With pussygate, Trump voters have finally found their breaking point

In the wake of Donald Trump’s most recently leaked sexual comments, I have seen my Facebook feed blow up with comments attacking the Republican nominee for his language. I have seen men declaring their disgust for Trump because they have wives and daughters. I have seen people comparing Trump’s comments to Bill Clinton’s past actions (this is a friendly reminder that, surprisingly, Hillary is not her husband).

But I have also seen these people post before about how they support Trump. Now, though, because they can see how this man will threaten their loved ones – their wives, their daughters – things have changed. Now there is proof of how Trump treats women, now he has said he can and will “grab them by the pussy”, now the world has hard evidence, people are finally starting to open their eyes.

Why has it taken so long? It’s not as if Trump has been playing the role of a happy-go-lucky all-American hero.

On June 16, 2015, Trump declared “[Mexicans] are bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” He later adjusted his statement to add not only Mexicans, but virtually all immigrants, are also killers. During a rally last November, Trump spoke of how he saw Muslims celebrating the falling of the towers on 9/11. He said he “watched in Jersey City, NJ, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down.” There is no evidence of this, whatsoever, but he continued on to later say he believes there should be a ban on all Muslim migration into the United States.

Trump also belittled John McCain – and virtually all prisoners of war – when he said: “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”

I have no words for when Trump mocked a disabled reporter during one of his rallies.

There are more comments, of course, in which Trump dehumanizes a person (remember Rosie O’Donnell?) or entire groups of people.

I had a history teacher once who told us people need a dramatic experience to shock them out of their apathy. Too many people have been apathetic throughout Trump’s campaign because his victims have little meaning to them. These people live in their perfect little words where everyone is the same. They did not care about the immigrants Trump spoke lies about. They did not care for the veterans Trump devalued with his comments toward McCain. They did not care for the disabled people who became the personal victims of Trump’s rally.

They did not care.

Why now, then? Because now, it applies to the people in their lives. It applies to the people in their perfect little lives, their wives and daughters. Why can you not feel for women if you do not have them sleeping in your house? How can you not see Trump’s character for what it is – ugly and cruel – until it touches upon the people in your life?

All of this brings me to my point: I am voting for Hillary Clinton. I cannot and will not vote for a man who puts so many people beneath him in order to feel big. Some may say I am only voting for Clinton because I do not want to vote for Trump. That isn’t true.

I agree with Clinton on her refugee and immigration policies. I agree with her that we should raise the minimum wage to make it a livable salary. I believe in tighter gun policies and reducing the interest rate for student loans. Like Clinton, I am pro-choice and support same-sex marriage. I believe insurance should cover birth control and that funding for Planned Parenthood is a necessity.

This election is not simply about these policies, though. This election is about having to live with yourself if you elect a sexist, racist, misogynistic pedophile to office. This election is about voting for the greater good – even if your family falls within Trump’s favored sector.

Clinton is not perfect, but few people are. These are the candidates we nominated over the past year, and one of them will run this country for the next four years. I am asking you to look at the bigger picture before you vote.

I’m with her, and I will not apologize for it.