Recently I went to a poetry slam contest.
Now, the people here are very diverse and come in all colors, genders, and nationalities. Most of their poems were about racism, sexism, rape, pain, anger, and fear. They shared powerful stories and moved a lot of people in the room, but something happened that I don't think they expectex too.
It made me feel like I was the bad guy in every poem. Like my face was the face of their villain. That people like me were everything that's wrong in the world.
So, in response to that I wrote a poem. Now, I'm not going to go on stage and read this out loud and accuse them of making me feel this way, but I will share it here on MF with all my dirty pirate brothers and sisters.
Mirrors are what we see
When they look in the mirror, what do they see
When I look in the mirror I see me
When they see me they don't see what I see
They see a White American Heterosexual Male
And that's what I see
But that doesn't mean to them what it means to me
Because I can't understand
I don't like my own gender so I can't understand
I only have one gender so I can't understand
I've never changed genders so I can't understand
What I do understand is that when I go to a gay bar, because I like women, they judge me
All of a sudden I'm the bad guy
I wasn't when I was outside
But they hate me when they look at me because all they can see is a Heterosexual male
And that doesn't mean to them what it means to me
Because I can't understand
I dont know what it means to be foreign so I can't understand
I've never been kicked out of my home so I can't understand
What I do understand is when I lived in Vietnam
The place where my forefathers dropped bombs
I saw a beautiful girl who's twin sister was lying paralyzed before my eyes
She couldn't move because of agent orange
And nothing rhymes with orange and that's not funny
Because she doesn't have a future due to others who look like me
When they see me they hate me and I'm the bad guy
Because they see an American and that doesn't mean to them what it means to me
I can't understand
I'm not black I can't understand
My people were never enslaved so I can't understand
They're not trying to build a wall for me so I can't understand.
The cops don't shoot at me so I can't understand
What I do understand is that I never chose the color of my skin
It's not my fault what other's do who look like me
I'm not shooting
I'm not a slaver
I don't build walls
But I see what they see when they look at me
I see that they hate me
I understand what it's like to be judged on appearance
I understand what it's like to be hated for the color of my skin
To be judged
To be treated unfairly
To be scared
All for something I didn't choose and things I didn't and don't do
When they see me they're scared of me and I'm the bad guy
Because they see white skin and that doesn't mean to them what it means to me
I can't understand
Because I have a dick I can't understand
I don't give birth so I can't understand
I've never been raped so I can't understand
I walk around at night and feel safe so I can't understand
I get paid the same as everyone else so I can't understand
But what I do understand is what it means to be given roles by society based off my body
Told to be strong
Told to lead
Told to protect women
Because I'm told they're weak
I understand what it means when they look at me
When I open doors and pull out their chair
Or compliment them on their hair
They look at me with hate like I don't understand them
They assume I'm condescending and consider myself above them
And in that hate I'm the bad guy
Because they see a male and that doesn't mean to them what it means to me
I've never heard someone say that they don't understand me
I am a cookie cut shape
Just look at me
I'm tall, and white, with a dick, and a beard
But none of that means to them what it means to me
I can't understand
Maybe I don't understand
But I see what they see when they look at me
My heritage
My gender
My dick
My pigment
They judge me before they get to know me
They hate me because of those that look like me
Maybe they don't understand
That discrimination goes both ways
Racism goes both ways
Sexism goes both ways
Hate goes both ways
Fear goes both ways
They see my face and tell me I'm the bad guy
But you can only be told so many times you're the bad guy before you become the bad guy
If mirrors are all we see then what do you see when you look at me?
Does it mean to you what it means to me?
Now, the people here are very diverse and come in all colors, genders, and nationalities. Most of their poems were about racism, sexism, rape, pain, anger, and fear. They shared powerful stories and moved a lot of people in the room, but something happened that I don't think they expectex too.
It made me feel like I was the bad guy in every poem. Like my face was the face of their villain. That people like me were everything that's wrong in the world.
So, in response to that I wrote a poem. Now, I'm not going to go on stage and read this out loud and accuse them of making me feel this way, but I will share it here on MF with all my dirty pirate brothers and sisters.
Mirrors are what we see
When they look in the mirror, what do they see
When I look in the mirror I see me
When they see me they don't see what I see
They see a White American Heterosexual Male
And that's what I see
But that doesn't mean to them what it means to me
Because I can't understand
I don't like my own gender so I can't understand
I only have one gender so I can't understand
I've never changed genders so I can't understand
What I do understand is that when I go to a gay bar, because I like women, they judge me
All of a sudden I'm the bad guy
I wasn't when I was outside
But they hate me when they look at me because all they can see is a Heterosexual male
And that doesn't mean to them what it means to me
Because I can't understand
I dont know what it means to be foreign so I can't understand
I've never been kicked out of my home so I can't understand
What I do understand is when I lived in Vietnam
The place where my forefathers dropped bombs
I saw a beautiful girl who's twin sister was lying paralyzed before my eyes
She couldn't move because of agent orange
And nothing rhymes with orange and that's not funny
Because she doesn't have a future due to others who look like me
When they see me they hate me and I'm the bad guy
Because they see an American and that doesn't mean to them what it means to me
I can't understand
I'm not black I can't understand
My people were never enslaved so I can't understand
They're not trying to build a wall for me so I can't understand.
The cops don't shoot at me so I can't understand
What I do understand is that I never chose the color of my skin
It's not my fault what other's do who look like me
I'm not shooting
I'm not a slaver
I don't build walls
But I see what they see when they look at me
I see that they hate me
I understand what it's like to be judged on appearance
I understand what it's like to be hated for the color of my skin
To be judged
To be treated unfairly
To be scared
All for something I didn't choose and things I didn't and don't do
When they see me they're scared of me and I'm the bad guy
Because they see white skin and that doesn't mean to them what it means to me
I can't understand
Because I have a dick I can't understand
I don't give birth so I can't understand
I've never been raped so I can't understand
I walk around at night and feel safe so I can't understand
I get paid the same as everyone else so I can't understand
But what I do understand is what it means to be given roles by society based off my body
Told to be strong
Told to lead
Told to protect women
Because I'm told they're weak
I understand what it means when they look at me
When I open doors and pull out their chair
Or compliment them on their hair
They look at me with hate like I don't understand them
They assume I'm condescending and consider myself above them
And in that hate I'm the bad guy
Because they see a male and that doesn't mean to them what it means to me
I've never heard someone say that they don't understand me
I am a cookie cut shape
Just look at me
I'm tall, and white, with a dick, and a beard
But none of that means to them what it means to me
I can't understand
Maybe I don't understand
But I see what they see when they look at me
My heritage
My gender
My dick
My pigment
They judge me before they get to know me
They hate me because of those that look like me
Maybe they don't understand
That discrimination goes both ways
Racism goes both ways
Sexism goes both ways
Hate goes both ways
Fear goes both ways
They see my face and tell me I'm the bad guy
But you can only be told so many times you're the bad guy before you become the bad guy
If mirrors are all we see then what do you see when you look at me?
Does it mean to you what it means to me?