11 november 2016
I've managed to miss two days of writing so far. Or is it three? This election has been emotionally and mentally draining, and it's not done yet. Between Trump appointing a notorious climate-change denier as the head of his EPA transition team, and the protests going on around the country, we're going to hear about the US election for years to come. I'm not happy about Trump's election, but we as a country told Trump he should accept the results of the election, regardless of the outcome, and it would be hypocritical to not accept the results ourselves. Do I respect Trump? No. Do I want him to hold the highest office in the United States? No. Am I going to protest it? Internally, yes. Outwardly, no. I'll be working with whatever I can do to make the world around me a better place. I'll be volunteering, I'll be helping invidividuals, I'll be giving all I can to help people in need. I'll be wearing a safety pin to show that I do not stand for the hate that Trump espouses to many vulnerable minorities. Will it make a difference? Maybe, maybe not. But I can't in good conscience stand by for the next four years and hope that everything will be alright, and yet, I hope that Trump lasts for four years, only to be replaced at the next election. Why? Because the next person in line for the presidency is Mike Pence.
You would be hard-pressed to find a man with a worse record on LGBT rights in the country. Yet I'm sure he'll be in Trump's ear on many issues, particularly on social issues. I don't like the sound of that at all. Marriage is more or less here to stay, barring some astounding reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges, but there are some very, very important LGBT rights that still are not present, namely protection from discrimination in employment and housing. In 16 states and 3 US territories, you can be fired for your sexual orientation or your gender identity. In 7 more states, you're protected, but only if you work as an employee of the state. In 4 more states, you're only protected for your sexual orientation, not your gender identity, and once again, only when working for the state. However, the situation is even more dire when you look at housing. Nearly every single state that protects gender identity and/or sexual orientation in state employment does not offer any protections for discrimination in housing. The only exceptions are New Hampshire, which protects sexual orientation in both state and private employment, but only protects gender identity in state employment, which also only has protection for sexual orientation in housing, and Wisconsin, which only offers protection for sexual orientation in both employment and housing. Hell, 18 states even have hate crime laws that are uninclusive of sexual orientaiton or gender identity. This has to be fixed. This has to change. We can't just pretend that it's not a problem, and I can't feel good about this considering we just elected a man who would prefer to "leave [LGBT rights] to the states".
I've gotta stop talking and thinking about this, as I'm getting myself worked into a lather, however I don't think we'll see federal-level discrimination protection until we see both a left-leaning congress, and a president who isn't backed by a man who looks and acts like a sweater that Voldemort and Satan collectively decided to turn into a Horcrux.
~caff
It's time for some music! Today, I'm calling in some Train. Pat Monahan is one of those singers that can make me just swoon. Their voice is like catnip to me. I just can't get enough of it. Perhaps my favorite song by them is Hey, Soul Sister, though every song by them is just one more song for me to love. In the words of Family Guy, I fucking love Train.
Enjoy!
~caff