Boys will be boys?

I am having such a hard time believing the latest news out of the Republican candidate’s mouth. This is not a rant about politics – it IS a rant about what a politician said. My husband and I raised a son, and I hope we raised him to understand that a female is as important as a male is. A female is NOT an object to be used and abused at a male’s whim. A male’s feelings are just as important as a female’s feelings. The world does not owe anyone – including people who have managed to amass a lot of fame and fortune – anything. Some celebrities may think that their fame entitles them to talk about people, and grab people, at will,  but it does not – or at least it SHOULD not.

Calling this “locker room talk” and dismissing it as a “boys will be boys” thing is demeaning to the many, many good men and boys that are out there. I can’t think of any male in my circle who would think of making a comments like these, in a locker room or anywhere else. And maybe that’s because any male who made a comment like that would not be in my circle very long.

This is partly about the person who said this, but it is also partly about the bigger picture of what is going on right now. A boy/man who raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster is given a light sentence because why? Oh, right, these few moments of indiscretion should not ruin this talented athlete’s life – forget about what it did to the woman’s life. And the examples go on and on and on.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am mad as hell, and I would like this to stop. And making it stop starts with shutting down this kind of talk – the only reason this is a “boys will be boys” thing is because we let it be, and we let arrogant, rich people (and don’t get me wrong, I am NOT saying that all rich people are arrogant – the problem is not the money but rather the specific people) say that it is. I don’t have a solution for this, other than we have to continue to raise our sons to not be this way, and to raise our daughters to not buy into this.

How do we fix this? I am open to suggestions.

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