Racists Hold the Key to Saving Our Democracy

by Ernie McCray

Come on America.
You vote for, perhaps, the most loathsome
excuse of a human being
ever born in the Milky Way,
then have the nerves
to talk a lot of bullshit
about how Kamala Harris
gave the election way.

Stop it, I say.
You’re way the hell off base,
as this election
was, aside from being laced
with strong traces
of sexism,
mostly about race.

As is just about everything else

in these here United States.

And Donald J. Trump,

who considers himself

a member of the Master Race,

rallied, at an historic pace,

massive numbers

of racist White folks,

especially the poorest

and most hardworking among them,

people who have been

drowning in rage

ever since

the civil rights movement

of the 60’s

gave Black people

and other people of color

a little uplift,

a wee rise

from our country’s cellar.

And, oh, America,

you can’t imagine

how nice it has been

just having these yahoos

quieted and subdued

for more than a decade or two.

And then comes along

a Grand Dragon

of a man

who gives these

bigots

the oxygen

they needed

to once again

be able to act like they used to

when displays

of racial antagonism

were common place,

“The Good Old Days”

when America,

according to them,

was great,

going backwards in time

to when Africans were enslaved

in the colonies

before the nation’s inception,

times that gave birth to the idea

that has been ingrained

in poor struggling White people’s minds

that no matter how bad life was for them,

they’re better off

than the people with dark skins,

even though they were

held as slaves and indentured servants too,

and because they were so into

such thinking

they avoided taking a part in endeavors

such as

trying to abolish enslavement,

marching for jobs and freedom,

working to end anyone having to sit at the back of the bus.

If they had ridden with the Freedom Riders

all of our citizens

would be living

more hopeful lives.

And now, here in the 21st Century,

they’ve committed their latest sin,

rallying behind a madman’s fantasy

to make the world bow to him,

vowing to them

that he will subject immigrants

in our nation

to mass deportation,

keeping them from being replaced,

from being the minority,

an assurance they covet

because they know how inhumanely

folks in this category

have been treated for centuries,

not the least bit of the understanding

that we people of color

have been and still are

way too busy

trying to make it in this society

to even consider seeking revenge,

especially when what we’ve tried to achieve

has always been grounded

in love,

love of ourselves

and others

and our country.

And I can’t help but wonder

how these folks are going to conduct themselves

when their boy,

very soon,

begins making all of our citizens’ lives hell,

thinking of only himself,

leaving citizens of our nation

of every stripe

the task of making things right.

Will they finally, then,

since they, essentially, hold the key

to what, eventually, happens to us

as a citizenry,

cast aside their racist ways,

and help seekers of freedom

keep our democracy alive?

The way matters are right now,
this might be the question
of our lives.