“The measure of any society is how it treats their women and girls. I can’t believe that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women. This kind of violence and abuse and disrespect to women… This is not something that we just sweep under the rug as another disturbing footnote in a sad election season. The shameful comments about our bodies, the disrespect to our intellects, the belief that you can do anything to a woman. It’s cruel. The truth is it hurts. We are drowning in it.
All of us are doing what women have always done. We’re trying to keep our heads above water, just trying to get through it, trying to pretend that this doesn’t really bother us. Maybe we think that admitting how much it hurts makes us as women look weak. Maybe we’re afraid of being that vulnerable. Maybe we’ve grown accustomed to swallowing these emotions and staying quiet because we’ve seen that people often won’t take our word over his. Or maybe we don’t want to believe that there are still people our there who think so little of us as women. So many are treating this as just another day, as if our outrage is overblown. This is not normal. This is not politics as usual. This is disgraceful; it is not tolerable.
It doesn’t matter what party you belong to. None of us deserve this kind of abuse. This isn’t about politics. It’s about basic human decency. We cannot expose our children to this any longer, not for another minute, and let alone for four years. Now is the time for all of us to say enough is enough. If all of this is painful to us as grown women, what do you think this is doing to our children? What lessons do you think this is teaching to girls about their worth?
To dismiss this as ‘locker room talk’ is an insult to decent men. The men in my life are concerned about what this election is doing to our boys and men who are looking for role models. Strong men, men who are truly role models don’t need to put down women to feel powerful.
We need someone who is a united force, someone who will heal the wounds that divide us. I believe with all my heart that Hillary Clinton will be that president. When things get tough, she doesn’t complain. She doesn’t abandon ship. Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life. She is someone who has waited her turn and helped out while waiting! No one could be more qualified for this job than Hillary. We as Americans, we as decent human beings, can come together and declare that enough is enough. We need to recover from our shock and depression and we need to do what women do, we roll up our sleeves and get to work. We need to vote, we need to make calls. We cannot afford to be tired or turned off. On November 8, we have the opportunity to show our children that this country is big enough for us all, and that each of us is a precious part of this great American story and we are always stronger together. We reject hatred and fear. In difficult times we don't discard our highest ideals. That is who we are, and don't let anyone tell you differently!"
Here's a link to the video of the FLOTUS' Manchester, New Hampshire speech
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