This ongoing story with Trump has brought up so many feeling for me. When I was 17 I enrolled in a theater class @ the local Community College. I was excited and motivated to learn about the lighting and sound system - a total boys club. Anyway, the head of the department put up a flyer looking for a 'motivated student for a special independent project'. I grabbed that flyer with naive enthusiasm, I never stopped to question why no one else wanted anything to do with it. I also never questioned his intentions when he wanted to meet in the theater after hours, when I knew no one else would be in the building. Now, yes I should have asked questions and I should have been suspicious but I was so excited to have an 'in' to learn about the lighting system it honestly never crossed my mind that his intentions would be gross. I meet him at the theater and there was a chair on the stage with a spotlight. He told me to sit and proceeded to take pictures of me, I felt weird and uncomfortable. I mentioned I wanted to leave and he told me that if I wanted to learn the lighting system I'd better do what I was told. More pictures and more bullying he eventually convinced me to take off my shirt. It was the first time I had taken my shirt off in front of anyone except my family or Dr. I was numb, embarrassed, ashamed and confused. How did I let that happen? Why didn't I just leave? Once the special project ended I left feeling numb and like I still didn't have a shirt on - like everyone could see what I had done. I stopped on the way home to barf and cry but I couldn't tell anyone. I did my best to forget what happened and just worked really hard in the tech class. Months later, the tech crew is getting ready for a show. I was in the middle of something and he pulled me aside and made me look at the photos he took in front of the entire crew. It was horrible. The guys I worked with could totally walk over and see photos of me topless, fortunately they had more respect than their boss and didn't. He said he wanted to schedule another project with me and somehow I made myself speak and said, no thanks. I didn't yell, I didn't punch that mother fucker like I should have. I went to the bathroom and threw up then went back to work. What could I have done? He was a leader in our little community and I loved working at the theater. I found out from other women that he did that every fucking year to a new girl. Every fucking year. I was 17. So when these women come out and talk publically about Trump groping them, kissing them and walking in on naked teenagers because he could I believe them. I'm so angry that in our country we could have a president that is sexually violent towards women, a man I would not leave alone with my teenage daughter. I'm angry at his supporters too because I think there's a lot of women who have been pushed into similar a situations because of gender power dynamics and couldn't say anything. Predators like him feed off the fear they cause. I don't know if this is the place to put this rant but I've been feeling paralyzed with anger over the previous few days and just needed to get it into the world and out of my head.

Let me know if I should put this somewhere else, like I said I'm new here.