A lot has happened in the past several months, and I have returned back home to a dark time in political history for Canada. I can’t say that it’s the darkest, by any means Canada has certainly outdone itself in the past by having darker time; however I came back in time to vote for our provincial election, to which the results were highly unsettling.

This is an understatement. The fact that we have a mini-Trump in charge of our province is enough to make any immigrant who saw through his lies, any human who is not straight in sexual preference, and any human who is a Muslim, to fear the future of their lives, families, and times in Canada.

I, personally, voted strategically in an attempt to avoid this outcome. Unfortunately, it still happened. What do we do when we have someone like that in power?

I will not shy away from how I feel about this turn of events. I worry for my friends, neighbours, and others whom I don’t know, and what they are about to face. I worry for my family too. I worry for the children who will be taught a sex-ed curriculum that doesn’t include education on HIV/AIDS, and opens discussion in a healthy way about bisexuality and homosexuality. I worry about the conditioning this will leave in the kids. I worry that the new generation will unintentionally become homophobic, and that suicide rates will increase because those who are bisexual or gay/lesbian will fear what will happen to them if they were their honest selves and told the world who they are.

This is not progression. This is conservativism at its best. This is setting us back in such a horrific way.

While I am not bisexual or lesbian myself, I have friends who are and male friends who are gay. I have friends of different races. I have seen what the world does to these people, the struggle they have been through just to be accepted for who they are. Nevermind all the news coverage that distinctly shows the horrificness that follows a mindset of homophobia, racism, and hate, and a government that seemingly supports it. I see these people who mean the world to me, know of their plights, and when they were able to breathe just for a short time, know that they will be fighting for acceptance of their identities. Because your sexual preference is not about a choice, or a phase in your life, it is about who you are. It is a part of who you are just like your name, your likes and dislikes. It is you. There is no changing that.

To all of those who feel this way, know that there are many who support you. You are not alone in the changing tides. We will love you and support you, and help you. And if I speak alone, so be it. I will be by your side. My view will never change. My opinion will never change.

Don’t give up. Reach out to those who love you and accept you for who you are. Do not tolerate the hate and opinions of narrow minded, small minded people, who only give a shit about themselves. They are not worth it.