From A Racist Point Of View
If I was a white man,
My intelligence...
Would not be considered arrogant.
Nor would I be noticed flaunting my pride.
Or be thought of as a novelty!
But because I am black.
And factually identified with a liking of it.
I am thought to be a fool.
Because I have multiple experiences.
And most folks who like their perspectives kept,
From a racist point of view...
Think all black folks they call niggers are fools.
With a proudness to display their ignorant redneck status.
And being called a cracker they love.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Related quotes
Labels!
they call us poor white folks
'white trash'....
they call poor black folks
'niggers'....
they call poor Hispanic folks
all kinds of names,
'illegal' being the worst!
labels...
people who have too much
at the expense of the rest of us...
well insulated ignorance...
hatreds, that begin with hatred
of the self!
we're not labels!
we're just folks....
breathing, working, dreaming,
trying, doing the best we can....
we deserve the dignity
of being treated as human beings....
labels... hell no!
i'm not your boy, not your slave,
not your inferior...
i am human!
treat me as such!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Keeping Identified One's Own Insecurities
Those who preach their racist ideals,
Isolate themselves within a biasness...
To inflict restrictions and discomfort.
Keeping identified one's own insecurities,
Does not an expansive mind make.
Or invite inspired enlightened solutions.
A limited consciousness is exposed.
And creates its own defeating challenges.
With proposed enforced limitations.
Weapons made and sold to incite division,
Eventually has its own consequences.
With a convincing to choose power over thought.
There is a need to agonize others into fear.
While a self destruction,
Is noticed.
And appears!
Too late...
For a successful awakening that could heal.
'You talking 'bout White or Black folks?
Or both? '
This is about the destruction of humanity!
Whomever is declaring to be qualified.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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The Folks Who Live On The Hill
Folks Who Live on the Hill
((1937) Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern)
Someday we'll build a home on a hilltop high,
You and I,
Shiny and new a cottage that two can fill.
And we'll be pleased to be called,
"The folks who live on the hill".
Someday we may be adding a thing or two,
A wing or two.
We will make changes as any fam'ly will,
But we will always be called,
"The folks who live on the hill".
Our veranda will command a view of meadows green,
The sort of veiw that seems to want to be seen.
And when the kids grow up and leave us,
We'll sit and look at the same old view,
Just we two.
Darby and Joan who used to be Jack and Jill,
The folks like to be called,
What they have always been called,
"The folks who live on the hill".
song performed by by Nina Simone
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Niggers
You look at me and ask yourself
Who am I?
What am I?
What have I to do?
I`m an African American, Black, nothing more
Why do I have to pay for my ancestors breaking that barrier,
For them proving your race,
That they didn't need your 'expertise',
they didn't need your education
Nor did they need your approval
To be what we all are today.
You look at me
You think,
My America is full of these 'niggers'
Who made your America
Full of trash
Full of ignorance
Full of cirme
We will never be white
Yet you forget that once America put up such a fight
With these non-whites,
Theses 'niggers'
These folks full of color,
And who do you think won?
Look around you.
What do you see,
Nothing but minorities all around
All about
Be careful for soon you will be slapped in the face when you see that you are now working for these'niggers'....
poem by Kendra Sanders
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Seeking Excuses To Exist
To set the record straight,
I do not solicit long winded debates...
Regarding my point of view or experiences,
I have had to witness to establish...
A thought process that is my own.
Nor am I on a mission to prove,
I am a Black man capable of mental diversity.
To be a Black man and 'not' have mental diversity,
In a country that affords at least the opportunity...
To acknowledge it,
Is a preference for that Black man to stay limited.
I am not that Black man seeking excuses to exist.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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When I Discovered My Given Name
When I discovered my given name 'is' Lawrence...
(Named after my father.
Who on 'his' birth certificate says Lawrence 'A'.
And I'm suppose to be a junior with no 'A' attached.
Go figure!)
...and not 'Larry' as I am still called by family members,
And very close friends.
People who 'knew' me became upset,
When I began calling myself 'Lawrence'.
Saying I thought I was better than the others.
And that I was not 'real' OR down-to-Earth!
'Does this sound a bit crazed?
I wanted to call myself by my 'real' name...
And folks who didn't have my name,
Became upset!
Pure insanity...
Isn't it? '
There's more...
But my parents did not name me Larry.
They named me Lawrence.
And my father everyone called Lawrence...
Decided he was going to be called 'Larry'.
I'm not going to say he was a jealous man.
That's a different story!
And I decided to become as REAL as possible!
Even adopting an African name, Suhuba...
Of the Yoruban language.
Meaning 'laurel' or of the Sun.
And 'that' made some folks furious.
Family members became outraged...
Because I sought 'identity'.
And I was accused of wanting to be 'white'.
These are the same folks who call for unity of all kinds!
But they don't know 'who' they are to unify.
And 'why' or for what!
That's how ignorant some environments,
And the people can be!
Divided into segments of conditioned realities.
