“The Dream thrives on
generalization, on limiting the number of possible questions, on privileging
immediate answers. The Dream is the
enemy of all art, courageous thinking, and honest writing.”
‘-TA’ Nehisi Coates
What is the meaning of, ‘Ghetto?’
In the beginning of the middle ages, ghetto was a term that
described a European city with a walled quarter – restricting the movement of
Jews. In today’s modern era of racism,
ghetto can be a mentality derived from the experiences of living a hard life,
capable of paralyzing a person’s consciousness to that of a dreamscape.
“Don’t you know?
That it’s true.
That for me,
And for you,
The world is a
ghetto.”
‘- War
Who THEY say you are is who you will always be. That is, unless you can dream yourself away
from THEIR reality. But, even the
Promethean dreams of me spitting truths of fire to the world, conclude with the
reality of the state’s buzzards pecking away at the root of my being, day,
after day, after day; bringing me back to a walled-state of existence; ghetto
consciousness.
So why even dream in the first place? Why should I want anything more than what is
tangible? I often find myself wide-awake,
yet drifting into the seams of, what if:
- · What if white entitlement and poor white trash did not determine the placement of blacks in America’s social structure?
- · What if I could wake up to a world where a white senior resident judge does not have the authority to freeze all arguments concerning racial bias and the science fiction of the state’s crime lab? Meanwhile, leaving lives in abeyance.
- · What if it was possible for me to wake up in a world where the resident “porch dog’s” bark isn’t loud enough to alert the establishment that Me & Mine have stepped into the front yard of the status quo?
Damn dreams…
At times, my human existence is a
nightmare that can only conclude by waking up in a dream. Other than that, I am conscious of a world
where black-on-black crime is not taboo, and self-hate taints the fountains of
social interaction.
I am wide awake in
this world where blacks use terms like “good hair,” light-skinned,” and
“dark-skinned.” Maybe if the “Underground Railroad was no more than a subway
train transporting people of all racial ethnicities in a harmonious fashion,
hair texture and skin complexion wouldn’t matter.
I close my eyes and the fear of
acceptance unveils the route of a trailblazer turning tragedy to triumph. The
truth is, your subconscious can make life so sweet. However, the inevitable squint toward reality
enhances the view of a world where minorities refuse to see themselves as a
majority. Capitalism and fascism affects
all who fall beneath the standards of the Bush & Trump-type Klans; the true
whites.
You got blacks trying to think
white…
You ain’t white.
You got Caucasians that embrace
the black plight,
And are willing to fight,
For blacks intent on being white.
Right?
“Hate gives identity. The nigger,
the fag, the bitch illuminate the border, illuminate what we ostensibly are
not, illuminate the dream of being white, of being a man.”
“The world is a ghetto…”
100,
MannofStat
Copyright © 2016 by Leroy Elwood
Mann
