Colds and elections
Let's not have any more for a while
I’ve been recovering from a cold I caught sometime in the last week. I don’t think anyone enjoys being sick, but it had been a while since I had a cold (I tend to wear a mask on the bus or while shopping), and the symptoms that are annoying on their own are a special kind of misery when combined. I still have a few lingering side effects, but compared to last Thursday I feel significantly better; it helps that I had the luxury of sleeping it off for a few days on the weekend.
I usually feel like I need to keep myself occupied, but I knew there wasn’t any sense in chasing some sort of productivity or artistic release when I wasn’t feeling up to it.
I’m still trying to figure out what to make of last night’s election results. While it is a relief not to worry (as much) about my basic human rights as a trans person, and as hilarious it is to see that fascist dweeb lose both his seat and the government, it’s generally not a good thing that it turned out to be a two-party race, especially when one of those parties has been lurching into some particularly scary territory. It is also a shame that the NDP pretty much collapsed nationwide, though I partially chalk that up to them tacking a little too close to the centre over the last few years. My biggest takeaway is that I’m still miffed that Justin Trudeau backtracked on his promise of electoral reform when he got that majority 10 years ago.
I just hope Mark Carney doesn’t end up being a Keir Starmer. Based on how things are going over in the UK, I honestly think the current Labour government is only there to soften the ground for Reform UK to seize power in the next general election; it really feels like they made an agreement with someone to be just as awful to marginalized populations as the Conservatives were, if not even more so.
I’ve had to vote in three elections in a little over six months; a municipal one in October, a provincial one in November, and the federal one that just happened. Of the three, I’m probably the happiest overall about yesterday’s results, but that’s still very much going to depend on how things actually play out. We’re stuck in a very flawed system, but I always make sure I cast my ballot come election day.
I’m thinking a lot about how certain chapters of my life have ended, but at the same time, it really feels open-ended. I honestly can’t imagine where I’m going next, but that’s not a bad thing.
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