When Hate Takes Over the Microphone

 

When Hate Takes Over the Microphone

--njbell

Like silent fumes of noxious thoughts

I touch all lives at some time

Whether or not you see me

On the daily news

On Facebook,

On Twitter or Tic Tok

On the street and off

On the faces passing by. or

On a growing current of sentiment

Whether you see me or not,

I am there, like a virus,

Spreading clandestinely

Through coded nods and smiles

Through greetings and agreements

Through ads and slogans

Through fundraisers and rallies

Through relatives and neighbors

Through friends and team mates

My lies are profound and emotionally convincing

When half the facts are hidden or changed

Time is raided for the picking of old wounds

“Just keep your power, keep your advantages

Just never be thrown into the endless pit

Just keep helping to dig a hole for others.

Just throw them in, keep them under

Just restrict their means to achieve equality

Just follow the crowd, we know the way”

My helpers fear equality, fear others being empowered

And fear losing perceived entitlements of privilege

And fear being underfoot to someone with grievances,

By some people's collective actions

By some people's collective silence

By some people's collective smiling agreement

By some people's collective ignorance

By some people's collective violence and

By your country's collective history, in truth

I have had many names

As Hate, I touch every land

Using your own words against you

I borrow words from the repressive

I borrow words from the perverse

I borrow words from dead heroes

I borrow words from proud traditions

I borrow words from wealthy thieves

I borrow words from the morally bankrupt

I make a stand on platforms

Not being particular to venues

Just so long as it is

Dedicated to the derision of others

Dedicated to the coalescing of hate

Dedicated to the banner of superiority

Dedicated to the torch of vain victory

Dedicated to the way things should be, though they never were

Dedicated to all the seeds that promise a recycle of hate seasons

I lead a poisoned cry to arms

From shadows, increasing in might

Still dodging the opposing forces

That pointed out my irony

That pointed out my hypocritical criticisms

That pointed out my affinity to cause misery

That pointed out my disregard of justice

That pointed out the emperor has no clothes

That pointed out my heart of stone and waving flag

A rose is still a rose, no matter what it is called

Jim Crow is only one name

That mobilizes my hate

Into good ol' boys who stick together

Into friends and neighbors down the road

Into a group to stand within for safety

Into an invisible face with a mean end

Into a nostalgic remembrance of apple pie

Into lies that continue on the breeze, like smoke

I spring out of dormant embers

Hiding in traditions and giving murky ground

To flex my muscles in spite when it is time

When I am made to feel welcome again

When the front line of my opponents is in shambles

When conditions conspire to deceive en mass

When the new generation sees my golden road

When winning by cheating becomes a sign of success

When lie gets a new parade to dazzle admirers

I am come as Hate floating down Main Street

In broad daylight, for all to partake of me

Unconcerned and throwing confetti while

Grabbing a speaker to spread my messages

Grabbing the headlines, to stir the facts

Grabbing minds seeking a life preserver

Grabbing false leaders to form my new home team

Grabbing followers because people love to cheer together

Grabbing power, and celebrating being right when wrong.

Down through the ages, I have claimed many lives

I come out to play through the outrage I cause

I eat from the power of screams, fear and tears

Just like I eat from the power of false hopes and confusion

Just like I eat from the power of exclusion

Just like I eat from the power of apathy

Just like I eat from the power of helplessness

Just like I eat from the power of fear and distrust

Just like I always devour, that's what hate does

I stand in a high place looking over my battlefield

I feel the armies coming as rivers of bodies

I anticipate and relish the grief of a new generation

I can smell the blood that's coming

I can smell old upsets and confusions coming to new fruition

I can smell the fear, as targets fall in battle on both sides

I can smell the stagnant air bringing back old hate from the dead

I can smell sad traditions that glorified my might by your rights

I can smell the acrid eroding of direction and purpose

I know how the cycles of hate works, over time

One day I am on streets and billboards

Babies eating the lollipops of it, praised and adored

Children play and dream of power and privileges stolen

Teens with tunnel vision take up aggression

Adults take up signs and arms and pit life against life

Communities crouch under the threat of violence

Cities burn and courts crowd

And the country will once again, reach a tipping point

When a front line will re-emerge, because it is necessary

Leaders are born from likely and unlikely places

And a new lesson will begin

And a new unity will spread

And a new sense of direction will be born

And a new movement will begin

And a new movement to counter hate

And new faces will become seeds for the next crop