For Halloween of 2017 I tried an experiment. These are my findings
"Minority Complex"
"What’s your costume?”
It shouldn’t be hard to explain that wearing all black isn’t a costume but I suppose it is
A costume that people unlike myself wear every day and face silence
Being black is just who you are so why should it be a costume
This thought experiment unveiled detriments effecting sentiments of unknowing humans
Black people can’t explain who they are because people are struck with fear
They wear this costume that wasn’t their choice but rather it’s a part of who they are
So why be afraid to know the unknown?
The unknown I scary and so are black people apparently
Break down this societal construct that black people are scary
They are people just like you and I
They are cultured and unheard which perturbs me as a fellow minority
Although my struggle isn’t theirs I can reconcile with denial of their own culture
Don’t want to buy into “brown” characteristics in fear of heuristics
I want to learn more about myself through my culture but my culture ostracizes others
That’s a problem
We as people should not be afraid to be who we are for people lack understanding
They don’t understand
What it’s like to feel powerless
To have to conform in order to be recognized
To see your peers jeer at your cultural garb
To hear offhand comments made because of who you are
How would you feel if white people always had a negative connotation?
In this nation bound by stars and stripes riddles with scars and fights
There’s a reason why they kneel
A reason why we create these spaces to release expression
Nobody wants to know the unknown
Complacent with ignorant thinking
Drinking the poison culture feeds us
Inclusivity and exclusivity apparently go hand in hand
We don’t share our stories to isolate
We share so people can relate
Feel irate on our behalf because you, those not oppressed, hold the real power
You may not feel this way, saying we’re blowing it out of proportion
How would you know what it’s like to get padded down as a child?
Each and every time you travel and it only gets more frequent with age
How would you know what it’s like to be thought of as inferior due to your exterior?
You do not know
Do not say, “But no I actually do”
You are actually the problem
Perpetuating this learned tolerance of those unlike yourselves
You tolerate this language, hearing it echoed from the masses
Forget about it when you go to classes
This feeling never passes and we care about you as much as you care about you
Don’t misconstrue this for hatred
Can you blame us?