Conservatives have spent the last couple months calling everyone who disagrees with them a pedophile, and now they’re setting their sights on the Trevor Project, an organization that runs a hotline and other resources to fight LGBTQ youth suicide.
Colin Wright, an editor of the anti-LGBTQ website Quillette, shared a comic from the Trevor Project that explained how teens could erase browser history and escape the site quickly so that they could get help even if they are worried about being outed to their parents.
Related: Calls to The Trevor Project suicide hotline are up since Trump elected president
Wright didn’t seem able to understand how something like this could help young people and instead said that the point of the feature is to “keep parents in the dark.”
Others on the right equated the Trevor Project with pedophilia, implying that an organization reaching out to LGBTQ teens in crisis is the same as a child sex abuser having sexually charged conversations with minors, as if any conversation involving LGBTQ identities is inherently pornographic.
“Why is the Trevor Project encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents?” the far-right organization Moms for Liberty responded to Wright’s tweet.
Why is the @TrevorProject encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents? https://t.co/86SqFIR8g9 — Moms for Liberty (@Moms4Liberty) April 27, 2022
“Leftwing activists are predatory groomers,” conservative pundit Lauren Chen tweeted. “If you sit around designing and promoting ways to get in touch with kids so you can discuss sexuality and keep it from their parents, you are a groomer.”
Leftwing activists are predatory groomers. If you sit around designing and promoting ways to get in touch with kids so you can discuss sexuality and keep it from their parents, you are a groomer. Period. Full stop. https://t.co/HIoVIyL9jB — Lauren Chen (@TheLaurenChen) April 27, 2022
“They’re trying to break your children,” said conservative podcaster Jesse Kelly.
They’re trying to break your children. https://t.co/IkJXIop6Gt — Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) April 27, 2022
The anti-LGBTQ account Libs of TikTok called the Trevor Project a “grooming organization” in a now-deleted tweet.
The Trevor Project works to prevent LGBTQ kids from committing suicide, that's it. It's actually a matter of public safety to have this person's identity known if she's going to be this hateful and dishonest pic.twitter.com/suqgTBwWje — Mother 🌻 🦂 (@punishedmother) April 20, 2022
James Lindsay, the professor who is best known for getting a fake academic paper published in 2017, claimed that it’s “only a matter of time until solid evidence of serious wrongdoing emerges regarding the Trevor Project.”
Only a matter of time until solid evidence of serious wrongdoing emerges regarding the Trevor Project. They don't mobilize to protect anything unless there's something really bad going on there that they don't want anyone to find out. Mark my words. — James Lindsay, champion manspreader (@ConceptualJames) April 28, 2022
He then said it’s the “Groomer Project posing as suicide prevention.”
Groomer Project posing as suicide prevention — James Lindsay, champion manspreader (@ConceptualJames) April 28, 2022
As many people pointed out, having an “escape” feature is fairly standard for crisis hotlines and web services since the people who turn to crisis hotlines often don’t have support from the people around them.
GrandMoffTarkan on April 28th, 2022 at 18:03 UTC »
My aunt works in an ER and has seen some shit. Wouldn't you know that abusive parents don't like it if you ask to talk to their child alone?
NecroMoji on April 28th, 2022 at 17:54 UTC »
their gripe is it’s “keeping parents in the dark about their kid’s activities and interactions, having adults groom kids over the internet” even though many kids who come out to their parents get abused, thrown out, put into conversion therapy, or worse. these parents are a much more influential force than any stranger will be and most definitely indoctrinate their kids daily, but it’s okay because it’s their ideals.
children are allowed to have privacy and confide in people who understand you, stripping away any sort of mental health service or community dedicated to helping these kids not self harm or commit suicide is vile and truly just shows conservatives want these individuals to die rather than co-exist with them. there’s no ulterior motive that could be argued, they want gay kids to kill themselves.
Proic13 on April 28th, 2022 at 17:38 UTC »
I swear everything's pedophilia with them but when an actual one turns up as their congressman (gaetz) it's crickets & silence...