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A Poem by Faye Donnelly

An address of issues that are constantly suppressed and twisted by the media.

I don’t even know what to say.

Riots and protests rage over the death of another victim of police brutality. Racism is widespread. Slurs are tossed about with no thought of the power that they hold as chains around others.

African Americans cannot even walk in the streets without fearing their lives will be stripped from them by the hands of the people who claim the greatness of the United States. Their association with crime clouds the conscious minds of those whose ideals are already deeply rooted in hatred.

I do not say America because if it truly was America, it would encompass many countries, and Hispanics, Mexicans, Latinos and more would not be considered illegal on stolen grounds.

The grounds, the fields, the mountains, the homes of the Native Americans whose land was taken away by their colonizers who claim that immigrants are unworthy to live on a land that was never theirs.

Asian Americans face a new danger of hate derived from a virus that has caused a worldwide pandemic, yet the fault of a virus falls upon the heads of the “Ling Lings,” the “dog eaters,” the “Ching Chongs.” The blame of a virus that has killed millions, greatly faulted by the people who find it comparable to slavery to be confined to their homes and defy rules that were set to ensure safety.

Comparable to slavery, the deaths and roots of racism for African Americans who built the United States with their own bare hands and cannot even be given the basic gratitudes or respect for what they were forced to endure under the control of the men who kidnapped them from their homes only to be sold for personal benefit.

White protesters are allowed to stand at the buildings of the law heavily armed with weapons of death, labeled “defense,” with no rebuttal, yet peaceful protesters are showered with bullets, gas, and hatred.

Violence is not the key to freedom, however one must understand that when all options are laid to waste, violence may seem like the most viable option, simply to be seen and heard.

Women are blamed for atrocities committed upon them that were not their choices to make, yet their clothes, their makeup, their lack of words in a time of shock are to blame for the actions of someone who never had their souls in their hearts.

Men believe that women are to blame and that they should “enjoy it,” yet the sources of the enjoyment these men speak of are nonexistent as women are driven to a rope or a knife because they cannot live with themselves and they live with a guilt that does not belong to them.

Members of the rainbow flag are stripped of their lives because of their capacity to love someone. Are stripped of their lives because they have discovered that they would be much happier in a different body. Are stripped of their lives because they believe that romance is not a necessity. Are stripped of their lives because of a beautiful piece of their souls that was not theirs to choose, yet they accepted it and chose to embrace themselves.

Some fear themselves and internalize their souls and hatred ensues within themselves. In order to defend their own lives.

Men and women are not viewed as equal. No, every human is not viewed in an equal light. A white hand holds the power over all. And the hands that are held up in support of a movement that strives for their basic necessary human rights and yearning for love, these hands are covered in red stains.

Toxic stereotypes reign across the globe. Women are told as little girls that they need to protect themselves from men, because “we wouldn’t want to provoke a man,” right? Men are taught that suppression of emotion is a necessity, because they have to “be a man,” right? Young women are told how to dress, how to act, how to speak, how to “be a lady,” because that’s what the world wants, right? Young boys are not taught how to be respectful of everyone they encounter because to give respect to anyone, especially a girl they love, would make them a “simp,” and we don’t want that, right? A woman cannot be in a position of power because she would “let her emotions control her,” right?

Humans with disabilities are treated as if they are unworthy, that the creation of their bodies was a mistake because it was not made as a mirror image of someone who is created “perfectly.” Trends and countless people mock others with disabilities, but of course it’s “just a joke.”

Differences are not addressed from a young age. Children do not learn about homosexual couples. Or people of different ethnicities and their cultures. Or how some of them will never be given the same opportunities and rights as their counterparts simply for aspects that are not within their control. Or how the world is far from perfect and that they must be a part of a change. But remember, “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!”

Millions of humans are drowning in a sea of anxiety, depression, and countless other mental illnesses that encapsulate them and choke them until they no longer breath. A blade seems to be their only escape from a world that finds them weak and refuses to help them.

Jokes become the outlet to lighten the pit that mental illness has stuck one in, yet these jokes have been twisted to let the world cackle at the darkness in which there seems to be no light.

There are countless issues that could be spoken about. And the time to speak is now.

But,

Women speak out. They are crazy.

Racial minorities speak out. They are insane.

The LGBTQA+ speak out. They are unholy.

People with disabilities speak out. They are a joke.

The youth speaks out. They don’t know what they’re talking about.

The world waits for the white man to speak. And the voice only appears when it is threatened. Suddenly the cisgender, heterosexual, Christian man is greatly oppressed. Yet there was no concern when other voices spoke.

I want change. And I want it to start now.

The lives we live now should not be “normal” while blood drips from wounds and death. While sirens blaring should not be a part of daily life. While humans are stripped of their lives. While the fear of harm haunts any soul.

I know it will never happen in days, nor weeks, nor months, nor years.

But,

I want a start.