The Un-Racist Truth
I’ve often heard you say these days
that your skin is keeping you down,
that others look at it and try
to drive your dreams deep in the ground.
As if ‘The Man’ was right out there,
scheming against skin-tones abhorred,
even though ‘The Man’ was last seen
way back in nineteen sixty-four.
You think this shouting and whingeing
will somehow make a difference,
then you ascribe to racism
what’s explained by pure indifference.
Nobody’s out to keep you down,
and I think it’s time we be fair,
they don’t want to help or hurt you,
the truth is they just don’t care.
They have no time to plan or scheme
when everything is said and told,
they’re busy trying to survive
in a world frightful and cold.
Ninety percent of their own thoughts
are ever-focused on themselves,
it’s the same for every human,
it’s the story that we all tell.
We honestly don’t have the time
to think much on other's lives,
this self-interest is a good thing,
otherwise we’d not survive.
They don’t scheme to oppress you,
their minds don’t even go there,
it’s too much struggle to go plot,
the truth is they just don’t care.
Perhaps you should stop and look at
the content of their own thoughts,
I bet most of it is about yourself,
that is just humanity’s lot.
Does that mean you despise all those
that you happen to pass on the street?
Of course not, it just means that they
play no part in your daily beat.
Do you waste time thinking of how
you can hurt them for their skin?
Or do you just ignore them all
to focus on you and your kin?
If you’re not taking lots of time
to plot how to bring them despair,
then what makes you think that they will?
Like you, they do not really care.
If your mind's craving excuses
for a potential yet unmet,
then trying to blame another,
is an old, time-tested bet.
But smearing people in that way
will just retard your own mind’s growth,
the true problems lay deep within,
that is what the wisest know.
But shouting names is so easy,
and gives a person false-esteem,
you believe you look heroic,
but we see hateful and mean.
Blame lighter folks, or darker ones,
but it won’t get you anywhere,
you’ll only be hurting yourself…
but luckily, we won’t care.
Copyright © David Welch | Year Posted 2019
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