'Let's Circle Back After the Midterms'

I hate periods of transition. You know? Those situations where the waiting is the hardest part?

I've wanted to skip to the end of this political season of our discontent ever since that man came down the escalator, forced his way into the body politic, and never left.

It's exhausting.

And I have ADHD. It's been tough to be in "wait-mode" for a decade.

Lately, I've been juggling multiple projects, including working with my podcast producer Moses Williams on the next few episodes of THE BLACK SNOB POD; planning an event in New York for the 200th anniversary of the Black press; freelance writing and sending pitches to everyone and their grandmother; all while still running my digital media strategy consultancy, DCB Media LLC. I'm working more than I did with a full-time job!

But when I'm not hustling, I'm worrying. Because so much of life is "on pause" until after the midterms. It's "on pause" because no one knows what's about to happen. Whether we get a blue wave or a complete bust will determine so much about how this country and the businesses within it move. As in, everyone is waiting until after the midterms to make major decisions about hiring, about what to invest in, and about what moves to make.

Do we want to invest in diversity—which actually makes money and sense—or are we just gonna keep hiring different versions of someone's idiot son to avoid the wrath of the Trump Administration?

Let's circle back after the midterms.

Do we want to live in a free society with freedom of movement, information, funds, and fun, or are we gonna bring back the bad ol' days of feudalism and forced servitude?

Let's circle back after the midterms.

Should we cut our losses and move to Portugal or Ghana, pulling a wait-and-see on the next two years?

Let's circle back after the midterms.

We're less than six days away from the rest of our lives. Maybe I'll rewatch Being There to remind me that all of this was foretold years ago, but did America course-correct or listen?

God no.

We dived headfirst into the abyss with no floaties. Really hope we don't drown!

Snob Takes

Erik Mohn was a stranger in his own story as a transracial adoptee growing up in the mostly white town of Harvard, Mass. He was a Black boy with white parents who loved him, but he knew from an early age that love couldn't protect him from a racist world he did not understand.

“In the adoptee community, there's a term, 'Coming out of the fog,’” Mohn told THE BLACK SNOB. “For a good portion of your life, you tell yourself, I was meant to be adopted; I love my parents; I'm going to suppress these emotions. Then at some point, whether you're 13, 16, 25, or in your 30s, you have a wake-up call.

"I don't think I ever experienced that, because from the moment I could see and think for myself, I was asking, ‘What's going on here? I don't look like my parents.’”

His journey of discovery took him to many places—Howard University, Alabama, Ghana—but his most important journey was the one within himself. With hip-hop as his guide, Mohn learned to be a Black man in America, then unlearned a few things to find that Blackness is not a monolith; it holds enough multitudes for even those not raised within the culture to thrive.

Read: ‘Born Brokenhearted,’ A Transracial Adoptee Finds Hip-Hop and Healing.

Perfection takes work. Nobody knows this more than former Real Housewives of Dubai star and admitted perfectionist, Lesa Milan, who, since leaving the spotlight, has turned her keen eye for detail to her foundation and family. But just because she's out of the reality TV game, it doesn't mean she doesn't have thoughts about it! The real reason Dubai was "put on pause?" Her fav new Housewife? The Housewife who was most misunderstood on her show? Milan tells all to THE BLACK SNOB.

Read: Three Sons. One Exit. No Regrets: Lesa Milan on Life After The Real Housewives of Dubai

The kids are not alright. And definitely not Black Gen Z. In a guest post by BLACK SNOB contributor Elizabeth Franklin, this HBCU student digs deep to find why more young Black people are stressed and depressed.

Recent studies have shown that Gen Z is the most distressed generation, the loneliest, and the one suffering the most from societal pressures. In fact, last year, researchers in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management found that young adults—age 18 to 29—are the face of our national mental health crisis. 

And the numbers only get worse when you consider race.

John Hopkins researchers found that Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (10.5%) adults have higher rates of mental distress than white adults (7.4%). 

“One of the greatest differences for Gen Z compared to previous generations is that they've grown up in a fully digital world, with exposure to social media and online content essentially from the beginning of their lives,” said North Carolina-based psychiatrist Dr. Gina Newsome Duncan. “That has shaped their identity development, their social identity development, and their interactions and friendship formation.”

How can parents and other adults help the newest adults navigate these turbulent times? Check out Franklin's first story for THE BLACK SNOB to learn more.

Read: Black Gen Z Is Struggling, Is the Polycrisis to Blame?

Lastly, can't get enough midterm madness? If so, are you OK? I dunno, maybe get your fix by checking out my newsletter, URL Media's We The Many. Lately, I've been breaking down what's happening in hot races in various states.

Or making fun of Nicki Minaj with Joy Reid. Whichever makes the most sense!

Also, get out and vote because the choice is yours! (For now.)