RACISM KILLS (For Omar Thornton #RIP 8.3.10)

Inspired by the racism-fueled beer warehouse massacre in Manchester, CT in August 2010.

RACISM KILLS

Racists encamp all around me. Daily I endure the stings of their hatred

All I desire is a fair chance as a man but I am ignored and abhorred

Cuz my shade means to degrade to those whose hearts are impure

I am smashed between a rock and given a hard place. Unwarranted mistreatment

Suffocates my soul and mangles my mind state. As flesh I’ve done my best to stay strong

Mine eyes now reveal that I am ill from infection of their contagious hate

Keep the faith they told me, report their evils, document and note their taunts

I gave them what they want, yet there is no record because I handed it over to devils

Left with no choice, I brandished 2 burners and a shotgun to help the deaf hear my voice

Let my light of ammo shine into the darkened hearts of 5 plus who ridiculed me just because

So much blood, yet it fails in contrast to my tears of despair spilled on a beer plantation near Hartford

R.I.P. Omar Thornton

Tara S. Gause

© 2010 

All Rights Reserved.

Author's Note

Readers, please understand that when I wrote this piece, I am in NO WAY condoning such awful behavior. This situation should have NEVER been handled in such a manner. It is cowardly, weak and not a positive action as a solution. He is no hero and should not be viewed as one. No one has the right to take another's life, I don't care for what reason they may feel justified in doing so. I wrote the piece from the perspective of someone who could do such a thing. How pressure can build up in someone and explode negatively. I wrote it from someone who feels hopeless in their situation and environment. I read over 20 articles about the story before writing and saw that he claimed racism on other jobs as well. He lived, not only worked, in an area saturated with "acceptable racism" - Racial mistreatment that is perceived as normal and accepted as so. I take it he wasn't strong enough mentally to leave this position, as he had left others, only to acquire another position to endure and experience more of the same. Hopelessness is the theme of the piece. Not being a hero or murdering as a way to fight back. This act was the result of the breaking point in one’s life when they “throw their hands up.”

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

I foolishly thought the gains our society made against racism back in the sixties and early seventies were permanent. I thought I'd seen the beginning of something that would grow and improve as time went on, but alas, it has not. If anything, things of late have gotten worse. I wonder if there's any hope for us.

[Coyote Poetry]

We live in a world where violence overtake the good. I live in Detroit. I have met bad people. But I met so many people of all races who were kind and good. Killing create no road to peace. I live in the city when Martin Luther King was killed and the riot took down a great city. That never heals. The bad part is we never heard of the men and woman who raising their grand kids. The good churches who reach out and help. This story got a lot of press. It is a sad story. Life is precious. Never know who was killed in the club and what they left behind. A powerful poem.
Coyote