By the time you read this entry, the presidential election will have ended for us in New York State. We are lucky to be a state where the results will likely not be contested, as I'd hate for us to have our own version of Florida's screwed up 2000 election. This doesn't mean that the election will be over for this country. I expect that GOP operatives will contest the vote in most of the "Battleground States", and that we'll have a daily dose of agita from upsetting news being reported about these states' elections.
The final results of this election will affect our community. If Trump/Pence is declared the winner, I expect a full assault on the rights of the LGBTIQ community. At first, malevolent actions at the Federal level may not affect us in the "Blue States". However, as court cases are brought to the Supreme Court, we may see Federal cases affect rights recognized at the State level. Since Abortion is the most visible target, I expect that we will be the first target the social conservatives plan to aim for. Transgender people will likely be at the top of the list, as many of us are relatively easy to spot, given years of "testosterone poisoning". Even with plastic surgery to make our bodies look more feminine, our bone structure will often give us away. Once we have lost our rights, I expect that they will go after the gay/lesbian community. Although gays/lesbians can hide in the woodwork, they will not be able to play the "don't ask / don't tell" game for long. Only after the LGBTIQ community has lost its rights will the "conservatives" go after women as a whole, first going after a woman's right to control her own body, and then taking away many of the rights women have gained in the past 100 years. If you don't think this can happen, look at what happened in Qatar when a dead baby was found in their airport's women's room - at least 10 women were held for a forced "medical" exam to verify that none of these women was the mother of the abandoned corpse. Hardly any coverage of this took place in the mainstream press. Could you imagine how you'd feel if it was your daughter that had to go through this humiliating process? Of course, our current president had nothing to say about this event.
I expect that this will be a heatedly contested election. We've already seen groups of Trump supporters in their trucks blocking people on line (in California) from getting to their polling place. Since this is a district which tends to support Republicans, they are likely harming their own cause. Although both sides perceive threats to their ways of life, it seems like Trump's supporters have more to lose emotionally. I find it interesting that these people are flying the biggest flags, performing the most annoying stunts (such as blocking the Westbound Tappan Zee Bridge), and doing the most dangerous things (such as running their powerboats in an unsafe manner, causing some to capsize in the wake of bigger boats) - all to gain the attention of people who might otherwise ignore their feelings. They bask in the reflected glow of their "fearless" leader. And they fear that they may have been duped by this con man. So they shout "look at me, I have something important to say too" - even when they have nothing worthwhile to say. It reminds me of the old Jerry Springer show, where an inarticulate person is bested by someone more articulate (not saying much about either person, given the show) and gives up saying "whatever." Unfortunately, Trump supporters will not go quietly into the night the way Springer's guests often went.
Hopefully, we will have a peaceful transfer of power in January. If not, I feel sorry for our country. I plan to make sure that I know how to use firearms just in case....