God bless 'em!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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And my point was one I think that you'd agree with, which is there's no room in America for a black racist, a Latino racist, or a white racist, or an Asian racist, or a Native American racist. Now, we're either color blind or we're not color blind.
quote by Newt Gingrich
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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With Little or No Awareness
With little or no awareness,
They elaborate on things.
From beliefs handed to them through gossip,
To something foolish done when they are parenting.
You can't really call them victims...
Since they are steadfastly ignorant.
Comprehending their own identities...
Is something missing and allow to stunt.
And witnessing this from a knowledge obtained,
Keeps impatient an observer's point of view!
Nothing one does to share with people like this...
Will ever be accepted,
Since intelligence is suspected,
And long has been rejected...
By those who perceive,
Thinking folks are enemies!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Folks Are Just Folks!
black folks just like white folks,
gotta eat, sleep, need somewhere
to stay, need a job...
just want to be treated like people,
equal in every way....
and my Hispanic neighbors,
hard working, working together,
(we could learn from that!)
taking care of families...
human beings with human needs,
just like us....
Asians, Native Americans...
all just the same....
all of us just people....
want to be treated that way!
folks are just folks!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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It's a Pack Thing
My puppies may be racist.
The white ones,
Do not sleep with the black one.
But, being the first out,
I'd say it's the black one,
Not sleeping with them.
Dogs see in black and white and grey,
And never notice,
The different shades.
You have to be human, to be racist,
Basing hundreds of years of slavery, murder and hate
On something as meaningless as color.
With puppies,
It’s a pack thing.
poem by Sandra Osborne
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I'd Be RICH!
I have never felt more examined,
Microscoped and discussed...
Than anytime in my life,
Than 'now'.
From thought process,
To how I digest my food...
To my beliefs and what I pray to,
As if I exist as a novelty.
Sometimes I feel,
That I am an animated mannequin,
For many.
And in 'some' folks eyes,
I can see the surprise when I speak...
With elocution, tone and diction intact.
And no where will I go,
Will I ever forget I am black.
Or...
Should I say African-American,
To be politically correct...
About the whole concept,
Of where folks' heads are at?
I have never felt more examined,
Microscoped and discussed...
Than anytime in my life,
Than 'now'.
And don't think it hasn't occurred to me,
That IF I carried a basketball...
AND tapped danced in a shopping mall.
I'd be RICH!
Even if I didn't have a clue,
As to what I was doing.
All I would have to do is to be entertaining.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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The Month Of Re-Enforcing Stereotypes Has Arrived
The month of re-enforcing stereotypes has arrived.
With a naming of a few who broke away from them,
To remind others they too have the same potential...
If they embraced discipline, devotion and a work ethic.
It's the month of re-enforcing stereotypes.
And folks who have waited to use the words 'niggers'
'coons', 'jungle bunnies' and other degrading references...
Depicting people of color,
Can do so to say they are celebrating bondage.
Since...
Isn't that the purpose?
To keep people reminded of their slave mentalities.
OR like some folks like to address their 'connections' as...
Keeping themselves down to Earth.
And...
With much assistance,
What a good job people have done...
To prove a legacy of ignorance can have its visual benefits,
For all who are determined to keep stereotypes alive.
Note:
Are these images subtle? Not anymore. In fact depictions of
ignorance 'are celebrated where I live in Hartford, Connecticut.
And thought to be 'cute' by those totally absent of identity.
When a picture from Kemble's Coons (Authored by Edward Windsor Kemble)
shows a coon with a naked black child sitting high in a tree,
eating on an ear of corn, and I know this reflects the mindset of the people...
this picture released and shown to begin celebrating Black History Month,
can be upsetting. ESPECIALLY when there is no acknowledgement, whatsoever,
of Jimmy Brown who was the first Black President of The Hartford Board of Education.
AND those who are 'celebrating' those deeds of black folks in this 'town'...
Have no idea who he is.
'Is 'this' poetry? Is 'this' a slice of life? Yes, it is. A poetic flowing of an intention! '
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Night...And Day
If not for you,
My eyes would not be open wide...
To view things the way I now do.
If it had not been for you.
And if it had not been for you,
I'd still be living questioning my doubts...
Without a thought to connect them,
To their origin.
And I'd still be tossing accusations about.
If not for you,
I'd be less aware of the importance to care...
Of others who too,
Are still blaming themselves...
Over things others do just to prove they can.
And if it had not been for you,
I would not have seen myself as a fool.
Living in the valley amongst other fools.
And I am grateful to you yes I am,
I no longer have those headaches like I use to.
And comprehend how yours have ended,
Knowing what and who cause those headaches to begin.
I thank you for 'rudely' sharing them.
If it had not been for you,
I would not have ever come to realize...
Just how many fools there are denying truth.
And living lives unaware they have been identified,
With beliefs what they do have no affect on others too.
If it had not been for you,
I'd be living my life as a bigger fool.
Believing it was pride I displayed.
Night...
And day!
Unaware I delivered headaches.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Have You Ever Done That Before?
Your 'things' do not make you a better human being.
You may believe they establish you a status.
But there is something that can be said about pretense...
That leaves those hungering to spend their time,
With people who express a common sense...
From thought producing minds.
It is a rarity to find folks,
Who have not been tainted or provoked...
