dignified

OCD designer
Sep 1, 2018 · 2 min read

They walked in at different times. Unknowingly crossing paths many times before they ended up here on this night. Less melanin was produced in his skin than his swarthy counterpart. Bred in the same city they existed in one geographic location together, simultaneously. Like all people do. Exist simultaneously. A contradiction of upbringing brought them to this moment. Standing on opposite sides of the road. Fighting for different causes that cultivated hostility.

They walked in at different times. Wearing different skin, but the same brands. Brought up from different cultures, but somehow still ended up in the same underwear. Covered in the same fabric. Not realizing that they ordered the same pizza at the pizzeria down the street, enjoyed the same beers after a long day and even jammed out to the same mainstream song on the radio while no one was looking. Feuling their animosity toward each other regardless of their similarities. Not bothering to even try to know one another simply due to a variation in color and culture. They didn’t even know why they hated each other, nevertheless, they did.

They walked in at different times. Holding different signs that defined their mission. Carrying a torch in his hand and loathing in his heart for his counterpart, he screamed racial slurs and ultimatums. Attempting to force his opinions down the throats of the passerby. Opinions rooted in the dirt of a country that was built on the backs of those degraded simply for their melanin production. A variation in DNA dictated by geographic origin. Celebrating an icon of misguided superiority and pain. Ideas that were thrust upon him as an infant. A baby doesn’t understand color or hate coming out of the womb. It’s taught behavior. Generations of innocent children that were bred to have such an abhorrent point of view. Even though they were born in the same city, at the same time, his birth was preferable. Every culture retains this notion in some facet.

They walked in at different times. Fighting for what each truly believes to be right. Right. Dignifying his actions by the embedded notions that he is somehow superior to his colored counterpart, he marched. A march that would fuel a deeply ingrained rivalry and hinder the growth of a society as we continue to exist simultaneously. In order for us to live harmoniously, we must be open to change and find the silver lining in our differences.

OCD designer

Written by

I am a designer and amateur poet who writes in hypotheticals and rarely about reality.