You know, as a teen, I thought of myself as right-wing but I could appreciate dramas about the black experience in the inner city or “serious” rap music. These things were always woke and arguably being used primarily as a weapon against us - but I legitimately miss before total Clown World feeling like I could at least try to have empathy.

That was almost half my life ago. I’ve just been bludgeoned too many times with how much that empathy has been abused. The George Floyd news cycle has perfectly captured all the elements of what I’ve seen so many times, with Trayvon and Jena 6. It’s the same lies, every single time. Even if I wanted to go basic conservative, I’ve seen over my life how most blacks (or Hispanics or poor whites) eventually either get away from the hood or live so quietly that the only threat is their neighbors. I used to be the only kid at my high school who had read Cornel West - now as an adult, I hear “up next Cornel West,” I will snatch that remote out of someone’s hand not to see it. Chuck D can also stuff it.