Different Changemaking Paths for LGBTQ+ Activists (and Their Allies)

Making a difference where you are — and through what gives you joy. 

Content warning: this post discusses the Blitz and deaths in war, in very surface-level detail. 

More and more, American communities have been under fire in the White House, social media, the news, and on an interpersonal level. The Blitz-style attacks used by many (most prominently the Trump administration) are scary, but not as effective as they’d like you to believe. Here are some reasons to have hope. 

Why Blitz attacks against the LGBTQ+ community will backfire

Blitz-style attacks, while destructive and overwhelming, often fail spectacularly when it comes to breaking people’s spirits and ability to fight. Rutger Bregman details this in his excellent book Humankind: A Hopeful History. One of his examples comes from the nine months in 1940-41 when Germans, under the orders of Adolf Hitler, bombed the UK. They dropped over 80,000 bombs/incendiaries on London, destroying neighborhoods, damaging or destroying about a million buildings, and killing over 40,000 people. This had the opposite effect the Germans intended: “British society became in many ways strengthened by the Blitz. The effect on Hitler was disillusioning.”

As Bergman points out, the ability of the British to rally, take care of themselves and each other, and even make jokes during the Blitz is not unusual. “Crisis brought out not the worst, but the best in people.” 

We’re in a Blitz attack on trans people and other members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. The new administration is dropping as many bombs as it can as fast as it can—and we are bringing out our best. Our key challenges include finding each other, effectively building stronger and stronger coalitions, and taking care of our individual selves so we can outlast these attacks. 

We’re not grouped together under a geographic identity the way the British were (or the Germans when the British bombed them back, and so on). We’re certainly grouped under an identity, but we may have to go a little out of our way to meet up with the other folks being bombed right now. 

How do we do this? And especially, how do we do it while building strength? We need to be able to bring out our best now but also build capacity to keep bringing it forth in the future. I know for me, a main problem with this is that I’m not sure where and how to be useful. I struggle with a certain picture of what activists do or what a political person does—and those are the kinds of actions that I’m not particularly good at and get exhausted doing.

Activist dreams and character classes, feat. Kamala Harris

Enter Kamala Harris, who came to me in a dream in early February. We were sitting in the back seat of a car when she leaned over and whispered to me to go see Julius at the GameStop—he would tell me my role in the revolution. I love that she knew me well enough to send me to a GameStop, and I take this as a sign that being playful is one way to build strength while contributing.

This points me to Devon Price’s wonderful new book Unlearning Shame, which has calmed me down about trying to save the whole world at once and helped me understand how to be effective where I am. Price offers a set of “change-making ‘character classes,’” featuring the diversity of character strengths we see in role-playing games and superhero teams. 

These classes offer alternatives to the traditional marches-and-rallies organization many are familiar with. They acknowledge the ways in which every bodymind can contribute in their own capacity, and how no action is too small to be beneficial. The book also encourages adding your own classes to the list! 

Price tells us: 

“Fostering positive change is not all about leading protests or doing big, bold acts of disruption that wind up on the news. … This list is just a small taste of the many ways people can make a difference. The options truly are endless. … No matter where we are located and what feels impossible right now, we each face daily chances to do things like comfort those in pain, grow our understanding, and even sneakily violate rules that we know in our hearts to be unjust. We don’t have to force it — we just have to find it.”

Here are the classes in Unlearning Shame and a few points about each (quoted from the longer table in the book):

• The Protestor:
  • Attends public actions
  • Speaks out in the face of injustice
• The Educator:
  • Explains concepts and introduces new ideas
  • Creates community resources
• The Mediator:
  • Helps translate challenging ideas to people who are on the fence
  • Advocates for marginalized people to be centered in decision-making
• The Healer:
  • Helps ensure people in the community are well-fed and have access to resources
  • Speaks out when a movement is placing unrealistic demands on its members
• The Organizer:
  • Assists in the planning and execution of actions
  • Helps track goals, budgets, resource allocation, etc. 
• The Artist:
  • Breaks down complex concepts into memorable messages or symbols
  • Spreads messages to an audience that might not otherwise find them
• The Connector:
  • Builds coalitions across organizations or identity groups
  • Plugs isolated individuals into the support networks they need

Ashton’s Classes

At my core, I am the Educator and the Artist. (Note: I view these categories as a blend of character classes and Tarot cards.) That is how I have lived my life for a long time. In educating, I mentor disabled college students, teach middle schoolers, give presentations and talks, and generally, well… educate. Even my online work often revolves around this. 

Art (and creativity at large) is one of the few things I can’t live without. I’d sooner give up pizza than art. And because I know it so well, I use it as a political tool. I make political blog posts and write stories with political messaging (is it possible to write and not do so?). Art is how I yell now. It’s also how I connect. 

In high school, I was more of a Protestor and sometimes a Mediator. As time went on, those activities became harder and harder to do. At first, I berated myself for “not doing enough.” Now, I understand that I’m doing plenty, just in my own Artist and Educator way. 

However, in my educating, I also see Healer and Connector. My art is certainly a Healer. So I’m proposing another class which I will add to my two: the Witch. 

The Witch: 

• Connects with nature and their roots, nourishes life, and helps others do the same 
• Uses their abilities, knowledge, and tools to heal others in whatever way they’re comfortable
• Offer support outside traditional systems when needed 
• Makes a lot of healing food and shares it with others 
• Offers a blend of spiritual, logical, and experiential guidance to those in need of a way forward 

Rachel’s Additional Class

Like Ashton, I have both Educator and Artist strengths, both of those blended with Healer. I’d like to add: 

The Oracle:

• Reads probabilities and helps others avoid trouble before it happens
• Connects themself and others to the Sacred for rejuvenation
• Holds people and events in patterns that may span years or touch eternity
• Arms tactical members of the team/coalition with tools and information they’re likely to need
• Questions everything

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What are your character classes? Do you resonate with ours? We’d love to know! Let us know in the comments on this post if you’re so inclined.

We’ll leave you with some humor from the Blitz (courtesy of Bergman):

Weather report: “Very blitzy tonight.”

Pub sign: “Our windows are gone, but our spirits are excellent. Come in and try them.”

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