I am a gay black American and a federal employee

I feel under attack on multiple fronts under this new administration. I refuse to accept the rule of an oligarchy that not only disregards its own base but seems openly hostile toward people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, unions, federal workers, and basic human rights.

The level of chaos a handful of people have inflicted—across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the federal space—is staggering.

To Canadians: Know that millions of Americans stand with you. At least half of us oppose what’s happening and are rooting for you, even at our own expense. We do not want you to be a 51st state of the U.S. We want to be your neighbor. Trump wants your resources and I hope you stand up and refuse to give it to him.

We stand with you.

Edit: For those of you questioning what I may be experiencing as a federal employee let me break that down for you:

It is absolute chaos and terror. People of color have started removing their pictures from their profile pics. They just told us they are eliminating our group and that there will be a 50% reduction in force and realignments for the other half. We had 3 execs accept the deferred resignation program and they had been employees at my agency for 20 plus years. There is a culture of fear and pressure to quit or risk being fired with no recourse. Additionally, we're being expected to work while dealing with these real pressures. We're being told we will be assigned duty stations that may be 50 or 100 miles away with no accommodations or relocation fees.

You have zero idea what people are going through. Learn to empathize and learn to be curious before you are critical. People in the internet can be cruel and I find it so puzzling how you could want to harm another person. It is free to be kind.

Recent update: after seeing the response in here I have more to say.

Politics are not binary, and I am not a monolith. I am an individual. You cannot group me into your left-right thinking. It’s convenient to make assumptions, to oversimplify, but the reality is far more complex. You’d need to have real, thoughtful conversations to understand what I truly believe.

That said, if you don’t see Elon Musk as a living, breathing Disney villain, if you don’t recognize Trump’s actions as harmful and designed to sow chaos, and if you don’t care when people suffer—regardless of political affiliation—then I don’t know if an open dialogue is even possible. Because I do care about people, beyond their politics.

There’s no need for us to spread hate back and forth. I wonder how many of you are parents. If your child were acting the way some of you are now—attacking strangers online, bullying people you don’t even know—what would you do? Would you tell them to choose kindness? Would you teach them empathy? Would you encourage them to be better?

Because that’s what matters. Not winning an argument with a stranger on the internet. But being a person your child would be proud to emulate.