The companion to this photo is up at hchamp.

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I found this empty sign and then I found this one.

Possibly more on Flickr at some point.

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Later: I posted this last night and kept it pretty neutral after my last emotional post because I was planning to go back into work mode and didn't want to leave that one up in front for the duration of my posting hiatus. But since then I haven't been able to escape the feeling that it was the wrong thing to do. It's not healthy to bury the emotion as much as I want to set it aside and get all of this overwhelming amount of work done.

I think the thing that bothered me more than anything about the election results was that a vast number of Americans gave a very clear message to the world and one another about what they think about human rights. Denying ALL adult citizens the right to something that the rest of it's citizens are entitled to without question says a lot more than "We don't think you should be able to do this one thing." I care very little about the concept of marriage. Mr. Risk and I have been together for going on 12 years, unmarried. The concept has no bearing on the strength of our relationship or what we mean to each other. And yet, I also realize that I still, by default of being in a heterosexual relationship have enjoyed a certain level of priviledge regardless. All I have to do is check "Common Law" on my tax forms and our relationship is validated by law, entitling us to spousal benefits, and all the other no-brainers that come with that acknowledgment. Mind you I live in Canada and that's how it works here. I don't really know how it works in the States but I'm going to guess it's pretty fucking similar. And I live in Ontario, Canada and thankfully gay marriage is legal here now.

But still, this has to do with so much more even then marriage. What it says is that a whole lot of people DO NOT believe that homosexuals are EQUAL and entitled to the rights everyone else is entitled to.

Here's a country that's supposed to be founded on concepts of equality and yet equality has never actually existed there, EVER. Everytime an issue of civil rights comes up a great deal of the population fight tooth and nail to deny it. And if you listen to the rhetoric used to justify what's happening right now, it sounds frighteningly similar to the language used during the civil rights movement in the 60s. Because ultimately, the same fear and the same motivation is behind it.

It disturbs and saddens me.