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][1], 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.][2] 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.][3] 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](
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYOibxvoO84).
[Train - Hey, Soul Sister](
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DrX8AFIQao)
Enjoy!
~caff
[1]:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/leading-climate-change-denier-among-those-on-trumps-environmental-team/
[2]:
http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37948762
[3]:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_States
