Listen to Donald Trump, really listen to him. Listen to the media,  what they say, how they say it.

Donald Trump laughs off charges of misogyny. He says he loves the women. He also said and then perhaps wavered on a position that said that women should be punished for having an abortion. It’s a truth he wasn’t supposed to say. It’s not about its about control.

The conservatives, the Republicans, a hopefully vocal minority are looking for control.

There is a very real and alarming transition happening. Donald Trump continues to manipulate the media.

Many things are happening and most seem small and they are often put aside as politically correct. As an example, women are often told they are yelling when they are simply making a point in a regular tone of voice, or in a firm tone of voice. It happened to Hillary Clinton with Bernie Sanders and it became a cry for young women to say that they aren’t supporting Hillary because she’s a woman. Side Note – Hillary Clinton is one of the most qualified person to run for President ever vote for her because she is qualified and because she will be because the first female President. They are both good things. When Donald Trump became the nominee for the Republican Party he decided that the ads using his words against him and Hillary saying in a rally – using her rally voice – was an attack and she was “yelling” at him. That turned very quickly somehow into two things – one – he couldn’t stand her voice and her yelling – this is the part we are very used to. But more dangerously he has reversed things to saying that he “isn’t allowed to yell at women”.

I’m sure I’ll be told that that one thing doesn’t matter. It’s just “political correctness”. The same way it’s ok  that Hillary Clinton is minimized. The media will tell you in one minute that, of course, she is operating under higher expectations and in the next they will tell you how she is failing. It’s very similar to how the President is said to be failing. There is simply no vision where they are succeeding. There is always a but despite all of the evidence to the contrary.

Bernie Sanders has stayed in the race and there is no way that he can win but he says that somehow because of polls he should be made the nominee. He ignores the will of the voters, never willing to acknowledge that Hillary Clinton is leading him by over 3M votes and some 300 pledged delegates plus the vast majority of pledged delegates and continues to tell his followers that he is going to be the nominee. This lie hurts Hillary and it tells women everywhere that as usual that being better, stronger, more qualified isn’t enough the white man is always going to tell you to sit down and take your proper place. The voters of color, the women are being told they don’t matter. Listen to Bernie – Hillary voters are not important – it’s only his voters that matter.

We know that women are perceived more harshly when they are seeking a position of power or running for office. We know that Hillary Clinton has been the most respected woman in the United States for the last 10+ years. As I just heard – there are no rules for Donald Trump and the rules are extra hard for Hillary Clinton. This is how women are treated. Hillary Clinton is suddenly not trusted, her competence, her qualifications are being questioned. Hillary Clinton can’t win. There is no there there with the email questions. It started out with Benghazi – no there there either – went to she did not use a .gov email and essentially she didn’t use google either – her email went through a private server that her husband, a former President used. Now somehow it’s down to did she print out all of her emails and put them in a box – that isn’t how its being portrayed but that is what the report actually says.

So where are we?

As women I’m worried that if this basic belittlement and disqualification continues we are going to go back. If the white men, those that were terrified of having an African American President, succeed in stopping the most qualified woman from being elected then women could easily fall backwards. Those attacks will have meaning and women could go backwards to a point where men are yelling at them and they aren’t allowed to raise their voices. Women will go back to being objects. Donald Trump wants to make America great again – he doesn’t say when that is but his actions and his supporters say its either 1950 or 1850 – women and this country deserve to go forward.