Dear Representative Mace

By Sharon Synowsky

Dear Representative Mace,

I, too, am a survivor of sexual assault. I watched George Stephanopoulos repeatedly ask how you, as a survivor, could endorse an adjudicated rapist for the highest office in the land. The way you turned it around on him? Embarrassing. For you. Your attempt at gaslighting may be the most disgusting display I’ve ever witnessed by a woman. And it failed. Miserably. Disgustingly. Your refusal to answer Mr. Stephanolopoulos’ question is typical Republican cowardice. Using your rape as a weapon, feigning that you felt he was “rape-shaming” you…I have no words to describe the depth of contempt I have for you now. You were “shamed”. Not by Mr. Stephanopoulos. And not because you were raped. It’s because his question showed, in the harshest of light, the ugly truth about you. And that is the fact that you are so hungry for power that you betray yourself and your history in order to attain it. You shamed yourself.

I saw one person in that interview actually shaming a rape survivor, and that was YOU. You said Ms. Carroll joking about “going shopping” with money from her judgement was “making a mockery out of rape”. Bullshit! I saw that as a woman finally being able to breathe after carrying the 30+ year burden of having been brutalized by a powerful man. A man who went on to hold the highest office in America. You neglected to point out that Ms. Carroll also said she was going to “do good” with the money. Specifically, using that money to “help women get back their rights”. Right on! And, ever the gracious, classy woman, Ms. Carroll responded by thanking Mr. Stephanopoulos for defending her, wishing you well, and saluting all survivors “for their strength, endurance and holding on to their sanity”. That includes you. That is what class looks like, Ms. Mace. Take notes.

And the absolutely heinous bit about the trial being in civil court not criminal was infuriating. A jury of 7 men and 2 women found Trump liable for sexual assault because NY statute defines rape as forcible insertion of the penis; sexual assault is forcible insertion of any other body part/object. The key word in both definitions is forcible – FOR-CI-BLE!

As a survivor, you know that there is no distinction between criminal or civil, rape or sexual assault. He was found liable of forcing himself on a woman – PERIOD, FULL STOP!

“The finding that Ms. Carroll failed to prove that she was ‘raped’ within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape,’ ” .

– Judge Lewis Kaplan

HE. RAPED. E.JEAN!

So, please, explain to us survivors, how you can endorse Donald J. Trump. We honestly would like to hear your answer. You won’t. You can’t. Not honestly. But your behavior in that interview spoke LOUDLY to every single one of us out here. What we heard was a woman who has been lying to herself, and Mr. Stephanopoulos’ question blew that lie apart. We saw a woman who compromises herself to advance her career. And if you’re willing to do that to YOURSELF in order to get ahead, I shudder to imagine what you are willing to do to your constituents.

You had a shot at a promising career in politics. You were bright, strong, principled. I didn’t agree with you on a lot of issues, but I respected you and was happy to see a smart, charismatic woman on the rise. Now, people no longer take you seriously, because you caved. You broke. You blew up your credibility. You gave in to the ugliest members of your base. You backed a rapist.

And that’s a shame.

Sincerely,

A Survivor

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