So Tell Me, What Type of Racist Are You?
A Tapestry Poem
An examination of denials and prejudiced rationales
So tell me again, what type of racist are you? I feel it is my duty to ask; it would be remiss, no ironic, for me to group you as an individual with all the rest. So tell me, because I don’t want to incorrectly label you as a person with acetic assumptions and intellectual laziness, even though I heard you spin the narrative of enlightenment. I thought I heard you argue how colonial powers brought civilisation to savages, Christianity to heathens, and, oh yes, there was one more thing. What was that? Yes, it was high culture and technological advances to those stuck in the dark. I mean, these are just facts, not internalised beliefs and opinions, so how can that make you racist? So tell me, what type of racist are you? I feel it is my duty to ask. I remember how you once told me you don’t see colour and asked why we can’t put all that stuff behind us and get along. When I questioned you about advantages and privileges, I remember you denied their existence and told me about laws and policies that make institutional and systemic racism a thing of the past. You told me the racists are the ones that bait others on account of our differences. You told me oppression, dominance, and power are things you have never witnessed and experienced. You…
