Sunday, May 1, 2011

Meanwhile, up in Canada....

My heart is officially broken. I had set so much of my hopes on Canada. Compared to the United States, it is practically paradise. But after tonight's election, which has resulted in a conservative majority government, I am left wondering just how is this going to be an improvement, when the Tories are hell-bent on remaking Canada in the image of the United States?
I am not going to go too deep into politics here, because I'm sick of esotericism and abstraction in this process. I've really, truly, had enough of that.
What this election means for me is more than stuff like "the economy" and GDP points and numbers on charts. For me, this election put my civil rights, and those of my girlfriend, at stake. The Conservatives have made it clear that the rights of queer people and trans* individuals are something to be sneered at, if not actively opposed.
To hear the election described as such a detached, mildly interesting thing by cis straight people made my blood boil. Tonight, my girlfriend and I sat quietly in front of our computers, watching the results and crying. Yes, crying. Weeping for the realization that our dreams were crumbling before our eyes. We dream(ed) of a lovely house for two with a garden on Vancouver Island, of tenured work for her and respected work for me, of a lovely wedding in the Butchart Gardens.
What chance of that is there when gender identity and gender expression are only not protected, but the rights of our people will be seriously undermined on purpose? What chance do we have of getting a mortgage without the realtor refusing to sell to us? What chance do we have of renting an apartment from a bigoted landlord when we can't sue for discrimination? What chance do we have of having our dream jobs when we can be fired willy-nilly without having the chance to make it right? What chance do we have at a joyous wedding when our rights will be chip-chipped away at before our very eyes?
I believed in Canada. Now I don't know what's left to believe in, not even 2015.

6 comments:

  1. This is definitely not good news. Canada's got to be better than this. I'm very disappointed.

    There is a positive side to this, though, if I can call it that. NDP seems to have beat the Liberals and pushed them into the 3rd place. I'm kind of hoping that next time NDP can beat both of these old and rickety parties and show North America that the age of the two-party system is over.

    I'm not going to pretend to know how you and your girlfriend are feeling. But I really hope that there is a better future for Canada. And it will start happening as soon as Canadians realize how badly they have been messing up voting for these guys.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know. And the first Green MP ever in Canadian history, whom my girlfriend helped elect! I am so proud of the NDP, and yet absolutely flummoxed that liberals who knew their party was going to lose voted Tory instead.
    I am fearful about the future. I don't know if 2015 will bring what we need. Right now, what I really want is the assurance that my girlfriend and I won't be thrown under the bus by our so-called allies in 2015, and that the next few years won't leave us in danger or homeless. That's not too much to ask for is it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Did Liberals vote Tory to avoid giving the win to NDP? People can't be that screwed up, can they?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Apparently that was the case, according to CBC coverage.
    That makes me lose even more faith in humanity than usual.

    ReplyDelete
  5. yes, I just Googled it and that seems to be the case for many people. Or, rather, jerks. Do they have any brains at all?

    Rhetorical questions.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Because of "stability". Stability absolutely trumps human rights, environmental protections, accurate statistics, education, women's rights, equality, academia, a balanced budget, freedom of speech, democracy... I could go on, but this is depressing.

    ReplyDelete