if you are the offspring of an interracial relationship
but appear to all intents and purposes to be “white”
and are fully aware of what privileges have been accorded to you
because of your appearance,
do you have a moral obligation to make sure
that when you are called “white”
you correct the speaker and refuse that label?
MY OWN OPINION: fuck yes. every fucking time.
there are times when the best thing you can do for all around you is to speak up, say your piece, and then shut up and suffer the consequences in silence.
the act of speaking up does not guarantee that you will get the results you want, but it’s still important to do it.
you may be lonely as hell afterward, for a long time, but you will be the better for doing it.
in my role as performance poet:
1. record a CD
2. put up a personal website
3. change my name
4. slam
5. appear on Def Poetry Jam
6. do a commercial for something profitable
7. change my appearance
8. go on a reality show
9. join academia
10. go on a reality show based in academia
things i have done/will do:
1. write my ass off
2. read well
3. be more generous to the poets around me
4. listen
5. read others’ work
6. stop using my mental illness as a crutch for shoddy behavior
7. admit that i value immortality for my work far more than my own longevity
8. admit that i am nonetheless afraid to die
9. stop letting fame be so important to me
10. return to first things and begin again
Dark Matter 