Coates, who wrote famed Atlantic piece about financial recompense for descendants of slaves, to testify alongside Danny Glover
Okay, I say, let us have reparations
to undo all evils of past generations.
First, of course, we must deal with slavery,
but we must not ignore all other knavery.
Those few Native Americans we've left alive,
need more than casinos in order to thrive.
And women, regardless of race or of class. . .
Are they owed anything? YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS!
Anyone genetically male and European
owes everyone something, albeit
themselves being low-caste plebeian.
And even within not-a-continent Europe
they all owe each other, that you can sure of.
The French owe the English, the English the Dutch.
The Dutch know they owe somebody. (And hope not much).
The Spanish owe everyone, except a few.
So do Germans, Slavs, Norsemen. And the Celts too!
All Europeans can be taken to task.
Except, perhaps, maybe the Basques.
Is it just other people we rightly owe?
Wherever else can we payments bestow?
What of other animals? What about plants?
Gilbert and Sullivan's sisters, cousins and aunts?
Would I be wrong or maladroit
to point out historically ALL victors exploit?
And always have. And always will.
And never have — EVER HAVE! — settled their bill.
If everyone's PERP and everyone's VIC,
I do not see how we settle this quick.
But if we decide payback's required
I, too, have a claim that has not expired.
I am, I believe, owed most of all
since I am over five percent Neanderthal.
So Homo Sapiens — white, black, brown, yellow, red — damn it
return what is mine and get off my planet!
All joking aside,
they do make a case,
but fact is acting
will make things worse.
Justice postponed
IS justice denied.
BUT what “JUSTICE”
is just hard to decide.
We will never see
(few have ever tried),
we are in THIS together,
NO ONE exits alive.
[updated 6/19/2019 9:15 pm]
[updated 6/19/2019 9:30 pm]
[updated 6/19/2019 9:45 pm]