the bill that is floating through the congress right now - referred to as the equality act - is something that has been introduced at many levels of government in many places. it took something like ten years to get it passed at both the federal level and provincial level in ontario, but it has been law here now for several years. in fact, the process that led to our version of the equality act coming into law may be well known to people around the world because it is the exact amendment that produced jordan peterson's shamefully disingenuous and dishonest transphobic rant around the use of gender pronouns. if you're wondering what the fuck he was even talking about, the bill passed by the house of representatives is exactly the same thing that he had a demagogic panic attack over.

and, i'll be clear enough - i support these word changes in the law. i mean, if we're to enforce anti-discrimination laws, these are things that should be covered, certainly.

but, there's a tendency for observers to exaggerate the nature of a victory such as this.

i don't think that discrimination - of any sort - is something that you fix with government policy, but rather something that you fix by radical social activism. this is a tool for activists to use, and activists should be thankful for it, but it is a first step in the process rather than a last one and, in the long run, we'll get further with honest attempts at social inclusion than the heavy machinery of human rights litigation.

so, my response is muted, and it's no accident - it may be overdue, but i don't see these kinds of things as the victory that others do.