“Children are born blind to hate and bigotry
With their big smiles and loving ways
They are taught ugliness
By unthinking adults and overheard conversation
This makes them use words and terms that for generations
Have caused hate and bitterness
To our fellow man.
Yes, they are taught, not born
To this social cancer.
I once asked a black friend how he would like
To be addressed?
Black, afro-american or just coloured.
No he said – just call me friend.”
-“Taught Racism” by Willow Moon Pierce
This poem reflects this novel pretty spot on, especially in that most of us are taught certain biases by our parents, unfortunately sometimes that bias is racism.
“Now I was thinking about how, if I wanted to, I could walk away and not think about Rashad, in a way that English or Shannon or Tooms or any of the guys at school who were not white could not. Even if they didn’t know Rashad, even if for some reason, they hated Rashad, they couldn’t just ignore what happened to him; they couldn’t walk away. They were probably afraid, too. Afraid of people like Paul. Afraid of cops in general. Hell, they were probably afraid of people like me. I didn’t blame them. I’d be afraid too, even if I was a frigging house like Tooms. But I didn’t have to be because my shield was that I was white. It didn’t matter that I knew Paul. I could be all the way across the country in California and I’d still be white, cops and everyone else would still see me as just a “regular kid,” an “All-American” boy. “Regular.” “All American.” White. Fuck.”
(page.180)
This is an important climax of this novel where one of the main characters is at a crossroads, he could walk away from Rashad’s situation and go on with his life, or he can stand up for what he believes is right. The connection between the poem and this quote is the fact that the bigotry of others directly and negatively impacts everyone around them. Being neutral only fuels the fire, however, it takes EVERYONE to rid the world of it forever.
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