When the local Minneapolis protest started, it use to be just that: a local protest. But now that this protesting has gone global, one thing has become overwhelmingly clear. I’ve decided to express my thoughts and feelings as a poem on the subject, so here we go.
My tribute to the protests
The political world we live, divided in two.
The young, the poor, the foolish.
The old, the rich, the wise.
The young were upset with the injustice,
They wanted equality.
They saw black versus white,
But race was but merely a distraction,
From the true political issues at play.
It was time to do something,
About the inequality and injustice.
But as the old, the rich, and the wise knew.
More violence was committed in the name of equality,
Than anything else in the history of human society.
The old, the rich, the wise,
They kept their hands clean.
They stayed home.
They did not get COVID-19.
They stayed clear of the violence.
They kept life and limb.
The young, the poor, the foolish,
Are prey to strong emotions.
They got their hands dirty.
They jumped into the angry, violent riots.
They got COVID-19.
They acquired new disabilities.
And some succumbed to the ultimate fate,
Of death.
But democracy is for everyone,
It doesn’t skew its preference toward able-bodied citizens.
The young, the poor, the foolish,
Disproportionally focused their energy on protests,
Means that only speak to their same-age peers.
They under-represented themselves,
Through petitions, fundraisers,
And things that appeal to the old, the rich, the wise.
Many of them failed to make their communications,
In accessible formats,
Even as they acquired new disabilities themselves.
This is not a democratic process,
This is age discrimination.
Until election time comes,
Their techniques falter,
And they find themselves have been ignored.
The young, the poor, the foolish,
With nothing but beaten up bodies,
With no political change,
They return home? No.
Their own affordable housing project was burnt down in riots,
End up even poorer than they were before.
Meanwhile, the stock market is booming.
The old, the rich, the wise,
On a comfortably large plot of land,
Having seen nothing of the protests,
End up richer than they were before.