Hi there. Hope you don't mind an interruption to the memes for a message from the heart.
I'm the default player character in America: middle-aged, white, cis, hetero dude. I've always been on the left side of the American political spectrum, and have tried my best to lead a life of openness, kindness, acceptance, and respect for all ways of life.
Throughout high school and college, I knew a fair number of non-hetero people, and was delighted as the fight for gay rights and acceptance finally swung in their direction (at a national level, in America, at least -- I'm not pretending the work is done or things are perfect). I'll admit I didn't know or hadn't thought much about trans people or other parts of the TQ+ parts of the human experience until the last five years ago as they became more visible to us boring people.
How did that happen? Things like pronouns in bios and email signatures. Seeing visible trans people in media and politics. Wondering what that blue and pink flag meant. And even sitting on the sidelines of silly meme communities that seem to have a strong representation of people who live different lives than I do.
All of these little things had a real impact, for me at least. I've now had the pleasure of working with at least 4 trans people over the past 5 years, and one of my friends came out recently as non-binary. It makes me so happy to see people living their lives as their true selves.
I say all of this because our current political reality sucks. And what I say here isn't going to negate the real harm and fear that many people will face. But I want you all to know, no matter what the people in charge say and do: I see you, I love you, and no one can take that away from me or from you. I am not going back to a world where you don't exist.
The past two companies I've worked for have had DEI committees that were started by low-level employees, not by some weird political government mandate. They included a mix of people who might be considered "diverse" as well as many "regular" people like me. These efforts were broadly supported by majorities of the company. People want DEI.
The government can ban DEI efforts within the government itself, it can bully spineless tech companies to do the same, but it can't remove this thirst for inclusion from my heart or anyone else's. It can and will try to deny you healthcare, deny you opportunity, make you invisible, rewind progress. But progress is hard to take out of people's hearts and minds and put back in a box. In 4 years (hopefully), we'll have someone else in charge, and I am going to be right here, ready to pick up where things left off.
And in the meantime, I got your back, as much as I can. I'm one person and I can't change or control a lot. But I can and will stand up for the people in my life, where I work and live. And I am not alone. You have allies out there.
That's all I wanted to say. You're welcome to share this with anyone who needs it. Keep being yourselves out there. Keep the memes coming. We'll get through this.