Faces

We're not racist,

But we'll paint our faces brown,

Smear our lips red,

And wear curly wigs,

In the name of tradition.

We're not racist,

He's just been through the chimney,

That's why his lips get bigger,

And his accent thicker.

We're not racist,

We don't steal Africans from their homes,

Pile them onto slave ships,

And sell them for profit,

Like our ancestors did.

We don't slaughter the natives

Of our former colonies,

We just dress up like them

And dance through the streets

At the command of our white master

Sinterklaas.

We're not racist,

We don't lynch people of colour,

We just hang black dolls from the lampposts,

And warn our children not to be bad,

Taken by the black.

We're not racist,

We have good intentions!

We give presents to children after all,

Reminding them how "dom" silly Piet is,

Showing them how he must obey the white man.

It's our tradition!

We're not racist,

We just get entertainment from the caricaturing

Of a minority group

We happened to have oppressed a few generations ago.

You have no right to take away our traditions,

To deny us our identity.

Of what exactly?

The trader?

The exploiter?

The supremist?

The ones who robbed others of their traditions

For the sake of power

For the sake of profit?

We're not racist,

We believe in free speech,

Unless you protest Black Piet,

Then our police will press your face to the ground,

Punch your ribs and drag you away.

How dare you protest our representation of you?

No, we're not racist.

It's just our tradition.

Said the 'progressive' nation

Who "rejects dogma".

Oblivious prejudice is still prejudice.

Unintended mockery is still mockery.

Implicit racism is still racism.

And it sickens me.

Originally published at:

https://www.mosaiekmagazine.com/blog-1/faces