#openyourmindsandhearts

[texan-tazzy]

Blind to Yourself

Blind to Yourself

Did anyone ever stop to notice the world?

More specifically, the one where you live,

Not your own personal world,

The world called Earth.

 Yes, a world that’s real,

Not the one in your mind.

That world of your own mind,

Bears nothing but lies,

Deceiving your vision,

Altering your reality,

To see what you want to see,

Ignoring the harsh reality:

You are blind to your own ignorance.

 Do you ever dream of a perfect world?

One where everyone got along?

One where violence was just a folklore?

One where people could live in harmony,

Without fear?

 Try living in their shoes,

A shooting every other day,

A certain stare from every white face they see,

A stare that says,

“You do not belong here”,

“You are trouble”,

“You are not one of us”,

“You are Black”

 Yes, imagine the pain we ignore,

That they endure.

Decades and decades,

Yet no change,

Dr. King brought about everything wrong with White America,

Yet today, 2020,

57 years since his march,

Since his “I Have a Dream Speech”,

Since the most influential movements

Of Civil Rights,

And we are still

At war.

 War with our own ignorance,

To shelter our children from colored children,

To stare at them as if they were animals,

To discriminate and assume them based on skin color!

 Racism is taught from a young age,

And hard to erase,

Especially when their world,

Is full of it!

 A white child has no idea what race is,

They only want friends,

They are taught to love one another,

To be kind,

To be respectful.

 A child is a seed.

And when a seed is growing,

It needs water,

Sunlight,

And nutrition.

 And in a perfect world,

Kindness is water,

Respect is sunlight,

And love is the nutrients.

 In our divided world,

Racism is the water,

There is no sunlight,

For they are sheltered in a divided area,

And hate is the nutrients.

 A child,

Growing in a world like that,

Will never see diversity,

Only discrimination.

A child will never hold hands,

Or play games with,

Or eat next to

Someone of color

Without judgement,

If they continue to be raised

In a dark world.

 Now imagine their lives,

Brought up in fear,

The child plays outside,

And any big noise,

They run in,

Afraid of the simple bang,

Because they are raised

That fearful way.

Any loud noise,

They assume the worst.

This child will grow up in fear,

And will gaze at the other children,

The ones playing in a park,

Bright smiles,

Laughing,

And with no sense of danger.

They will stare with longing in their eyes,

With a simple thought,

“Why can’t that be me?”

 A child,

Who should be laughing,

Smiling,

Playing,

Lives in fear for their life,

Because,

Despite a steady household,

And A family that loves them,

They are colored,

They are black.

This child will realize,

That just based on his skin color,

He will be an outcast.

 You will never know

The fear,

The pain,

The longing,

These people have.

Without your potential to help,

To join in,

To convince,

TO CHANGE,

They will be outcasts,

They will live in fear,

They will feel pain,

Because you were blind.

 Too blind to realize,

That this is America,

That this is the life you live,

That while that child stares at you,

Wonders if he will grow up to be like you,

While you give him a stare that makes him run,

Because the moment you see color,

The moment you saw his color,

You went blind.

 The moment you see anything

Other than the tone

Of your own skin,

You go blind

To their problems.

You are blind,

Because when you’re blind,

You’ll only see white.

 The time is now,

To say, now what?

What can I do?

How can I help?

I want to see,

I want to Help.

Next time you see someone,

Smile,

Like you would at any friend,

Converse,

Like you would with your family,

Discover,

See how they are no different than you,

Color may be dividing us,

Color blinds us,

But the courage to step up,

The will to help,

The love to give,

To one another,

Will give us sight to that

Dreamy,

Longing,

Of a Perfect World.

Until you find the courage,

Until you find the answer,

To “Now What?”

You will be blind.

 I know,

That I will never experience

What you go through fully,

I know,

That I may never feel the pain

You have felt,

But I can tell you,

My mind is open,

My heart wails,

For your loss,

I will never see through your eyes,

Or hear what you hear,

But,

Now I can see from a whole different view,

I can see on the TV,

I can see on the medias,

But never through your eyes.

And my friend,

I am sorry for what has happened,

I know that I am white,

But I am not like the others,

My mind and heart are open

To you.

And that’s a problem with America,

The close-minded authorities,

Who say death,

Who say they deserved it,

Who think they can kill a man

based on his skin color,

But that is not me.

Instead, like people should,

We should not base our judgement

On our past,

On our skin color,

On our religion,

Or sexual preference,

Nothing like that,

I judge on the character of your soul,

Your heart,

And mind,

And I respect you,

No matter what.

I do not care of the tone of your skin,

The preference for love,

The belief in religion,

Because all I see,

Is someone

Whose heart and mind

Are scarred,

Are fearful,

And are hurting.

I wish to see a better future like you do,

But Racism,

Is but a web,

All knotted and tangled,

With no end point.

As stated, many times,

An eye for an eye,

And that’s how this all began,

Someone of color kills a white,

or a white kills someone of color,

then revenge takes place,

resulting in numerous webs and knots,

interlacing,

causing a giant knot,

different in the mind of people,

resulting in this deluded form

that one color is superior over another,

that this group is better and this one isn’t.

