I am a Democrat. I volunteered for several shifts at the recent Southwest Washington Fair. My first shift was Friday night from 6 to 8 p.m.
I had just arrived and greeted my fellow volunteers when a man came over with three other men and proceeded to put his arm around a cardboard cutout we had of Vice President and candidate for president Kamala Harris.
Then he showed us who he was.
He reached over and mimed grabbing Kamala’s vagina. I immediately told him that was disgusting and they left, laughing.
There is so much to unpack here. Let’s start with the fact that these men felt perfectly comfortable doing this in a crowded area where there were children. They think that sexual assault is funny. I guess that stands to reason, since the person they’re supporting for president has openly bragged about doing this very thing, albeit to an actual woman.
These kinds of people are promoting rape culture and that makes every woman less safe. I hear a lot of “boys will be boys” comments coming from Republicans, and I can promise that if one of the women in their lives were sexually assaulted, they would think very differently.
Over half of women (53%) report experiencing sexual violence. One quarter of women have experienced completed or attempted rape.
I’m going to issue a challenge to anyone who thinks I’m overreacting. Listen to women. Ask them about what it’s like to go through life always having to be worried about being assaulted.
Because this is a traumatizing experience, many women never talk about it, let alone report it. They also don’t talk about it because of the attitudes of the family, culture and society they live in. Because of this, the actual stats are much higher.
This is not a liberal or Democrat issue. It’s a human decency issue. I am going to stand with my sisters (and brothers, because this affects them also) and believe them and support them. I will call out misogynistic, hateful actions every single time. Not because I’m a liberal, but because I’m a decent human being.
To those men who did this: do better.
Leah Vanasse
Chehalis
