not love Mrs. Clinton and her past. I do not condone some things she has done or said in her past. And I do not agree with her entire platform. But thats ok. I have never 100% agreed with a Presidential candidate’s platform in the four previous elections in which I voted. But I have also not voted in an election where one candidate is an unsavory, career politician and the other is an existential threat to all we hold dear in this country.

This election is important. Our choices are not great. But only one candidate is on record gleefully describing to Billy Bush how he is able to get away with sexual assault. And only one has spent their entire adult life preparing for the possibility of one day holding this office. And while that lifetime spent means we have much evidence of things, actions and ideas about which we can disagree, she has at least been in the arena and doing what she thinks is right and good. So the choice for me is easy and also disappointing. Yes I wish we had a better choice but we have what we have. And as these are our only two viable choices, it quickly becomes an easy choice to me when the totality of evidence is viewed.