The Pattern Is the Point: When Celebration Becomes Target
From the series First They Came for the Calendar
Return to “First They Came for the Calendar” series hub
Last month, something clicked.
A few cuts felt too perfectly timed.
Too precise. Too pointed.
So I mapped them.
And what I found was more than a coincidence.
From January through May 2025, the Trump administration’s most aggressive rollbacks have lined up—almost eerily—with the very months meant to honor marginalized communities or essential public health issues:
MLK Day (January) → DEI and civil rights dismantled
Black History Month (February) → Books removed, programs suspended
Women’s History Month (March) → Protections revoked, teacher equity cut
Autism Awareness Month (April) → Research slashed, advocates shut out
Mental Health Awareness (May) → Crisis programs and Medicaid threatened
It’s not just about policy.
It’s about Prospect Theory in action:
People feel losses more intensely than they feel gains.
So when you expect recognition and instead get erasure?
It hits harder. It destabilizes. It silences.
And that may be the point.
These months are typically moments of affirmation—when society pauses to say, “you matter.”
But this year, each celebration has been paired with a cut.
A cancellation.
A cruel reminder that some want these communities not just marginalized, but forgotten.
This isn’t reactive governance.
It’s emotional engineering.
And maybe even strategic fragmentation.
When one group is attacked, others may flinch but feel relieved:
“At least it’s not us.”
But the calendar keeps turning.
And eventually—it is.
That’s why I’m launching this series:
To track the pattern.
To forecast what’s coming.
To name what’s being lost.
And to frame it with truth—not panic.
I will only cite what can be verified.
No exaggeration. No conspiracy.
Just evidence, pattern, and impact.
Because if this is coordinated—if the cruelty is the strategy—
then the answer isn’t retreat.
It’s readiness.
And shared clarity may be our best resistance.
🔜 Next: January – Dismantling the Dream: What Really Happened in January 2025
In the week we were meant to honor Dr. King’s dream, the administration began dismantling it—policy by policy, word by word.
