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Quit the doom and gloom everybody: here’s 7 good things that actually came out of the US election

Donald Trump has been saturating every single news website on the web for the past year, and last week was the most prolific drenching yet. His election as POTUS has caused uproar everywhere, with people all over the world calling his victory hollow and unexpected – or preparing for some kind of Trumpocalypse.

Bad news gets the views, and seemingly more people are chill with combining their hate towards one person that seeing another side of the coin. Who became President wasn’t the only thing America voted for last week, and there was actually a fair few progressive and welcome changes that the US ushered in during the recent election.

us election trump

Sick of the hate around the US election? See a happier side of the discourse by checking out these 7 amazing changes Americans voted in last week.

A victory for women of colour

21 women were elected into the Senate, which is the most the US has ever had. Additionally, America welcomed their first Latina Senator, Catherine Cortez Masto, a Thailand-born, double-amputee and Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth was elected and California elected their first female biracial Senator Kamala Harris.

Weed!

California, Maine, Nevada and Massachusetts quietly legalised the recreational use of marijuana, following the lead of trailblazers Washing and Colorado. On top of that, Florida, Arkansas and North Dakota approved the medical cannabis.

The Simpsons predicted the future once again

16 years ago in an episode called Bart to the Future, Lisa Simpson casually referred to a ‘President Trump’. It’s not the only time they’ve seen the future, either.

Raising the minimum wage

Arizona, Maine, Washington and Colorado all approved initiatives to raise the minimum wage to $12 by 2020. It may not seem like much, but given the importance of the middle American working class in the election results, it’s a huge boon for a portion of the population which can’t be ignored.

Permanent protection for women’s healthcare

The day after the election results were public, Barack Obama personally signed off on a ruling to permanently protect funds used to provide low-income women with essential healthcare. The ‘Title X’ ruling provides support to Planned Parenthood and other non-profits to pay for pregnancy termination services, breast cancer screenings and countless other essentials of women’s health.

Sick burns from Roger Waters

Turns out Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters doesn’t really approve of Trump, and it resulted in a truly spectacular visual show. According to Waters, Trump is a dildo-loving Klansman with a micro-penis.

Colorado approves euthanasia

It’s a spicy topic, but a person’s right to die is still something rarely protected in the developed world. Under a new initiative, terminally ill patients in Colorado will be able to have a pair of physicians sign off on the provision of life-ending medication, which the patient must then self-administer.

It will go into effect next month.