Politics: But Seriously You Guys...We Defeated Romney

Mitt Romney lost, and all is right with the world. 

Thank GOD.

I wasn't so sure for a minute there. 

I was up all night keeping tabs on an election I couldn't even vote in because it was so important. I may only be in Trinidad, but like it or not, the US has a huge influence on policy abroad (what with them forcing their way into other people's countries and all that) so it's essential that they keep moving towards progress. The US tends to set the example for the world, so it's a huge win that the American public re-elected a President who stands for reproductive rights, marriage equality and economic fairness.

But for a while it was close. I spent most of the night messaging back and forth with my awesome cousin in CT discussing the results, and more than once she had to calm me down because I was freaking out that Romney was pulling ahead. I ended up falling asleep around midnight and waking up around 3AM (I'm not on DST) to Obama's victory speech. And I cried. I seriously cried. I cried until I shook because I wasn't so sure it would happen. It didn't seem like a sure thing to me. My brother even came home and asked me if Romney won because I looked so distressed. After I calmed down, I posted this to my Facebook wall: 

"So I fell asleep around midnight and I'm now fully taking in the news that Obama has won and I'm in tears. As in, long, wracking, body-shaking tears. Because the fact that the American people even let Mitt Romney gain legitimacy as a Presidential candidate and almost elected him despite the horrible things he has said on record about women, people of colour and the LGBTQ makes me fear for America's future. To know that people who fell into those groups actively voted against their own interests makes me physically sick. To know that decades after the fact we're still arguing about reproductive rights, marriage equality and fucking affirmative action... I don't have the stomach for it. 

Because you see, Obama won, but he almost didn't  and he won't be around forever. And in the next four years the crazies will find someone else to champion their bigoted beliefs. 

For now I'm glad we don't have to deal with Paul Ryan or Todd Akin or any of those other asshats. I'm glad that even with active voter suppression and a fucking hurricane, people still went out to vote. I'm glad that reason prevailed. Because honestly, I need to save these tears for my own fucked up country."

And I meant every word. The fact that Mitt Romney has blatantly and repeatedly lied to the American public over the course of this campaign and experienced little to no backlash is truly disheartening to me. As far as I can see, it says to me that there is a huge chunk of the electorate that thinks that social issues have no bearing on their lives or the lives of the people they love. It means that they are willing to sacrifice important and essential rights in the long-term for more money in their pockets in the short-term. It means that they are just as horrible as he is. 

But misplaced anxiety aside, the right man won. (And those fucking rape apologists LOST!) We are safe for another four years. Women, people of colour and the underprivileged are safe for another four years.

The world is quiet here.