Summary:
In this kickoff to our new series, we explore a disturbing emerging pattern: since January 2025, the Trump administration has launched policy attacks and funding cuts that appear to be strategically timed to coincide with nationally recognized cultural and health awareness months.
We explore how this pattern exploits emotional expectations using Prospect Theory—where losses feel worse than gains feel good—and how it disrupts PERMAH, suppresses Admiration Triggers, and destabilizes the emotional and civic fabric of the country.
What should be moments of visibility, healing, and unity are instead becoming windows for cruelty, cancellation, and erasure.
We name the pattern.
We call it what it is.
And we prepare to track what’s coming next.
🔍 Topics Covered
The concept of Prospect Theory and loss aversion
The emotional impact of erasing celebration
How micro-moments of meaning are being weaponized
A preview of documented attacks from Jan–May 2025
The risk of divide-and-conquer tactics among marginalized groups
A commitment to evidence, not overstatement
An invitation to shift from reaction to proaction
🧠 Frameworks Applied
Prospect Theory – Losses hit harder than gains help
12 Utilities – Clarity, Security, Closure, and Emotion Evoked disrupted
PERMAH – Meaning, Relationship, and Health & Wellbeing undermined
Admiration Equation – Goodness and Awe erased instead of celebrated
📌 Call to Action
Have you felt this pattern?
Do you see it happening in your work, your inbox, your community?
Share your story. Help map what’s being taken—so we can defend what’s still ours.
📚 Citations & Resources
Full citations will appear in each individual monthly post to ensure accuracy and clarity
Post 2 on January’s cuts is available now → Dismantling the Dream
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