Please do take care when telling people to 'get over it.' Emotions are high, and the implications of the election will be felt in very real ways. Chances are that a lot of the people you're gloating at are people you actually care about; friends, relatives, even a partner.
Here are just a couple of the ways in which this outcome could affect people.
There is a vacancy in the supreme court. The president-elect has said that he will appoint an anti-choice, anti-equality judge. This could mean a number of things, namely:
1. The reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges, the supreme court decision that legalized same sex marriage. It would go back to being a state issue, which means many states would ban it altogether. That would be devastating to so many people. Also, how is it okay to say, 'you're married here, but not there?' Married is married! Also, couples would lose access to federal benefits, like social security.
2: The repeal of Roe v. Wade. Women will no longer be able to obtain safe and legal abortion. It will go back to being a state issue, and places like Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, et al will ban it altogether, returning us to a time of back alley abortion where women die of sepsis or perforation of the perineum. Those who oppose abortion are well within their rights to do so, but if you think banning it will stop it, you're delusional.
3. Family Planning Centers could lose Title X funding, which was established by Richard Nixon in 1970, allocating federal funding for family planning services. This does not include abortion. Nixon understood the importance of making sure young men and women had access to education and preventative care so that they could better plan their families. Numbers 2 and 3 of this list combined could result in the mass-closing of family planning centers and jobs will be lost (potentially my own, but I'm probably safe here in New York). This is why people are freaking out and getting IUDs now; because they would be covered for several years if they lose access to birth control. Also, google what has happened to states that have cut off funding for preventative care; the STD and teen pregnancy rates go through the roof. It's not good.
There's so much more I could go into, but this is just a slice of it. You might not care about these things, but if you care about someone who would be affected by any of the above, please take a moment to consider their feelings. Now, there is the possibility that the future POTUS will choose not to go after any of these things, and even appoint a more moderate judge, but right now we just don't know. But if anything happens to his presidency, which-- considering he has to stand trial-- is a real possibility, and Pence takes over, that would be very bad for advocates of equality and choice. This is a guy who pushes for gay conversion therapy-- a draconian practice that is actually banned in five states because it has been proven to be so harmful. He also wants to overturn any and all anti-discrimination laws protecting the LGBT community. These are all things that could really, genuinely hurt people.
The election didn't go as I hoped, but I'm choosing to shake it off and move forward with hope. One thing is for sure, OUR DOORS REMAIN OPEN!
Please. Lets stop the divisive rhetoric. We're all in this together. I quote the great prophet John of Liverpool when I say, 'give peace a chance.' BE NICE!
There is a vacancy in the supreme court. The president-elect has said that he will appoint an anti-choice, anti-equality judge. This could mean a number of things, namely:
1. The reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges, the supreme court decision that legalized same sex marriage. It would go back to being a state issue, which means many states would ban it altogether. That would be devastating to so many people. Also, how is it okay to say, 'you're married here, but not there?' Married is married! Also, couples would lose access to federal benefits, like social security.
2: The repeal of Roe v. Wade. Women will no longer be able to obtain safe and legal abortion. It will go back to being a state issue, and places like Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, et al will ban it altogether, returning us to a time of back alley abortion where women die of sepsis or perforation of the perineum. Those who oppose abortion are well within their rights to do so, but if you think banning it will stop it, you're delusional.
3. Family Planning Centers could lose Title X funding, which was established by Richard Nixon in 1970, allocating federal funding for family planning services. This does not include abortion. Nixon understood the importance of making sure young men and women had access to education and preventative care so that they could better plan their families. Numbers 2 and 3 of this list combined could result in the mass-closing of family planning centers and jobs will be lost (potentially my own, but I'm probably safe here in New York). This is why people are freaking out and getting IUDs now; because they would be covered for several years if they lose access to birth control. Also, google what has happened to states that have cut off funding for preventative care; the STD and teen pregnancy rates go through the roof. It's not good.
There's so much more I could go into, but this is just a slice of it. You might not care about these things, but if you care about someone who would be affected by any of the above, please take a moment to consider their feelings. Now, there is the possibility that the future POTUS will choose not to go after any of these things, and even appoint a more moderate judge, but right now we just don't know. But if anything happens to his presidency, which-- considering he has to stand trial-- is a real possibility, and Pence takes over, that would be very bad for advocates of equality and choice. This is a guy who pushes for gay conversion therapy-- a draconian practice that is actually banned in five states because it has been proven to be so harmful. He also wants to overturn any and all anti-discrimination laws protecting the LGBT community. These are all things that could really, genuinely hurt people.
The election didn't go as I hoped, but I'm choosing to shake it off and move forward with hope. One thing is for sure, OUR DOORS REMAIN OPEN!
Please. Lets stop the divisive rhetoric. We're all in this together. I quote the great prophet John of Liverpool when I say, 'give peace a chance.' BE NICE!
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