Our provincial election is coming up. In my view, it is more important than ever to stand against hate and intolerance, and stand up for those in our province whose voices are drowned out by politicians who want to give tax cuts to the wealthy and "out" LGBTQ+ kids who participate in life-saving GSAs in their schools. Yes, life-saving. That isn't hyperbolic. Kids who have emotional and relational support to be who they are, are less likely to die by suicide. Kids who are outed before they are ready, or outed to parents who are not accepting of LGBTQ+, are at an exponentially high risk of suicide and homelessness.
This is a major issue in this election as the conservative party thinks those kids should not have these rights and protections. Our current Premier and NDP government are committed to protecting these kids and, honestly, protecting all Albertans. Social issues are key, in my mind. We need money invested in health care and education. Premier Notley is the best leader this province could ever hope for.
This week, I decided to volunteer for my local MLA's campaign. I get tongue-tied and said I didn't want to do any speaking, so no door-to-door or phoning (Gah! The phone is scarier than in person for me). They said I could do a mail drop of the brochures.
At the same time, a friend shared about some "chalk-tivism" they were doing, by placing supportive messages for our LGBTQ+ community by the conservative signs. Together, with my daughter, we started our mail drop route with some chalk in our pockets, for some colourful fun on this gorgeous spring evening. The above photo was one of a few supportive messages we wrote as we walked.
Shortly after writing that one, a woman came running down the block, and around the corner we had just turned. She had to go quite a bit out of her way to catch up to us. She thrust the brochure toward me and said I could take my "garbage" and how dare I put it in her mailbox. And she saw our little "NDP propaganda" on the sidewalk back there. She said, "I don't know how much they're paying you, but I don't want your garbage." When I said I wasn't being paid (does she realize campaign door knockers and mail droppers and phone callers are volunteers? For all parties?), she said, "Yeah RIGHT!" She was practically spitting with rage. I was taken aback. I kept smiling, took the brochure. If I'd had my wits more about me, I would have wished her a pleasant evening. My 9 year old daughter witnessed this entire exchange.
This woman was so full of hate and anger, that she chased another woman and her child down the street in order to yell at them. She was that full of anger over supportive words written in (easily erasable) chalk on a sidewalk. I remembered her house. I remembered the sign on her front door. It said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Last I remember, serving the Lord didn't mean yelling at women and children.
If that is the kind of hate she spews at someone simply dropping off a campaign brochure (um, we're all being inundated with them from all parties), and a bit of chalk on a sidewalk, how much more hate will she actually spew at the LGBTQ+ community?
As we walked away, I said to my daughter, "This is why we do this. This is why we stand up for LGBTQ+ kids and rights. This is why we go to rallies and defend and do our best to be allies. We cannot return her hate and anger with more hate and anger." I felt really sorry for her, that she is walking around with that inside her; that it would propel her to confront us in that way, when we were acting in a peaceful and non-confrontational manner. I truly feel sad for her. And it reignites why I vote the way I do. The UCP is not completely made up of people like her, but more than any other party, it attracts people like her. And I hope people are starting to question why.
We finished our route and took our extra brochures back to our MLA's campaign headquarters. We shared our story with a couple people there, who were as taken aback as I was. We "paid" ourselves with slurpees from 7-11. I shared this story with my sons when we got home, and one said this was "typical" (based on her sign on her door, in his opinion), and one showed compassion by saying we don't really know what bad things have happened to her to make her that way.
I will continue to hope and show my children that love and compassion are the correct responses to all people, even the ones who spew hatred in our direction. This is nothing compared to the hatred spewed toward LGBTQ+, to immigrants, to people of colour, to the drug addicted...the list goes on.
Protect our kids. It's as simple as that.
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