I'm a white guy, aged 64, raised in a small town way up north.
Do some thoughts I have about blacks signal prejudice coming forth?
First I'd say NO, but then again I'd say YES.
But such thoughts, by both whites and blacks, are normal I would guess.
What thoughts am I now referring to you will probably ask.
To answer that sensible question will put my mind to task.
My interactions with blacks, I think, no prejudice does reveal.
And the rare times I have 'prejudice' thoughts, I think they're no big deal.
Do you wish to know of what my 'pre-judged' thoughts consist?
I'd almost rather not tell you. But, if you insist.
I sometimes think 'nigger'; when and where I grew up that was a 'bad' name.
I also think of them as different though people are the 'same'.
And here is where I say 'I don't like generalization'.
By 'same' I mean neither all blacks nor all whites are 'the same' in this nation.
So whites and blacks can both be smart or stupid, mean or kind;
within each 'race' criminals and 'saints' you'll find.
I wasn't raised to either love or hate blacks. My parents seemed not to judge.
And I've changed my mind again; I'm NOT prejudiced. From THAT opinion I shall not budge!
Then why you ask do I sometimes think 'nigger' when I think of a black?
I think it's due to both a primeval urge to break society's rules, and to the 'thought-control' I lack.
Luckily I don't act out my 'bad' thoughts. I might be in jail now if I had.
When in grade school, a boy said I called him 'nigger'. The accusation made me sad.
I HAVE NOW PUT THIS INTO MY AUGUST 2018 SHOWCASE OF POEMS. August's showcase features very short poems by PH poets and poems about racism, as provided mostly by PH's list of racism-topic poems. bri :)
and when i say i might be in jail, it is not that i would commit a racist crime. but it might be a sexual one. or just thievery. bri :) don't worry, i don't know where (most of) you live.
Hey (good effort) been there, done that. To me, it's not the color of the skin, it's the personality that I judge. Read mine - Sympathetic Pain - Adeline
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
PLEASE READ MY POET'S NOTES! ! ! BRI :)