Corona Pt. 12

This is to tell you what side I'm fighting on

When we look back at our Instagram timelines, 
We'll see a black square
That marks the week Black Lives Matter 
Jumped ahead of coronavirus in the headlines. 
And rightfully so. 
Systematic racism has been around for centuries
Doing untold harm.

When we look back at our Facebook timelines, 
We'll see our public statements
Vowing to be anti-racists.  
We'll see the book recommendations we shared, 
The links to petitions we signed, 
The bail out organizations we supported 
Because nine minutes is too long to kneel on 
A man's neck. 

Archivists will catalogue pictures of
A looted Target,
A police car on fire,
Cops kneeling alongside protestors, 
Peaceful protestors attacked with tear gas, 
The president holding up a Bible, 
And they'll wonder about the goodness
Of those involved
Like we've debated heavily amongst ourselves. 

The hindsight of history has taught us
That people--good, evil, human--can easily
Be swept up in bad systems--
Systems that enslave, incarcerate, or kill unjustly. 
Systems that sick neighbors at each other's throats. 
I believe we're better served by being critical of our system
Than we are by defending the goodness of ourselves or our ancestors. 

There's a toll to silence. 
There's a toll to inaction. 
There's a toll to looking the other way. 
Too many have paid the fines for our indifference. 
It's time to make a change.