Well I've been working on some nice happy stuff for you
gentle readers but to be honest the world right now has me far too upset to
write about happy things. What's going on in the United States has made me
angry plain and simple. So much so, that I needed to get my thoughts out today.
When the United States passed marriage equality in 2015
I, like many of you, felt that this would usher in a new era of acceptance for
the country. I didn't expect it to happen right away (we all expected there
would be kickbacks) nor did I expect it to go as smoothly as us Canadians
handled it over 15 years ago. However what’s happening now is both sickening
and frightening. In case you are unclear of what I am talking about let me shed
some light.
North Carolina:
Thanks to bigoted and dangerous legislation aimed to keep
the population "safe" from perverts and child molesters, a law has
been passed forcing people to use the bathroom of the gender depicted on their
birth certificates. To some of you this may seem logical as you think transgender
individuals have birth certificates that represent the correct gender, if only
that were really the case. Realistically, to obtain an updated birth
certificate, a transgender person is required to have gone through the
physician process of changing genders. Which, in reality, comes down to either
top surgery, bottom surgery or both? Couple that with extensive hormone
treatment that takes a doctor to sign off on (something that can take months or
even years) and you have a very expensive bill. Realistically this isn't always
something that is affordable and in some cases even wanted. These people are
now forced to use a bathroom that is the opposite of their outward gender. And
this is law!! Honestly! To make matters worse it's opened the doors to further
acts of discrimination where pride flags are now being burned infront of
churches that perform gay marriages. I’d hate to think of what comes next...
Mississippi:
Thanks to yet another law from a backward state,
businesses are now allowed to refuse service to
LGBT individuals. Yep you read
that right. Mississippi just took a giant leap back into the 50's with this
one. Who knew they could time travel! Gay, straight, bi, trans, male, female...
Can you imagine someone refusing to serve you because of it? It's nothing short
of inhuman. It wasn't that long ago that we fought to abolish the same laws
based on race. That wasn't okay, why is this?
We find ourselves in a time of great upheaval. It's
sickening that a country like the United States can even entertain the notion
of discriminatory and homophobic laws that are then voted into existence.
What are we going to do when the first transgender or non-binary
person is beaten in North Carolina? Or dies? What's it going to take to turn
these laws around? How many people have to speak out? How many businesses have
to leave these states? Or cancel concerts and shows? What's it going to take to
save lives?
If you think you can't make a difference, think again. Keep what you have read in mind, talk about
it and make sure that no one forgets what's happening in the US and around the
world. The minute we "ignore" what’s going on we open the door for
such behaviors to spread. Remember that you have no way of knowing how a small
action can change the world.
As always, thank you for reading.
