About 6 years ago, I decided to refrain from directly communicating about politics on my social media pages. Today, I'm uniquely upset. As positive as it is that individuals are able to vote for what alligns with their ideals as a form of exercising our freedom of thought, the popular vote going to Donald Trump in addition to a landslide electoral college victory disgusts me. Trump is a well documented (as clear as day via live TV, audio interviews, text interviews, and through multiple legal accounts) as a racist, sexist, sexually violent homophobe, insurrectionist and felon. I have no doubt that many of his supporters gawk at the image of a conservative glimmeringly "classic", old-style white man, bathing in opulence while representing their western ideals on the world stage. I cannot claim to be the perfect representation of spotless ethics myself, but surely - a track record like mentioned before should hinder one's eligibility for a such a job? Admittedly, a myriad of non-ideal situations plagued the left during this election - including poor strategy in the middle-east, conceding to Biden's intellectual degradation far too late in the election cycle, and more.

As a first-generation black man probably best identified somewhere within the gradient of queerness, it has been imperative to my survival to make my best attempt at communicating with profound clarity, social tact, openness, and intelligence. Seeing what seems to be the inverse of those attributes be awarded the most powerful seat in the country for a second time - shakes the foundation of my ethical understanding. Although, given my cumulative experiences and researched history as a black man in America, I cannot claim to be surprised.

Music and art are powerful, but they alone are not enough to excite the degree of change necessary on a fast enough timeline. This isn't news.

Personally, I've made an active effort of becoming involved with non-profits within my community throughout the past few years, but I can do more and do better. I don't have specific answers nor any well-adjusted new plans just yet, but a re-focus on community equipped with dialed up action is on the near horizon for me.