By teased materialistic dreams.
Or the kind of people who become identified...
By where they live and what they drive.
Living a quality of life that seems delightfully contrived.
Yet inside of them there is a frightful hollowness...
That is silently screamed,
And quietly demeaning them.
Your 'things' do not make you a better human being.
And their absence,
Also has not revealed you possess an integrity.
With your identity gone packed away with your 'things'...
And no integrity left you can display or bring,
What is it that you claim you can give to offer?
Superficiality?
Okay...
And,
What else do you have besides that?
Do you have anything we can chew on that's concrete?
How about a conversation we all can contribute.
Have you ever done that before?
Had you considered comprehending after listening,
To complete sentences...
Delivered to your assuming ears.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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A Different Point Of View
(tennant/lowe)
----------------------------
When Im sitting so close to you
Theres only one thing that I wanna do
But I know what youre likely to say
That Im going about it the wrong way
We cant agree about anything
Where to go or even where weve been
And I know what youre likely to do
Say that Ive never cared about you
And all I wanted to say was that I love you
But you tell me now you dont believe its true
You got a different, a different
A different point of view
You got a different
Point of view
You dont believe a single word I say
If Id say black was white, youd say it was grey
But in spite of being treated this way
I still dream of you all night and day
And all I wanted to say was that I love you
But you tell me now you dont believe its true
You got a different, a different
A different point of view
You got a different
Point of view
Just this once
Just say yes
Please
Youve got a clever way of haunting me
Im never scared, but youre still daunting me
cause I know what youre likely to say
And I know that youll get your own way
And all I wanted to say was that I love you
But you tell me now you dont believe its true
You got a different, a different
A different point of view
You got a different
Point of view
You got a different, a different
A different point of view
You got a different
Point of view
song performed by by Pet Shop Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We're All God's Children
Album: Peace In The Valley
Here comes a Baptist, here comes a Jew
There goes a Mormon and a Muslim too
I see a Buddist and a Hindu
I see a Catholic and I see you
We're all god's children
We're all god's children
We're all god's children
Why can't we be
One big happy family
You like the day, and I like the night
He's into country and he's isn't quit
There's folks on the left and the far right
But that doesn't mean that we have to fight
We're all god's children
All god's children
Yeah, We're all god's children
Why can't we be
One big happy family
White folks, yellow folks, black and tan
On the same planet in the same plan
A feminist woman and a he man
We're all playin' the magic hand
We're all god's children
We're all god's children
Oh, We're all god's children
Why can't we be
One big happy family
We're all god's children
All god's children
Yeah, We're all god's children
Why can't we be
One big happy family
We're all god's children
All god's children
We're all god's children
Why can't we be
One big happy family
We're all god's children
We're all god's children
Yeah, We're all god's children
Why can't we be
One big happy family
We're all god's children
We're all god's children
We're all god's children
We're all black and white
We're all precious in his sight
We're all god's children
We're all god's children
We're all god's children
Why can't we all be
One big happy family...
song performed by by Alan Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Black and White and Red
Black and White
And Red I see
Demons they do
Torture me
Black and White
And Red all day
The voices are real
Or so they say
Black and White
And Red abound
I'm lost I call
I'm never found
Black and White
And Red flow out
I scream but you
Don't hear me shout
Black and White
And Red so bright
Exit blood and
Enter light
Black and White
And Red of death
Now I breathe
My final breath
poem by Anonymous Ghurl
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Totally In Twilight
Some folks actually insist...
What is going on today,
Isn't going on.
And that we should pray...
To avoid the realities!
There are folks like that...
Totally in twilight!
With minds dimmed.
And a thought process completely off!
And people like me are called heathens...
Because I am against being on my knees,
When the basement of the church is on fire!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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A fool's game
It was a fool's game that should not begin
And you played it without honest rules
If you thought that you will always win
Well it's wrong 'cause it's a game for fools
If you thought that you can get me easy
And you tried to do this without honest rules
If you thought that my way to be is sleazy
Well it's wrong 'cause it's a game for fools
If you thought that you can hunt me slowly
And you danced this without honest rules
If you thought that I will love you only
Well it's wrong 'cause it's a game for fools
It was a morbid dance without real feelings
A dance of wishes without honest rules
If you thought that love means mutual dealings
Well it's wrong 'cause it's a game for fools
If you thought that you will be a winer
In this love fight without honest rules
If you thought I'm a cake at your dinner
Well it's wrong 'cause it's a game for fools
And if you thought you can get everything
In this world of yours without honest rules
If you thought that I'm an easy stupid thing
Well it's wrong 'cause it's a game for fools.
poem by Marieta Maglas
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What It Is They Do
Some folks enjoy doing things.
While other folks 'are' what they enjoy doing!
Some folks enjoy cooking.
And then there are cooks.
Some folks enjoy singing.
And then there are those who sing.
Some folks enjoy writing.
I know I do,
And I've been told I am a writer.
Some folks have no problem,
Producing what they do.
And others will say they don't have the time.
Although they waste it telling folks,
What it is they do...
And yet nothing of that,
Ever gets done!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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