Thoughts on the week that was...

It was a very wild ride this week, we all awaited the results of the US election, no matter if we are American or not. For better or worse, the outcome of these elections have impact far beyond the borders of the United States.

Bear in mind that this is the perspective of a Canadian, but one that has travelled extensively in the US and who works for a US company. I'm not a deep expert on these matters, but I have enough friends and family south of the border to see how much of the wind can blow...

First of all, I am really super happy to see the glass ceiling of the Vice Presidency shattered in such an emphatic manner. The trans community has mixed feelings about Kamala Harris from her time in California and her decision to argue in favour of denying surgery funding for trans inmates. As with many things, the truth is more nuanced than many realize and I think there is plenty of evidence to argue that she is a trans ally.

Secondly, Joe Biden directly mentioned gay and transgender people in his speech, thanking us. I am pretty certain this is a first and, I hope a significant, sign of change in the United States. Deeds, not words, are going to be important, but I think the Biden LGBTQ policy plan is encouraging if he can get much of it through. If nothing else, I am anxious to see the erosion of LGBTQ rights in the US halted and then restored.

However, the one thing that has arisen is the notion of unity after a period of division. Understand that approximately 70 million people signalled that they were more than okay with the cruel and sadistic treatment of minority groups and refugees, they were okay with more than 240,000 dead Americans, and more as the list goes on. That's a lot to forgive.

Honestly, though, the idea that the Left, under the Democrats, can bridge that divide is a notion that can only come from one of privilege. In other words, only heterosexual cis middle class white people that voted for Biden can think of bridging that gap with heterosexual cis middle class white people that voted for Trump. The idea that any minorities, including LGBTQ people, can link arms with people that have openly wished them dead is absurd. It's unreasonable to expect it and deeply unreasonable to ask for it.

There definitely needs to be work done to reign in the extreme polarization that has developed over the last twenty years, but that work can't really begin until the notion that bigotry, in any form, is acceptable is discarded utterly and treated with social disdain that it truly deserves.