In this day of hashtag activism, twitter has become become more than just a place to share content. It was the vehicle #justice4Trayvon, #bringbackourgirls, and of course #Blacklivesmatter/#Alllivesmatter. In fact the electronic souls of Black Folk established Black Twitter as a means of digital identity. Over the past 10 years, we've witnessed Twitter evolve from a micro blogging site to what media philosopher Marshal McCluhan's coined the global village where everyone has an opportunity to exchange their ideas in the public sphere. This was most visible with the 2016 election cycle. Not only did Twitter operate as an equal opportunity platform for digital political self expression for the voting public, but did the same for the presidential candidates, most notedly, President Elect Donald Trump. As there are individuals who clearly have dissatisfaction with the results of the presidential election, the first amendment and tandem with social media has sparked a new hashtag in the war of words, #notmypresident. At the risk of being candid, there is a part of the electoral public still scratching their heads as to the results of the election, that said, this is nothing new. What is mind boggling is how a campaign built on moral panics won the presidency. The ideals which we believed to be American, truth, justice, raced, gendered, and classed equality, those that make the fabric in the American quilt were put to political litmus test. In the rally where President Elect Trump raised to Black voters, "what the hell do you have to loose," well for some who were the beneficiaries of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity reforms, at the risk of being direct, a hell of a lot if we become to be quasi passive aggressive. Let's just be honest, many African Americans elected to boo instead of vote. Further, in some states, particularly my home of North Carolina, yes there was political gamesmanship which really attempted to disenfranchise Black voters. That said, the age of Obama is coming to an and for better or worse, change is good. On one side, it allows President Obama to really concentrate on what's most important, being a parent and husband to his family. The weight of a nation has got to be tremendous. Another positive change, especially for the souls of digital Black Folk is that it forces a serious consciousness raising regarding activism. Hashtag activism has its place but unfortunately, many of us have rested on our laurels and have become either complacent or desensitized. The result: we have a president we as a nation elected (either actively or passively). So when we use the hashtag #notmypresidet as a means of transgression; let's be transparent, it's like a any drug or alcohol, it feels good, but at the end of the day you have to sober up and face the reality, that Donald Trump is our president.
