a modest proposal

With a rising percentage of Americans identifying as LGBTQIA+, it is clear that a cultural shift in our country is necessary to achieve any semblance of peace in the coming years. Nearly 6% of Americans identify as queer in some capacity, and an estimated 20-40% of houseless youth identify on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. What accounts for this is often the response of family members after a child comes out. The queer youth is either kicked out or leaves their home due to safety concerns and lack of support. There must be some solution for this housing insecurity amongst queer youth that adequately addresses the harm done by straight and cis counterparts.

I humbly propose that the homes of bigots be repossessed and given to those queer youth who are otherwise houseless. Suppose the overall houseless population in the United States is only .2%, and anti-gay Americans make up 30% of the population. It stands to reason that these bigots could house all the houseless in the states and then some. I’m sure there are enough refugees and asylees who could take the remainder of the homes made available by stripping bigots of their housing rights.

This action may seem like a harsh response to what many views as a mere “difference of opinion,” but what is clear at this particular moment is that we are in the midst of a culture war. With or without government intervention, we will continue to fight these wars on the streets and in our homes. It is necessary for a strong showing of solidarity on the part of the government to declare a winner in this battle for cultural identity. It is time for our government to pick a side, and support for the most disenfranchised in our community must be unwavering if the legitimacy of this democracy is to be maintained. Not that I’ve been sold on the legitimacy of any democracy, but if it is the goal of the “majority” in this country to maintain a democratic state, then we must try to protect what so many hold dear. For this, the answer is clear: house the houseless with the homes of those who think people get what they deserve so that a lesson can be learned and some wisdom imparted. Put them in a position where they must pick themselves up to show them it is physically impossible to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Let them lie in the metaphorical mud for a time before extending a hand.

In matters as serious as this, we cannot afford to wait for people to “come around.” We must act. We must change the minds of a society that would rather kill its queer youth or let them kill themselves. We must stand firm in our resolve to protect queer children and provide them with the necessary resources to thrive. Considering having a home dramatically decreases the likelihood of being abused, exploited, and traumatized, we must first tackle the issue of houselessness before we can adequately address the comorbidities that exist alongside it. House the child, and suicidality will decrease. Give the child a roof over their head, and watch their attendance, grades, and social life flourish.

The question that naturally follows is: what to do with the now houseless bigots? Have we solved the housing crisis if we displace thousands to home these children? Of course not. Not entirely. I believe I answered this adequately before. Let them figure it out themselves. Let their sense of rugged individualism guide them back to affluence and security. If they built their wealth themselves, they could do it again. And if, as I suspect, they cannot, we extend a helping hand to the newly empathetic individual who now intimately understands poverty and what it means not to have a home. A person who now knows how destabilizing and challenging it is to build a life when you have no place to call your own. This solution will not only resolve the housing crisis but the identity crisis our culture is currently experiencing.