Month: August 2016

Donald Trump Naked Statue Photos: Just say no!

/ Amanda / Leave a comment

To the people who created naked statues of Donald Trump,

I’m pretty sure my words will mean nothing to you, but just in case you ever read this, just know you are a terrible group of people. You just sexually harassed a professional man due to his political position and made reference to his “man hood.” How does that make you better than him?

I get that making fun of a man’s genitalia is the butt of many jokes on every college campus in America, but if we expect Trump to take this race seriously, pulling college level pranks on him certainly does not bode well for the future of the next generation.

I’m certainly not a Trump fan. Not even close. But I do not agree with the naked statues of him. That is just wrong and too far. We all get the book reference, but this is real life, dealing with real people. What you did is a disgusting show of immature behavior.

The entire female “body positive movement” has been waged so everyone feels positive about their body, including men…And yes, that includes even Donald Trump.

I know he refers to women in a negative light all the time. I know he calls women pigs, tells them they look better on their knees, and refers to bad attitudes being because of “that time of the month,” but those are words and your actions are much harsher than words. Do I get angry with him? Of course I do. But sexually harassing him back, in a much worse way, is the worst way to handle this issue. I’m not even sure how your team came up with this idea, but your idea person needs to be voted out of your group. This is just sad.

Yes, Trump is a bully. He is full of words, lots of words, all the words, but what you just did should be a crime (I’m hoping it is anyway).

This is not how you handle a bully. You do not strip the bully naked and run him down the hallways of the school, allowing everyone to take photos of him. Not only is that illegal but that is facing one immature action with an over-the-top reaction which causes second and third consequences for everyone.

You can’t go around making naked statues of every person you don’t like, including politicians. There is something seriously wrong with you if you think your actions are acceptable.

I certainly do not condone what you “artists” have done to Trump. I would never condone a conservative group creating naked statues of Hillary Clinton, then placing them all over America.

I would hope most people would not like it, even if they disagreed with her.

Do I think he’s a total ass? Yep. I sure do. Do I think he is diabolical? Yep. Right again. Will I ever vote for him? Nope. Not even close.

Do I think people should show his naked body all over the world without his permission? No way! No way would I ever think this is a good idea. What you did was wrong. Had he been a female, this would be considered a crime (again, I hope it is).

His naked body will be on the internet for the rest of his life. These photos will follow him, his children, and his grandchildren, forever. He did not give his permission for these creations or these actions. He is now a victim of sexual harassment and body shaming (and in some states, online sexual bullying).

* Now, replace the word “his” with “her” and “he” with “she” and see how bad this feels.*

It makes me sick seeing all the people taking photos with those statues and putting them on the internet. Some of these people would be the first ones to stand up against female harassment or naked photos of ex girlfriends being handed out to millions of people around the world. These photos will never go away. Even if they are taken down from search engines, people will have them in their homes and on their computers. I’m asking everyone to stop and think what you are doing.

Would you take photos with an unapproved naked statue of someone you loved? I know it’s hard to imagine, but Trump is a father, a grandfather, and much more to many people. Please look at those statues for what they are and think about what they represent.

Many females are bullied off the internet because of men putting naked photos of them on social media or creating naked photos of them on social media, and yet, your group is trying to the exact same thing to Trump. You are trying to circumvent the political process by sexually harassing someone. I don’t care if it’s Trump or anyone else, this is never okay!

Not only is this action totally against raising people up, but you just undercut the real progress females have been fighting for while promoting positive body image and trying to decrease sexual harassment.

If none of this concerns you (and obviously it doesn’t), then at least think about this, your actions could actually work in his favor. He *is* a victim of sexual harassment and he *will* gain sympathy votes due to your actions and this stunt. I really hope you can live with yourself.

What makes me more livid about this is you didn’t do this for the good of the country or the voters. You did this as a social media stunt.

I did not see one video of anyone in your group handing out voter registrations while you presented your “work of art.” You tried to destroy another human being only to create news for your own self interests. You did nothing to help the cause of the nation. You did this to help yourself by hurting someone else. You provided your group name and even the name of the artist.

If you have been truly doing something for a good cause (not this), the names of your groups and the name of the artist would have been irrelevant. You did this for followers and fandom, not for social change. Trump is known for tricks like this. What makes you any better than him?

Instead of body shaming someone you disagree with, I’ve got a better solution for you, get out and vote! I can see you have great talent, so focus that talent on something a little less shameful and a little more constructive. Don’t shame people for the body they have. If you don’t like a person for any reason, then use your creative brain and get people to vote. Create a project which will inspire more people to vote to your side.

Get your school to vote. Get your whole family and friends to vote. Get strangers to vote.

Let’s all take a lesson from Donald Trump’s actions. Let’s not sexually harass and body shame people, including the people running for POTUS. It’s not very nice.

Also, let’s not forget, this is not a political statement and it’s not art. This is sexual harassment and I really hope Trump sues you.

Until next time…be safe, be kind, and always be happy (focus on the kind part today).

