Program Success 3 October 2020
Remember how she thought it was self-evident that “ all men were created equal ?” Was there ever a single solitary moment in her entire existence when she ever treated “ all men ” equally ?
To be fair , you never loved her either . You weren ’ t that stupid . She was not a thing to be loved .
But remember when you said you loved her ? They told you to say it . And , because you were young and innocent , you just said it . You said it as loudly and as convincingly as the people who actually believed they loved her . You put your palm over your heart the same way they did and turned your body slightly to the right toward the flag and told the lie like they taught you to do it . And it wasn ’ t a lie .
You were just saying words . It was just a poem you recited before the assembly in the cafeteria or the lesson on long division . But , if you ’ re being honest , you kinda liked the way your tongue paradiddled when the L came after the P before the double L that preceded the other L that followed the F . “ I pledge allegiance to the flag ” was a delightful snippet of meaningless alliteration , so you made your mouth into a lovely little patriotic trumpet and not once did you spit on the marble floor . Those were the good ol ’ days .
Remember when you asked her to just say that your life mattered and she laughed at your request for reciprocal love ?
Remember when you asked her to just say that your life mattered and she laughed at your request for reciprocal love ? She guffawed , didn ’ t she ? Remember how she pardoned the people who shot your baby girls and strangled your little boys ? Remember when she sent soldiers with long guns as if you were the ones who were out of control . Remember how she played those performative trumpet solos for Trayvon and Sandra and Philando and Eric and Breonna and George ?
Remember how her tongue stayed limp and , instead of justice , she gave you a new syrup bottle , a Google doodle and a very special episode of Two and a Half Men ? Remember how she always , always , always spit on the floor ?
Before she tweeted about “ law and order ” or chanted “ send her back ,” remember how you believed she might one day love you , too ? That if you could only purchase some bootstraps , enunciate your “ Rs ” and smile big enough to show her that your teeth were white and pretty just like hers — she would invite you to become part of her ? Remember when she hoodwinked a man who dreamed about a country that would “ transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood ?” Remember how she killed that dreamer ? Remember how she killed all the Black dreamers ?
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