B19 wrote:
Daniel89 I think you might be, for whatever reason, in some very profound denial here. I see from other threads that you get why Roman Polanski is a criminal, so your denialism re Trump is puzzling to me. However, be that as it may, I think you can inadvertently illustrate something useful about denialism and how it is expressed by apologists.
In the dynamic of sexual objectification, and denialism, the other person is nothing other than a toy to be used. The target is depersonalised.. Nothing matters to the abuser other than how the victim’s body can be used to serve his narcissistic desires. Trump's history of intrusive voyeurism at the Miss Universe stuff is another perfect example.
Trump has a long, ugly history of objectifying and dehumanising women. He and Stern spent many hours judging women’s sexual appeal – and in fact, Stern told Trump that he was the world’s greatest judge of women’s beauty , because that was most of what they did together on the radio show.
One of his rape victims may have been a thirteen-year-old girl. There was an investigative report into Trump’s modeling agency that suggests that he has a thing about underage girls. Trump brags about this:
In one Twitter post, he wrote: “’You date girls young enough to be your daughter. That’s perverted.’ No, that’s talent.”
When his daughter Tiffany was a toddler, he commented on her breasts. He has repeatedly commented on his daughter Ivanka’s body, saying that he created her body, and that if she weren’t his daughter, he would date her. He has made creepy comments about wanting to kiss her all the time. (He actually reached for her behind at the Republican National Convention.) He also talked about her with Stern, who said she was a “piece of ass.”
If denialism is the first automatic response of the abuser's cadre, gaslighting is usually the close second.
Gaslighting is a tactic in which an abuser tries to deny the victim’s entire experience of events, making the survivor out as a liar, or acting in bad faith. As an abuser's tactic, it's a classic, and one Trump has often resorted to, as abusers do.
Trump’s so-called “apology” for the tape includes attempts at gaslighting – for example, when he says, “This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we’re facing today.” As if to say, “Why are you all making such a big deal out of this? It’s nothing.”
Notice the “but” – a tactic for making an apology not an apology.
ullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days.”
The third defence these creeps tend to use is the "others do too" response (hey, look over there!").
Many of his supporters do the same as if that justifies Trump's offending.
Trump uses another tactic well known to abusers: when confronted with his own misdeeds, he twists it around to make himself out to be the victim. Trump is an inveterate blame-shifter, and so are many of his apologists.
There are countless examples of this, not just in the realm of sexual assaults. When he was asked about the many small businesses that he stiffed while he built his business empire, he blamed the business owners. “Maybe they just didn’t do a good job,” he said. In other words, if he doesn’t pay his bill, it’s the supplier’s fau
Trying to debate with abuse denialists also runs a predictable course: you soon feel like the person you’re talking to hasn’t heard a word you say. They may continue banging away at the exact same line over and over, as if you haven’t even said anything.
Nevertheless, the hope remains that some light will seep through the cracks.
Roman Polanski is a convicted child rapist, Trump has not been convicted of anything that said I have no idea if he has ever raped or abused anyone in anyway I am not arguing that he hasn't merely that claiming his "grab her by the p****" comment was not an admission of sexual assault but a distasteful joke about how some women are willing to throw themselves at rich and famous men.
29 Oct 2017, 6:03 pm