Written by;

A Never-Trump voter

(…who would never approve of Trump being harassed like this)

 

How to write a book; When facing doubt, just keep writing

/ Amanda / Leave a comment
For those who are following the progress of my book, I’m at that rewriting phase of “My gosh. Who wrote this crap? I hate this so much! I want to quit.” Seriously, why in the world am I doing this to myself?
I don’t need to write a book. I can sit back and watch America’s Got Talent everyday and then flip the channel and make fun of politics. I have no clue why I’m writing a book. I’m sure at some point I enjoyed this, right? Someone remind me that I actually enjoyed writing, because I’m at the point of chasing people around with chainsaws and getting lost in hedge mazes. 
I know I do like writing. I just need to remember rewriting can be difficult. I mean, how many times can you read a book over and over before you get sick of it? Well, that sometimes applies to your own books as well. Especially when you have to read one sentence a hundred times, then you realize that it doesn’t work in the story anyway. That can become frustrating, but it’s a perfectly normal feeling (having the urge to drink is also normal, at least for me it is). 
become-a-writer
The hard part I’m facing is, this rewrite is going to take me much longer than I expected and I will need at least one more personal rewrite before I can send it to an editor. I’m not looking forward to that last rewrite. I can see me facing tons of self doubt and it won’t be pretty. I’m pretty sure there will be tears. I don’t cry the pretty TV tears. Nope. I have the red puffy eyes, swollen face, and snot running down my nose. When I cry, it’s an ugly cry. 
It’s no secret I also suffer from occasional bouts of blues, depression, anxiety, frustration, grey hair, stinky feet, and severe doubt in my personal abilities to do anything great. To be fair, if a person survived almost 50 years of living on this rock, raised a few kids, and survived a few divorces, without gaining a few mental diagnoses they weren’t trying hard enough (I just happen to have more than a few, but that’s for a different conversation). 
Now, don’t get me wrong, most of the time I actually have a strong sense of self worth and a bigger feeling of self confidence, but there are those times when I know this is all a dream (or nightmare) and the world will fall out from under me and find out none of this was real. I wake up and I’ve been living in a mental facility the whole time. Yes, I know. That’s a pretty specific fear, but the way TV portrays mental facilities, it’s a pretty rational fear. 
The crazy part is, in both my fabulous careers, I succeeded in everything I set out to do. I’m very critical of myself and I work very hard. At every step of the way, in spite of my anxieties and fears, I won many awards and made some great memories. But I always have this little voice telling me that it could be all a mistake and I’m not really good enough. (I really hope I’m not the only one who feels this way sometimes. I would feel so much better if I knew others suffer from anxiety and self doubt. It would be really good to know I’m not the only one who is slightly off balanced.) 
Before becoming a writer, I could hide these self confidence issues. I could plaster on my smile, pull my shoulders back, grab a cup of coffee, and prepare myself to tackle the day (Hiding in the bathroom from time to time to face the fact the world out there is willing to crush me like a little bug). 
When I decided to write, I found out writers are vulnerable to the public. I didn’t want strangers judging me for my shortcomings, while they were hiding behind their keyboards. I wanted to be remain nameless and unknown.  I almost quit before I even started. 
Now, I’m writing a blog, I fight against injustice, and I’m writing a book. How? I took a look at all my anxieties and instead of avoiding them, I looked those damn anxieties in the face, grabbed them by the neck, squeezed them like a shampoo bottle the day before payday. I made them into a bubble bath and jumped my butt right in a tub full of my anxieties. I wanted to keep them close and control them. The crazy part of trying to control something, sometimes it still tries to act out. Even after years of success, in many different fields, my mind still questions my abilities. 
After writing a few chapters, I look in the mirror and wonder, “Why in the world did I ever think this writing thing was a good idea?”
 
It may be a few years before I ever write another book. I’ll need time to recover from this personal beating I’ve given myself and I’ll probably need some serious therapy after this book is published (Yes. I know I need therapy now, but that’s besides the point). 
But no matter what, I’ll keep plowing forward and so help me I will finish what I started.
That’s the most important thing. If you face even a little of what I go through, don’t quit. You are allowed to acknowledge the pain and the agony of putting yourself out to the world, but don’t let those feelings paralyze you. 
 
If you are writing a book, you have to stick with it. Don’t let doubt get you down and Writing - Self Doubtconvince you to quit. Telling a story isn’t something that happens overnight. When you want to hit delete or toss the whole thing out, take a break, get some coffee, stretch, and breath. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We need to breath and take water breaks. The time is not important but sticking it out and finishing is. When you body wants to collapse from pain, your arms are weak, and your brain tells you to quit, don’t listen. Keep going. When your brain tells you no one will judge you if you drop out right now, don’t listen. Keep going. Keep typing and keep writing. You can do this. I can do this and you can do this. We can do this. 
I promise this, if readers don’t like my book, it won’t be for lack of trying. I’m pouring my heart and soul into this book. I’m going down the rabbit hole and I’m taking the readers with me.
 
In all the craziness and pain, I will bring you stories of survival and happiness. I hope you will laugh and cry with me. This is why I will keep writing. I don’t want to tell you what I’m writing, I want you to read what I’m writing. I will continue to write, no matter how many times the black dog barks at my heels, and no matter how many times doubt enters my mind, I will keep writing. 
I want you to keep writing too. 
I know it’s hard, but no matter what, never quit. Just keep writing. 
dorymeme -- just keep writing
Until next time…be safe, be kind, and always be happy.
(and of course, when I’m done, you need to buy my book.)