Why So Cynical?

If you have read TWOTC, you may notice (and by may I mean you definitely did) the dark and gritty tone. I have had a lot of people ask me why I am so dark in the head when it comes to writing. I don't really have one answer.
I hate how media and literature seem to tiptoe around the extremely dark parts of living as a human being in this time. I understand not wanting to hurt, offend, or trigger anyone, of course. But hiding these things in the dark (in my opinion) does not help shed light on what is really going on in the world.
The reality is: it's hard as hell to be a woman, LGBTQ+, or a race other than white. Sexual assault is a problem. Sex trafficking is real. Racism is not dead. Homophobia is still rampant.
The only way to push for change is to show just how problematic these things are and, sometimes, you have to be blunt as hell to get through to some people. My goal as a writer is not necessarily to write about these things, but to be real about what happens in everyday life. I will never be an author who writes rainbows and unicorns getting married without an objection or any sappy shit like that. I will be honest. I will be brutal. The world we live in is nowhere close to being a happy ending for everyone. A lot of it is cold and cruel. Death is not always in old age, happy in the arms of your high school sweetheart. Death is sometimes as sudden as a heartbeat. It can be bloody and painful with no thought of who it hurts in the process.
I am not dark for the sake of being dark. I am dark because darkness is real.