I wrote this a while ago when the Rodney King incident and the LA riots were going on (along with much Asian bashing). It already seems like many people have forgotten. It's not important anymore. At the time, many people were asking "What can we do?"
There's a phenomenon that neurophysiologists call "habituation". They can place an electrode on a nerve to measure the electrical response when the nerve is stimulated. If the stimulus is repeated at increasingly shorter intervals, the nerves eventually stop responding. Habituation might also be called indifference or apathy. A loud bell might be ringing, but we stop responding.
I hope we haven't become "habituated" to racism.
No Peace
hot concrete glaring white heat splatters blood and bone as a fist clenched with rage darkens with swirling smoke rising in the sky so what's the problem? those niggers and chinks those damn japs it's because of you motherfuckers that we're out of work it's a fuckin' war, man and their fuckin' us---the system the government the white racist society glimmering glass shatters little pieces of America ---dreams lie broken in the street the sharp edges cut deep deep into the buried beat beating in liquid red faceless raceless the human heart, the soul bleeds open for all asking for kindness a solution
Copyright © 1997 by Wataru Ebihara |