It Starts With You

A poem about racism - the change starts with you.

We ask ourselves, “Why judge by race?”
Who started it, this intolerance we all face?
Is it judging by colour or judging by culture?
This awful sin into which we all get lured

In truth it is difference that we all fear
We don’t take time to understand and we won’t, unless we’re near
But close enough we won’t get, for one group
Would start pointing fingers at the opposite

Forgive and forget all happened in the past
Though the youth still does it, leaving elderly aghast
Well-deserved peace turned to revenge and hatred
Our freedom is torn and our hearts left naked

And how do we solve this?
Point a finger, punch a fist?
Why don’t you look at yourself first?

The root of the problem that we all created
Stands at the feet of every member of this nation
If you want to get rid of all this nonsense
Start looking at yourself and listen to your conscience

It starts with you and you alone
To get all of this racism gone
Let us work together and one by one
Make ourselves a true nation!

Reviews

[Akshita]

I love the poem...especially the topic....and though I don't know much about South Africa but I can relate to it as it's pretty much same in India as well...it's really good...maybe because it's the first poem of yours that i've read that's related to you... :o

[The Nameless]

Haha thanks =D

[AlchemicPlutonian]

I could've sworn I reviewed this before but I guess not.
I know i've shared it on Tumblr.

Either way, extremely well written. Powerful 'look at where your thumb's pointing' sort of perspective. And it's true that even if we've abolished all the laws and everything, racism is alive and well. But it's not inherent, it's taught.

And considering from the dawn of time, racial superiority has always existed. I think that we're personally doing a pretty good job for trying to turn it around in the past hundred and fifty years. Severe racism is now a minority in this country, no pun intended. Given another century, I can imagine our nation being the ideal place for anyone of any color. You know, besides that whole capitalist wealth gap bullshit, we'll get to that next.

[The Nameless]

Yeah, but I live in South Africa.
Supposedly, we are now over Apartheid and a democracy.
And yet, on the brochures of colleges, they tell you what the different application marks are needed for each race, and how many learners of each race are let in.
It's shocking, really.
For blacks say 300 and for whites say 500 marks required, with Indian, Coloured and Asian thrown in between.

It seems like we are now only in the reverse, in some revenge plot, rather than what people learnt from the past.

[AlchemicPlutonian]

Oh wow, I didn't even take into account that you're not from the U.S. I have to be honest, I haven't paid much attention to the sociopolitical grapevine of South Africa, although now know two people there, so maybe I will.

[The Nameless]

Yeah. Though I may sound overly pessimistic - this is one place like none other. Rich in culture and beautiful in countless ways.
It's just sad that this place cannot be shared equally...