If My Kids Were Straight, Would I Still Be Writing This?
It took less than a month.
Less than a month for Trump to prove that his campaign denials about Project 2025 were bullshit. One of the political journalists I follow,
, laid out the order of events on January 28, 2025—not an analysis, just a relentless list of what’s already happened, piece by piece, a staggering list of shock and awe chaos posted in Letters from an American.I’ve summarized her account as best I can:
During the 2024 campaign, Trump distanced himself from Project 2025, a right-wing plan led by the Heritage Foundation that aimed to replace the nonpartisan civil service with loyalists, consolidate power over the DOJ and military, and enforce Christian nationalism. Despite his denial, many of its architects are now set to serve in his second administration, with two-thirds of his executive orders aligning with the plan’s framework. His administration has revived efforts to strip civil servants of protection, purge perceived disloyalty, and reshape the military under the leadership of Pete Hegseth, who prioritizes fighting "wokism" over national security. Meanwhile, Trump has defied Congress by freezing all foreign aid, undermining global U.S. influence, and halting domestic grants and loans—including funds for disaster relief, food programs, and early childhood education—sparking bipartisan outrage and legal challenges. Additionally, Trump’s White House has ignored laws preventing the unilateral firing of inspectors general and controlling federal spending, with Senator Angus King calling this executive overreach the most direct assault on congressional authority in U.S. history. A federal judge has temporarily paused the spending freeze, but the administration’s actions have already thrown the country into political and economic turmoil.
Executive overreach isn’t just another political shift. What you’re looking at here is a rapid centralization of power—civil service purges, control over the Justice Department, politicization of the military, freezing of funds to consolidate executive authority. Heather’s piece describes a moment of reckoning. A structural, ideological, and legal upheaval designed to consolidate power, erase opposition, and enforce a specific worldview—one that is openly hostile to LGBTQ+ people, racial and religious minorities, and democratic institutions.
And listen, I'm writing this today because of my kids. If my kids weren't LGBTQ+, weren’t in this position—I mean besides all the gay pride flags in our house, we for the most part present as very white Wonder Bread family. If my kids were so-called "normal" cis-gendered, heterosexuals, straights, I’d be very tempted to very easily put my head down and get on with my life, you know?
This isn’t just about my kids. And this is not just about Trump. Project 2025 and the broader authoritarian movement are about implementing a system designed to strip away freedom, safety, rights—and the dignity of everyone to exist as themselves. To create a world where compliance is demanded, where difference is punished, and where those who don’t fit are erased. This isn’t just exclusion; it’s elimination of nonconformity.
But.
We are not powerless. First off, know and understand your legal rights. Groups like the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and the National Center for Transgender Equality provide guidance on how to protect LGBTQ+ individuals under hostile policies. If bans, purges, or restrictions come down the pipeline, they will be the first to mobilize legal challenges. Second, depending on where you live, staying put or moving could become a conversation. Planning a relocation is not about overreacting but about being prepared if the situation escalates. And build strong community ties. Isolation makes people vulnerable. Connecting with LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, mutual aid networks, and local leaders ensures that your kids and others have protection and support.
Your voice matters. You don’t have to be a politician to push back—you can write, call representatives, share information, and educate your network. Silence is complicity. Groups fighting for civil rights, voting rights, and LGBTQ+ protections need funding, volunteers, and amplification. Authoritarian power thrives when people feel defeated and stay home. Vote, protest, and disrupt the narrative. Elections matter, and so does mass pressure. Engage local. School boards, city councils, and state governments hold immense power. If federal protections erode, state and local governments become battlegrounds.
The goal of authoritarian movements is to normalize oppression, and to make people think resistance is futile. Because authoritarianism thrives in gaslighting, keep records, screenshots, and proof of legal changes, discrimination, and rhetoric. These records matter for resistance and legal fights. Legacy media outlets are often slow or cautious in calling out authoritarianism. Follow journalists like Judd Legum (Popular Information), and Heather. Or even me with my commentary. Smaller investigative outlets are covering structural takeover of government and the dismantling of civil rights with necessary urgency because the rise of authoritarian rule is not inevitable so refuse to accept their framing.
Understand, too, that facts, research, well thought out arguments do not change minds. So, you must figure out how to control the overall narrative. And the best way to do that is to lean into storytelling, not direct opposition. If you frame the fight against authoritarianism, the battle over civil liberties and the political discourse around democracy as a “good vs. evil,” you lose people immediately.
Instead, tell stories that highlight real people and real consequences.
Republicans, conservatives, Christian nationalists—whatever you want to call them—above anything else, they are people just like you and me. And they are deeply invested in their communities just like you and me. They might not care about “equity” as a concept, but they care about local control, family, freedom, and stability—all concepts you and I care about on equally deep levels.
Instead of saying Project 2025 will erase LGBTQ+ rights, tell a personal story of an LGBTQ+ kid trying to navigate school under new policies. When people see the pain before they see the politics, they start questioning without realizing. Instead of railing against attacks on democracy, frame the conversation around what happens when Washington bureaucrats decide who runs your town instead of people who actually live here? Instead of shutting down conversations with strong pushbacks (which none of us have the luxury of doing), ask more questions. Questions like, what do you think happens to the housing market when a president decides federal money is optional? What do you think happens to business growth when people start leaving places that feel unsafe?
Find shared values, not battle lines. Make it human, make it local. Make them feel the stakes instead of argue the politics. Disarm with curiosity, not confrontation because curiosity forces people to engage differently than defensiveness. But be unpredictable as well, keep them listening because if they think they know where you stand, they stop listening.
Keep your messaging fluid—sometimes funny, sometimes personal, sometimes practical. Make them want to hear what you have to say next.
As for your kids, they need to know they are safe, loved, and that you are fighting for them. They need to see that people can resist injustice and that they don’t have to go through this alone. Fear is contagious, but so is resilience. Talk to them honestly. Let them know you’re aware of what’s happening, and that you’re working on plans to protect them. Even if they’re scared, knowing you’re thinking ahead will give them some stability. Connect them to LGBTQ+ spaces. Whether online or in-person, they need a community that reminds them they are valid, supported, and have a future. Prepare them for potential challenges. And this sucks but helping them understand what they might face (legal issues, healthcare restrictions, school policies) gives them the power to respond.
Fight like hell for their rights. The more people push back now, the harder for these policies to stick.