Damage is already done

Let’s say the Ministry stops the madness and runs the FCC pilot like an actual pilot program. Let’s say they build the FCC with lots of engagement (instead of trying to slap it together from scratch in a couple months). Let’s say they keep everything else intact (like funding Starbright) so that nothing is lost if their pilot fails.

Even then, there’s still a problem.

I’m not talking about all the stress and heartache they’ve caused. I’m not talking about all the hours spent doing research and sending emails. I’m talking about broken trust. This is how the Ministry operates? They promise engagement, but it doesn’t happen. People complain, they change course, they promise engagement, but it still doesn’t happen, so people complain again, which is what’s happening now. Hopefully they change course again. But the cycle will keep repeating.

Bottom line, we can’t trust the Ministry. They will always push until we push back, so we always have to push. We can’t rest, we can’t assume anything is permanent. Everything can be taken away in a moment’s notice. Most of us applauded the FCC pilot, never imagining that it would mean a CDC like Starbright would get defunded. Now, many of us are losing several key services all at once! It’s not just a bit of chaos, it’s complete chaos.

The Ministry isn’t even communicating. They make sudden changes with no warning. We have to stay on high alert all the time. We have to group up to share information to make sure we haven’t missed anything. We never know when it will suddenly be go time. They can promise all they want about FCCs, but who says they won’t just yank that away too in a couple years?

So the real damage? Regardless of how this plays out, the Ministry has made vulnerable people feel more vulnerable than ever.