So much for... well... so many things: but we move on.
Yesterday I didn't blog. Instead I came home from work with a headache, read some delightful comics, and then attended the 2016 CIBC Canada Russia Series hockey game at Rogers Place. I'm not sure I'll even continue my efforts at blogging every day in November, but given the circumstances, I figured I'd blog today anyway.
I admit I spent a fair bit of last night distracted by the US election. I had high hopes that it wouldn't turn out the way that it did... and to be honest, as a Canadian I had no way of really impacting the result so this was the oddest US election for me: one where I honestly and completely cared about the result. Why? I happen to be in a relationship with an American; I happen to visit the USA frequently; I happen to have many American friends (on all sides of the political spectrum); I pay attention to global events and know this will impact them; and I happen to not be 100% white, and a woman, and a person who cares about many whose identities will be impacted by the results tonight.
I am frightened. I am worried. I don't know how best to help Canada's nearest neighbour, and all of my friends whose lives MAY be negatively impacted by the results of yesterday. Maybe it won't turn out as badly as it might otherwise. Maybe I shouldn't be concerned that one political party in the US has the presidency, the house and the senate and that that president will have the chance to appoint numerous people to the supreme court. Maybe I shouldn't be worried about the fact that this group of people has often talked about repealing some things that I find incredibly important, or that this might be more than just the whole two steps forward one step back problem.
Maybe there will be positive change for many: I do have American friends who are Trump supporters. I do have American friends who backed third parties, republicans, etc. I know some who probably didn't vote and/or who chose not to vote for president or any of the other potential races they could have voted in. The voter turnout in the US was pretty dismal, all things considered. I do happen to have read opinions from far more Democrat or Hillary supporters than I did of the other parties running in the US election, but we know that social media preferences my seeing certain views and not necessarily all others. And many stay silent about their political viewpoints and about how they may vote. I'm okay with that: I haven't unfriended anyone for their political views in the USA: partially as I can't possibly know or understand all of their reasons, partially because I don't want to exist entirely in an echo chamber. I don't want everyone I know to think the same way.
But I'm worried. I think to a degree, much of the world is worried. Just as Brexit was worrying, so too is the US election. Change is worrying too. I deal with racism/sexism/discrimination every week in Canada, and I currently live in areas with really progressive governments when it comes to gender, race, and other discrimination related topics. It is still flawed here. And will probably always be so. I worry about how much worse it might become in much of the US where people live without those benefits. This concern is not, of course, limited to the USA, but as that is Canada's closest neighbour and as I have more friends living there than most other nations, it is a huge concern. Watching the news is scary enough without seeing Ku Klux Klan references, denial of climate change, hate crimes, war threats, overt misogyny, alphabet soup bashing etc.
Yes I am a worrier. Yes I live in Canada. Yes this will impact my life. It feels like this is the scariest US election that I've lived through. And I wonder what will come out of all of it. And I worry. But time moves forward and we shall see what will happen. For those of you who need my support, I will do my best to be there. I send hugs to those who need it and will try my best to be a positive influence as time moves on. Let us hope that the worst does not happen. Let us work toward the goal of a better tomorrow. Even if we don't all have a unified view of how to get there, this much is a laudable goal.
I admit I spent a fair bit of last night distracted by the US election. I had high hopes that it wouldn't turn out the way that it did... and to be honest, as a Canadian I had no way of really impacting the result so this was the oddest US election for me: one where I honestly and completely cared about the result. Why? I happen to be in a relationship with an American; I happen to visit the USA frequently; I happen to have many American friends (on all sides of the political spectrum); I pay attention to global events and know this will impact them; and I happen to not be 100% white, and a woman, and a person who cares about many whose identities will be impacted by the results tonight.
I am frightened. I am worried. I don't know how best to help Canada's nearest neighbour, and all of my friends whose lives MAY be negatively impacted by the results of yesterday. Maybe it won't turn out as badly as it might otherwise. Maybe I shouldn't be concerned that one political party in the US has the presidency, the house and the senate and that that president will have the chance to appoint numerous people to the supreme court. Maybe I shouldn't be worried about the fact that this group of people has often talked about repealing some things that I find incredibly important, or that this might be more than just the whole two steps forward one step back problem.
Maybe there will be positive change for many: I do have American friends who are Trump supporters. I do have American friends who backed third parties, republicans, etc. I know some who probably didn't vote and/or who chose not to vote for president or any of the other potential races they could have voted in. The voter turnout in the US was pretty dismal, all things considered. I do happen to have read opinions from far more Democrat or Hillary supporters than I did of the other parties running in the US election, but we know that social media preferences my seeing certain views and not necessarily all others. And many stay silent about their political viewpoints and about how they may vote. I'm okay with that: I haven't unfriended anyone for their political views in the USA: partially as I can't possibly know or understand all of their reasons, partially because I don't want to exist entirely in an echo chamber. I don't want everyone I know to think the same way.
But I'm worried. I think to a degree, much of the world is worried. Just as Brexit was worrying, so too is the US election. Change is worrying too. I deal with racism/sexism/discrimination every week in Canada, and I currently live in areas with really progressive governments when it comes to gender, race, and other discrimination related topics. It is still flawed here. And will probably always be so. I worry about how much worse it might become in much of the US where people live without those benefits. This concern is not, of course, limited to the USA, but as that is Canada's closest neighbour and as I have more friends living there than most other nations, it is a huge concern. Watching the news is scary enough without seeing Ku Klux Klan references, denial of climate change, hate crimes, war threats, overt misogyny, alphabet soup bashing etc.
Yes I am a worrier. Yes I live in Canada. Yes this will impact my life. It feels like this is the scariest US election that I've lived through. And I wonder what will come out of all of it. And I worry. But time moves forward and we shall see what will happen. For those of you who need my support, I will do my best to be there. I send hugs to those who need it and will try my best to be a positive influence as time moves on. Let us hope that the worst does not happen. Let us work toward the goal of a better tomorrow. Even if we don't all have a unified view of how to get there, this much is a laudable goal.