“Fascism, by its very nature, must be
anti-rationale and anti-humane.”
—I.F. Stone
Not even semiautomatic “thoughts and prayers”
Fired, as black boxes, and burned bodies of
Beloveds are fished from icy waters of the
Potomac … And notification of next of kin trudges on …
Strong embraces … for bloodshot eyes?
Compassionate hugs leaning into shattered hearts?
Comforting words … soothing souls in shock?
Humble head bowed in prayer with parents?
None of this. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Bupkis.
From the reigning Champions of Cruelty. Nothing.
Nada. Zilch. Zero. Bupkis from moneyed men with
Empty, mustard seed-sized hatred-filled hearts …
Nothing, except an absurd salad of words served
Piping hot on high fructose corn syrup talking points;
And fermented elephant excrement. Nothing, except
Leftovers from tattered menus mimicking ancient agendas …
Evidence? Commonsense!
Had to be DEI—in the sky …
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion—
Oh, my!
Darkies flying Blackhawks in
Civilian sky!
Must’ve been the Blackhawk Helicopter—
Or, was it an Apache? Dumb-assed Indians!
Wasn’t colorblind—merit-based—
Best and brightest—most and whitest!
Must’ve been monkey-ass Soul Plane Snoop Dogg
Pilots flying civilian aircraft into military airspace?
Wasn’t colorblind—merit-based—
Best and brightest—most and whitest!
Must’ve been woke, chicken wing Tuskegee
Airmen? Never could fly like white pilots!
Wasn’t colorblind—merit-based—
Best and brightest—most and whitest!
Evidence? Commonsense!
Had to be DEI—in the sky …
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion—
Oh, my!
Darkies flying Blackhawks in
Civilian sky!
Must’ve been Mexican and Haitian pilots—
Eating the dogs instead of flying the plane?
Wasn’t colorblind—merit-based—
Best and brightest—most and whitest!
Must’ve been transgender air traffic controllers—
Switching off radar for Gay-dar?
Wasn’t colorblind—merit-based—
Best and brightest—most and whitest!
Reagan knew! Wasn’t colorblind—merit-based—
Best and brightest—most and whitest!
Fired lazy-assed DEI air traffic controllers—
For the best and brightest—most and whitest!
Must’ve been Black flight attendants filing their nails,
Instead of calmly telling passengers, “We’re gonna die …”
Wasn’t colorblind—merit-based—
Best and brightest—most and whitest!
Evidence? Commonsense!
Had to be DEI—in the sky …
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion—
Oh, my!
Darkies flying Blackhawks in
Civilian sky!
Negroes blew up two very fine Boeing Max jets!
And blew the door off another over the Northwest—
Must’ve been a Black flight attendant opening the door
In flight?
© 2025. 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.
US hostilities towards Ethiopia and Eritrea look more and more like those preceding US wars in Yugoslavia, Libya, and Syria, writes Ann Garrison.
At the 1972 event, Walter Rodney proclaimed that “black unity must be international because we live on every continent, through no choice of our own.”
2020’s hindsight—frost in the rearview mirror. Miles Ahead… I’m Sheltered in Solidarity with National Poetry Month and Jazz Appreciation Month— April in Boston—warm cider
The critics want to wipe clear the actual history of racial oppression that is baked into the social and economic structures of the US.
The police as they exist today need to be abolished, there’s no question. “Diversity doesn’t change the fundamental dynamics of policing.”
