Is cruelty Governor Woke Smoke’s superpower?
Hey, amigo, this ain’t Gitmo… We won’t waterboard you.
We won’t force feed you—Hop on this shiny white bus to
a better life! Catch this sleek private plane to food, clothing
and shelter! Hey, señora, one plush seat’s left for you and yours!
We swear this ain’t Sunshine State slapstick! We swear
it ain’t Lone Star State Abbot and Costello—comedy of
Cruelty! …Why… we’d never score $election points with
Corporate paymasters…by using you as $campaign props…
Why, we’d never ever move men, women, children across
this confederate chessboard like bipartisan pawns—Swear we
Wouldn’t! We’re not the same bloodthirsty Europeans who gun-
smoked plains, prairies, and wetlands, creating crimson clouds.
Hey, amigo, this ain’t Gitmo… We won’t waterboard you.
We won’t force feed you—Hop on this shiny white bus to
a better life! Catch this sleek private plane to food, clothing
and shelter! Hey, señora, one plush seat’s left for you and yours!
We swear this ain’t Sunshine State slapstick! We swear
it ain’t Lone Star State Abbot and Costello—comedy of
Cruelty! We’re not the ones who blood-soaked this soil—
leaving Indigenous ones with stand stolen ground nightmares…
Why, we wouldn’t lie—just ask the Seminoles! We’ve changed.
We’re simply not the same predatory Europeans exploring Africa,
Promising, “Jobs! Jobs! Longterm Employment Opportunities!”
Trust us, “Voluntary Relocation” can live “Where woke goes to die.”
Trust us… We’ re… “like a good neighbor.” Like Allstate following
fires in California—or floods in Florida…We’d never use pandemic
Recovery Funds (earmarked for relief ) to ship you people to woke
‘Sanctuary Cities!’ Oh—no—Never!
Hey, amigo, this ain’t Gitmo… We won’t waterboard you.
We won’t force feed you. This is a melting pot! You and your family
just jump right in! Trust us… we aren’t the AI-driven, rightwing, robotic,
Brooks Brothers’ suited barbarians your growling gut’s saying we are…
© 2023. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at: GoFundMe and PayPal.
The same activists who are working to defund the police are also part of a collective movement to bring an end to neoliberal capitalism.
“We knowed what was goin’ on in [the war] all the time,” said Felix Haywood, dismissing the notion that his fellow Texas slaves were ignorant of the Emancipation Proclamation.
It seems inevitable our own holiday will be sold back to us by the same corporations that profit from exploiting black lives.
Under Nicaraguan law, it is a crime to seek foreign interference in the country's internal affairs.
How should we respond when people of color who've spent a lifetime cussing the empire start curtseying to it instead?