And for my fellow Christians,

Many of you that I see are white,

And many use the bible for defense,

Let me tell you something,

You cannot cherry pick the bible

For your own benefit.

The Lord says “Do Not be Afraid”

365 times in the bible,

Yet you fear the gentle black man

Who is only getting gas,

Or the group of black teens going to play a sport,

By simply fearing another,

You go against God’s word.

The Lord says love thy neighbor,

Yet if its not a neighbor you like,

You treat them like a sinner,

Well guess what,

You are a sinner too.

God created us in the image of him,

So, if someone is colored,

Or LGBT,

Or a different religion,

Or anything that you deem undesirable,

You go against what he created.

And to my fellow brothers and sisters who do not believe,

In the same way I do,

I will say that you are welcome in the world,

Just as any other person is.

To my fellow whites,

You have grown up in this

Close minded,

Closed door world,

Where anything you see as different,

You freeze in fear.

Open your mind for once,

Open your eyes,

See what is happening to the world.

I, as a white female,

See more and understand more,

Than half of you ignorant,

Self-absorbed,

My way my rules,

White people.

Tell me,

What is an American to you?

The first thing people think of

Is appearance

And as usual,

A white male.

IS not the child born

To Hispanic parents American,

The child born to parents who are black,

Are they not American too?

Why do you treat them as immigrants?

Was this land not built on immigrants?

If you think about it,

What have you contributed to the history,

The product of America?

Last I checked,

The slaves were the ones who grew and picked the crops,

If you were to give their descendants back everything you

Never credited them for,

How much would you have left?

You like the idea of colored athletes,

The culture of music that has been created by Hispanics and Blacks,

Yet, how are they any different

Than the man you called the police on,

For looking threating when he was getting gas,

Or walking down the street?

What is the point of getting even,

When the web that we are stuck in is too knotted,

Too tight to escape,

And when does it end?

When is the day that riots stop,

The day when whites and blacks are not at war,

When a white man kills a black man,

What about the position that the protesters put

The black officers and Hispanic officers in?

The action of one does not define all,

I heard today,

That all cops are evil for staying with the system,

But what about the ones,

Who have been gracious to the community,

Without them,

There could have been more deaths,

Or more injustice?

The same people I have heard say,

The white man is evil,

Am I evil kind reader?

Do I sound evil for wanting a better future for you?

The same people,

The ones I have heard personally with my own ears,

Are also the ones who said

The actions of one Muslim does not define the race or religion of all the others.

So, tell me,

Why is this web that we live in,

Tangled up,

No escape,

Is full of hypocrisy,

And racism that never ends?

The question needs to be answered,

“Where or when does it all stop?”

The time is now,

I said the other day,

I pray for my fallen brother,

And someone said,

“You aren’t black”

I said to them

“No Sir, I am not,

But in my heart,

He is my brother in spirit,

In love,

In kindness”

I, a small white woman, pray for the safety,

Of all my brothers and sisters,

No matter what description you are,

But the moment,

Someone deems it okay to kill someone based on race,

They are no longer in my heart as

A brother or sister,

But in my prayer,

As someone who is lost,

Someone who needs to do time,

And witness the damage they cause.

This dear work,

That I have written,

May or may not reach you,

But to my fellow brother, sister, or sibling,

I do not care,

If you are colored,

If you are LGBT,

If you are religious or not,

Or of your political points,

I am not blind like most,

I open my arms in love and spirit

To my fallen brothers and sister,

Who fell due to this wild injustice.

But my prayer to you,

Do not blame America,

We are all American,

Divided by the actions and false beliefs of others,

We all live in the same land.

I love every life,

But unless we can admit that Black Lives Matter,

Then can we say All Lives Matter,

Once you help one life in this crazy spectrum,

We can untie again,

As brothers and sisters.

To my lost humans that are blind,

Do the time for your crime,

Realize the closed-minded actions

That you have done,

Because you made yourself believe

That you are somehow better,

That despite not knowing

Who you had pointed your gun at,

The simple runner,

The scared man who wanted his mom,

You only saw skin tone,

Because,

You were Blind.

To my rioters and protesters,

I pray for safety and wellness,

Be careful of the consuming anger,

Be peaceful yet firm with your actions,

Setting the fires,

Damaging the buildings,

Hurt your sisters and brothers,

Because they needed that place to pay for their

Own family,

Their own bills,

And it’s gone now,

I pray you to be safe,

And to protect each other,

Like brothers and sisters should do,

Let the media see peace in your actions,

Not fear.

For anyone else,

Do not fear what is different,

For if are stripped of skin,

How will you know who is who?

See the heart,

Not the color,

See the soul,

Not the color,

Open your eyes,

See the injustice,

See why people are angry,

Rioters,

Open your eyes to the pain you indirectly cause,

Think of why and who you riot for.

To my fallen brothers and sisters,

I pray that you rest well,

That you can inspire these people,

In memories and dreams,

Of the legacy that you wish to have seen.

I pray for everyone,

To open your eyes,

To not be blind anymore.

Poet’s Word:

-I know I may receive hate or some form of backfire or criticism,

I write this in the eyes of a white person who does wish for equality and justice,

bu I also wish for peace between everyone,

I know it may never happen in my lifetime,

but I know we, as the new generation can make a change,

let us rise together as brothers and sisters.