Enjoy the unseasonably warm #Easter weather today — 17°c by 5pm! When I was a kid— heck, when my kid was a kid — it was more likely to be better weather for snow sculpture than sunbathing.
Try not to think about the fact it’s due to the #ClimateCatastrophe our governments are not doing anything to slow down (much less turn around). And here in Canada most of our elected politicians seem working hard to make it worse.
Still, as the awesome Green Party of Ontario suggests, eat your chocolate and enjoy the day. Plenty of time to call or write your MP and MPP Tuesday!
And if all you get from your MP or MPP are stalls or excuses, there will be time enough to elect more Greens soon enough!
[Still figuring out the Tumblr app … this was supposed to post on IWD2021].
Like the USA, Canada has a #WinnerTakeAll voting system, which makes it harder for people 3rd parties to get elected. But Canadians have stubbornly retained our multi-party system, because 2 parties aren’t enough to represent our diversity.
Many Canadians have long realized the Green Party is the best choice, but now more of us are voting Green, so more of us are electing Greens, too.
Ours is the only major Canadian federal political party to be led by women since 2006, something worthy of mention for the 2021 International Women’s Day.
And you know things are changing when Prince Edward Island— a province that has steadfastly clung to 2 party rule for its whole existence— elected its first Green in one election, and liked what they got so much elected another in the next by-election, then elected 8 Greens in the last general election. It was enough to form the province’s Official Opposition and reduce the ruling Liberals to third party status.
Best of all, 5 of the new MLAs are women, making this Opposition Party a majority of women. And as there are only 2 other women elected to the 27 member Legislative Assembly, the Green women form a majority of womem in the legislature!
You know,
if I had to describe my experience as an aromantic in one word, I think I’d go
with “alienating”. Let me explain:
Imagine you’re
aro and watching TV. There some kind of SciFi show on and they are debating the
personhood of an AI.
The AI
shows curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. They have desires. They have
strengths and weaknesses. None of this convinces the doubters.
The AI
makes friends. They take up hobbies. They talk about their hopes and dreams for
the future. Surely this is enough to relate to them as a person? It’s not.
The AI is
shown to fall in love. This is framed as the ultimate proof, the one
thing that must humanize them even to the staunchest denier of their
personhood or else that person is irredeemable.
You change
the channel.
There’s a
children’s cartoon on. “What is this?!” the villain cries, pointing at a couple.
Their inability to understand the romantic love between those two is framed as
stemming from the fact that somebody so deeply evil simply cannot understand
something as pure and good as romantic love.
You change
the channel.
There’s a sitcom
on. Two characters are discussing a third character. “He’s really not that
weird,” says one character. “He hasn’t been in a relationship for [x] years!” the
other refutes. Cue the laugh track. The implication is clear: If he’s not in a
relationship, it must be because he’s too weird.
You change
the channel.
There’s a Christmas
movie on. The main character is a successful businesswoman. She’s shown talking
to her friends and family regularly. “You need a man,” her mother says as they
bake together. The daughter denies this. The rest of the movie is all about proving
the mother right, as suddenly her career, her friends and her family are framed
as not being enough for her to lead a fulfilling life.
You change
the channel.
It’s some
show aimed at young teens and tweens. “Ew,” one character comments as the idea
of them having a significant other one day is brought up. This is treated as a
sign of their immaturity.
You turn
off the TV.
Your
experiences aren’t enough to humanize a non-human character. You’re the
villain. You’re a weirdo. Your life is incomplete. You’re immature.
You’re tired.
There’s a
reason it was an aro who coined the term voidpunk.
