a humble attempt on a touchy subject

I walk by you in the hall
you give me that defencive look
the one that says "stay away"
then I think why this
and not a polite smile
Then I think to myself
maybe cause I am white
and because you are black
then I beat myself up for
making it seem as if that
should even be an issue
...
I sit across from you on the bus
you give me strange glances
as if you are studing me
as if you wish to peer into my soul
find my weaknesses and protect yourself
I think this is because I am black
and because you are white
I think we have nothing to fear
from each other we only
fear the unknown... so peer into my soul
and fear me not for I am the same as you
...
I pass you by in that crowded street
I flash you a polite smile
and you give me a sour look
as if I was your enemy
as if I had beaten you up in days past
I think it is because I am purple
you find me a queer color
not like your other friends
reds and yellows and blacks and whites
all these are the pale ones... nothin spectacular
but I am purple... my parents are purple
and it was not my choice in life
and Ithink it wrong of you to make
me feel as If I have to shed blame
for there is no blame nothing but love
love for who I am and for what you are
under that color... that shade of shades
I wonder if you look at me and fear me
look at me and say... he might be on of the good ones
not like the other ONES.
...
I am your fear... I am the unknown
There is only one race... the human race
I am your fear... I am the unknown
There is only one race... race to the end.
.................................................................................Thank you for takin the time to read my rantings. This is merely a collection of thoughts... seemingly connected but not. Ar? I would love to have some commentary on this... I love the good and the bad.
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this makes me sad... reminds me of my childhood best friend...we weren't of the same race, and my parents ( ..biggots) told me that if I ever brought him home as my boyfriend, they'd kill me. it really made me sad, and i was only like 10. they should be ashamed.~Lana
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i liked this, and your thoughts flowed and connected for me at least. i think sometimes i wish people didnt have eyes to peer into each other's souls and fears. i think i liked the second and third stanza the most, the color purple creates such a vivid picture. -madison
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Lana... if you don't already know... there was once this black kid who was best friends with this white kid and they played and had the best of fun. Then one day the white kids parents said the kid couldnt play with the other kid. The one kid was named Martin Luther King jr. and I don't mean the whitey ;) I think that it is incredibly funny that the majority of racists I know or know indirectly are christians HAHAHA! that makes me roll over laughing... "thou shall not judge" hehe. Im not joining thier cult anytime soon. The one thing I wanted to express with this is that everyone is racist... just some of us are open minded and joined the tweleve step program. Ar?
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Ar?, you beautiful creature, I fucking love this poem. I know how it is to be an object of bigotry (Half of my poems deal with this ;) ), and this poem cuts clear through this Jell-O smokescreen everyone puts up about the worst four-letter word of all: hate. Thank you, my friend.
-Kris
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I actually enjoyed your poem! You are very expressive.Keep up the good work.See my poem @ rhyming poems){MR.Jesus}
DEDRA
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I like the poem- but not your attiutude- here you are telling people not to judge people then you turn around and judge christians- how hypocritical- Jessica
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Everyone judges everyone and by you saying that you have judged me. So I am fine with that. I don't know enough christians to judge but I do any way. I am horribly sorry my view on what christians have done, as a whole, in the past bothers me.The crusades the spanish inquistion and the like. Slavery was up held by the christian church as well as many other things. So I guess I am judgemental and if you don't like that I am sorry. I don't mean to offend.. but yet I do. And this poem, in my eyes, have nothing to do with not judging people because I would find it impossible. I'll put one of my earlier poems down on the bottom of the page, it has more about hypocracy in it. Sorry I am not the perfect purple human jessica. Ar?
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I am a christian, and it's not that I was judging you, just standing up for what i believe in I guess, just as you were doing :) I think relgion is a big part of my life, but i think we are all the same in some way or another, check out my poem in #2- i think it's the last one, it's called Jessica- Jessica :)
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I agree Jessica...I'm a christian too, and my faith is really important to me...And yes, the Church has been misled very often, but I find that people are harder on Christians when they misstep than non-Christians...Christians make mistakes like other people too; and yes, a lot of them are hypocritical, but that doesn't make them, as a body/group, bad. Not to mention that the spanish inquisition and the crusades were carried out by the Catholic Church, and well, you may or may not count that in with Christians, but I don't because they have a totally different set of beliefs from my denomination. Anyways, I'm sorry for turning this into a religious field-day...and I DID like the poem. But yeah...what she said.
cm
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Christians; those who believe in christ. i think that Catholic and baptist and prodisant and jewish and morman and all those religious cults fall under the same general name.
Cult; any organized religion pretty much. Ar?
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protestant. puget trousers
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Don't you think that categorizing them under the same "general name" is judging? How can you stereotype them like that? Have you had any personal experience with all of them? Have you extensively studied their background? It seems to me you are making a prejudiced judgement; isn't that like racism? And not all those "religious cults" believe in Christ. Some sects of Judaism follow the Old Testament, not the teachings of Jesus. And you simply CANNOT categorize Mormans as Christians. Not only is that uneducated, it is plain stupid. Your stereotype of cults is also uneducated. Obviously, some cults believe in radically different things than Christianity, though sometimes misusing Biblical Scripture. The Heaven's Gate cult, for instance, had vastly different points of view than Protestants; who believe that life is sacred. And have you ever heard of the Hare Krishnas? Obviously not, or you would not make such ignorant comments.
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whoa...anon, you have a lot of knowledge! but I have to agree. I feel kinda offended being put in a group of "religious cults". I mean, I'm not racist, and _I_'m a christian.
cm
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everyone has an opinion, be it right or wrong i suppose they can express it. don't ask what brought that on, it sounds appropriate.~Lana
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Well... I am a bit prejudice and I don't mean to be. I have nothin against any group of people. And being called a cult isn't a bad thing. Just seems that you nit pick my words for some arguement reasons. I like the majority of christians I a have met . It is my understanding that there isn't a single person that isn't biased towards some group whether he/she admits it or not. Because biasness is out of fear and fear is the unknown and there are a lot of things that are unknown.
And the original statement was that "the majority of racists I know ,directly or indirectly, are christians." That is out of the people i know or know through a friend. That isn't the entire population of christians around the world. I did not imply the whole church... I did make the rebuttle that in the past the church hasn't been very "christian" So I am sorry that Jessica jumped a step and didn't read my words clearly. And for this anon person I thank you for having an opinoin... but what good does it do you when you don't support yourself by giving your name. So now Jessica... you have become another christian I know indirectly that is quick to judge. It has nothin to do with your religion... but I find it funny that its in your religion says not to judge and you jumped out full throttle with pride... which isn't supposed to be Christian. So it just tickles me pink the statistics I come up with in my head. You keep bashing people who aren't good enough for you. It just seems to me if you are going to live by rules made by your God... then damn well do it. Ar?
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I think that standing up for your faith is a good thing. Jessica didn't bash you, she just said she didn't like your attitude towards christians. Is it wrong to stand up for what you believe in?
em
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And you give me a look,
like I'm some kinda crook.
Trying to be nice,
Trying to be friends,
Just because
I am white and
You are black.
I wish for
Interacial friendship.
you passed away the other day,
I was at your funeral.
If I could have changed anything,
It would be that I am white,
And you are black.
Racism is horrible,
And so it death.