And Now We Fight

Readers— The staff here at Noisey has always enjoyed a wide range of music, from extreme metal to underground hip-hop to mainstream pop to punk and everything in between. And while our editors' tastes are eclectic and our opinions diverse, we are all united by a shared belief in a few core principles, namely that we are absolutely and resolutely anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-homophobic, and anti-fascist. Obviously, these are values that are not shared by all American citizens and institutions, and the results of last week's election were a sobering reminder of that.

Last week, some of us watched the news in a state of shock, while others' previous beliefs of America's division were confirmed. Throughout it all we wavered between periods of disbelief, fear, and anger. But most of all, we felt powerless. Because although it seemed like sheer madness that the populace elected a man with no political experience, whose platform was a bald-faced representation of white supremacy and the alienation of millions of Americans, we had to face the reality that he would occupy the Oval Office for the next four years.

It's been disheartening to see some entertainment outlets already begin to normalize Donald Trump, as if he is any way a traditional candidate or a leader whose opinions merely diverge from the norm. We at Noisey have zero interest in doing this. In fact, the agenda we plan on pursuing over the next four years will be the polar opposite. We will relentlessly and unrepentantly rail against fascism and bigotry in all forms. Further, we will continue to celebrate the culturally diverse voices that make America's music scenes wholly vital, unique, and wonderful.

Trump's America will be frightening and frustrating to those with progressive viewpoints, especially to those from the marginalized communities he and his followers have targeted. But as we stand here, now, mad as hell, we recognize that the only way we can do this is to continue to be who we are. We will not only elevate voices that Trump and his followers want silenced, but we will hold ourselves to a standard that will refuse to allow Trump and Trumpism to be normalized. He is a bigot. He is a fascist. He is a misogynist. He is a white supremacist. He is a fraud. And he is terrifyingly powerful. We must not allow his poisonous rhetoric to dominate the discourse of culture. And we do this together. If you have ideas and thoughts, we want to hear them. We want to act on them. We want to empower you to act on them. We want to shine a light on scenes wherein people respect one others' genders and identities without pause and without question. We want to support the underground, where so much vital work is already being done to combat his noxious rhetoric. The people who determine the future should be those who will live in the future.

Send us your stories, your experiences, your art, and your ideas on how to survive this motherfucker's reign to musicvstrump@noisey.com. We promise you that we will check this email every day for the next four years.

We are going to start every week by re-reading this letter. We are going to remember our outrage at this moment and let it fuel our direction over the next four years. We are never going to let ourselves get complacent. We are never going to let the flames of resistance burn out.

So while last week was dark, it's now time to move forward, do the work, and fight like fuck. We're going to fight like fuck for music fans who feel like they don't have a voice in Donald Trump's America. We're going to fight like fuck to give a home to artists willing to speak out against oppression, misogyny, white supremacy, and xenophobia. We're going to fight like fuck to provide an outlet to artists and writers of color, to writers who are women, who are immigrants, who are Muslim, who are working class, and who are members of the LGBTQIA community. We're going to fight like fuck to use our platform here at Noisey to oppose everything Donald Trump and his administration represent. We're going to fight like fuck—because that's all we can do.

Join us.

—The Noisey Editorial Staff