2016 Presidential Election -Gender Issue

 

I have been through a turmoil of emotions in this election. I was stunned, flabbergasted, disgusted, sad; there were days when I felt discouraged and hopeless. 

Just a few more weeks and we will cast our vote, and the prospect of a notorious liar moving into the White House is looking more realistic than ever. America, including the American media, has allowed itself to be hypnotized over the past 18 months by a con artist. Donald Trump is the puppetmaster, and many of us don’t mind being his puppet.

Two big family names are in the ring, fighting against each other, but that’s not all. There is also the gender issue -and it’s a big one. I can see it because I am a woman and like so many of us, I experienced the same bias in my career. Not much has changed since the 80’s were when I started my career. You would think we have moved on but that’s  not true. The same double standard is still existing.

There is Mrs. Clinton, who has to apologize for every slip-up, no matter how minor, and any mistake she makes just refuse to go away.

Trump, meanwhile, lies and stirs up hatred, and it doesn’t harm him in the least. It even helps him which, of course, he understands, and he continues to operate free of any scruples.

The man, Donald Trump, uses course language and exhibits loutish behavior, he even talks about the size of his penis on TV and so many here find it funny. “He says what he thinks,” they say, and I find it scarier than anything. “This is what he thinks…really, that’s all?”

Hillary Clinton, the woman, is questioned about every step she takes. The man can look however he pleases. The woman’s hairstyle, pantsuits, and weight are always scrutinized and commented on. Imagine, purely theoretically, that the behavior were reversed in these two candidates and that Trump would be as particular as Clinton and Clinton as vulgar as Trump, then it becomes immediately apparent that Trump can only get away with acting as he likes because he is a white American man running against a woman.

Hillary Clinton is judged differently – without mercy. The bar is higher for her than it is for Donald Trump, simply because she’s a woman. Women in politics are expected to be both good leaders and good women, in the centuries-old, maternal sense. In other words, it’s a contradiction and an impossibility. How does a person come across as assertive and at the same time sweet and warm-hearted? A man can be cold and hard – that comes across as masculine. Clinton would be criticized for not smiling in a debate about terror and war.

Trump, the notorious liar, has branded Clinton, a serious politician, as a liar and there isn’t much she can do to defend herself or escape the absurdity of the situation because she does, in fact, have a weak flank. I would have attacked him -head on- right from the start, but I am not as nice as Mrs. Clinton. I would have given him a name that would have dismantled his position as well. “Pinocchio” or “Little Donald” should have done the trick. Mrs. Clinton, go in the next debate and gesture a growing nose when he speaks, it would be good for a laugh that we all need so badly.

Matt Lauer hosted the first debate, and he openly showed us how biased a journalist can be.

This is hardly fair, nor is it justified. Clinton is far more transparent than her opponent. She has released her tax returns whereas he has this far refused to do so and I wonder why? Would it show his business relations with some questionable countries? Would we see that he doesn’t have as much money as he makes us believe? Or maybe he just tries to hide the fact that he uses and abuses the system to avoid taxes? My guess is all of the above.

Mrs. Clinton has engaged in detailed discussions about the purpose and aims of the controversial Clinton Foundation, an organization that doesn’t have much to hide: It focuses on education, access to drinking water and other classic philanthropic pursuits. It has been demonstrated that 90 percent of the money donated to the foundation ends up being spent directly on the projects it supports and that the Clintons and the rest of the foundation board work on a volunteer basis.

Mr. Trump, by contrast, doesn’t talk about the Trump Foundation, which donates little and instead buys oil paintings depicting Donald Trump. He speaks even less about the Trump Organization, which funnels money around the world through a convoluted network of companies until it ultimately ends up in tax shelters. The potential for conflict of interest should he become president is evident.

The two actually shouldn’t be compared at all since they operate on entirely different planes. Clinton’s mistakes are orders of magnitude less significant than the lunacy that Trump serves up on a regular basis. And as a female candidate, her challenge is high enough already: After 43 male presidents, she would be the first woman in the White House.

It is also a question of culture. Trump is contemptuous of education, women, migration, diversity, the media and freedom of speech. He admires Russian President Vladimir Putin and wants to build walls. Clinton wants an America that is more tolerant and less obsessed with weapons. It is no surprise that all of America’s international partners hope that she wins.

I wouldn’t vote for Trump if I would be held at gunpoint.