7 Seconds: Open Your Damn Eyes

Going on three months in lockdown, virus is slowing but gotta stay cautious,
So near yet so far uncertainty overshadows the foreseeable future,
Led to a spontaneous combustion of emotions, that stove been left unattended,
Once that pot starts bubblin’ better brace for the explosion,
It’s tit for tat between world leaders like some twisted game of tennis,
While the bored and desperate go stir-crazy, sick of living like prisoners,
But spare a thought for victims of the fucked-up and the ignorant,
Mankind’s infected with serious shortcomings, twenty-twenty was a harsh reminder,
We’re talking ‘bout this evil thing called racism where differences in appearances trigger disturbances,
Should’ve been left in the dark ages but it’s persisting despite so-called progress,
Manifesting during times of trouble, bringing out the worst in others,
In this Brave New World two major events exposed peoples’ true colors,
The pandemic drew the bigoted from their caves like the proverbial moths to that flame,
While elsewhere the dam exploded and society’s drowning following another senseless killing.

Jacked-up on fear and substances, the ignorant blasting all Asians for this virus,
Flashed back to past outbreaks and plagues that saw different minorities blamed,
Check out ‘Frisco in the early nineteen-hundreds, Bubonic Plague saw the Chinese Exclusion Act strengthened,
Back to the present and Yellow Peril’s reincarnated,
Childish playground shit, all corners pointing fingers on certain students, no one gives a fuck, not even the teachers,
Cowards scared to swim deep so they stay in shallow waters, victims are prosecuted based on appearances,
The elderly abused and pushed around, young ones threatened and harassed,
Asian faces triggering frothing racists, even when they got that facemask strapped,
Yet sparing the full-grown and strong, saving hands, saliva and insults for the vulnerable and old,
Bullies duckin’ and dodgin’ the smoke, the cowardice is something to behold,
Scare tactics and fear mongering spreadin’, slapped onto store windows and news headlines,
While Donnie and his homies are slingin’ comments that are inflammatory and asinine,
Peep at how they reportin’ on this virus, Asian faces splashed on screens and newspapers,
Treating ‘em like Emmanuel Goldstein, Is it coincidence or they stokin’ emotions?
There’s a Cold War between nations over who’s responsible yet the spread was a global team effort,
Doctors from ground zero silenced by communists but their warnings went unheeded until after that virus ran rampant,
Open your damn eyes and minds, take a look around and stop the hate,
Y’all fools are part of the problem and not the solution, that virus don’t discriminate.

Elsewhere in the Divided States, different day but the same old bullshit,
Emancipation should’ve ended it but oppression went another direction,
Demonizing ‘em with harmful stereotypes, denying ‘em privileges that others take for granted,
Slapping ‘em with stiffer sentences for serious charges while lighter offenders can get off with something lesser,
The police swore an oath to serve and protect, for some that should’ve come with a fuckin’ asterisk,
Where in the handbook does it permit y’all to stop, harass and search ‘em for no reason besides skin color?
And if arrest is warranted why are y’all roughing ‘em and killing ‘em even if they ain’t resisting?
Not hating on all carrying badges, the majority perform their duties admirably,
But when bad seeds get away with bad deeds the masses ain’t gonna take it lightly,
Thinking ‘bout Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and other victims of this one-sidedness,
Black kids can’t play cops and robbers without being mistaken for the latter,
The system’s broken, simmering tensions and frustration are a toxic combination,
The fallout is gnarly, shades of Watts and L.A. in ’65 and ’92, respectively,
But don’t get ‘em twisted, protestors ain’t rioters,
But they’re omitted from the TV news ‘cuz chaos guarantees more ratings and views,
Looters come in all races but selective editing focus on darker faces like they dictating who to blame for this,
But ya gotta wonder who’s in it for the mission or just taking advantage of the situation,
How’s robbing and looting helping while the economy’s struggling?
Y’all are harming the innocent, wrecking businesses owned by they whose lives need defending,
How’s two wrongs gonna equal solution? What good will come from this destruction? Can’t condone these fuckin’ riots, y’all went too far with this,
But the rage is understandable, been four hundred-plus yet the bullshit’s still happening,
They’re crying ‘All Lives Matter’ with conviction but some lives remain disposable,
‘Riots are the language of the unheard’ quoted Dr. King, but also noted they’re self-defeatin’,
Gotta be exhausting explaining to your children the dangers they’ll be facing due to their darker complexion,
Open your damn eyes, stop, think and open your minds and stop the hate,
Look beyond colors and quit judging, ‘cuz underneath we all bleed the same.

On and on it goes this twisted, toxic mindset,
Arabs slammed by the masses for every terrorist incident since nine-eleven like they as a collective started ‘em,
Labeled as troublemakers like black men in America, media hysteria helped fuel that skirmish in Cronulla,
Hispanics dismissed as gangsters, drug dealers and illegals with falsified papers, so vociferous are Don and his rabid supporters,
Africans in China attacked as virus carriers while the world slaps Asians with similar accusations,
Could go on and on with examples and all races are susceptible,
That includes White folks, deemed the face of the human race blessed with special privileges,
But you’d be naïve to believe that it can’t also be a hindrance,
Can’t offer certain opinions without being labeled ignorant and entitled,
Can’t act or dress in certain ways without staring misappropriation charges in the face, 
Condemnation awaits if they attack other races but flip the script barely an eyebrow’s raised,
Met with cynicism in the realms of ballin’, fightin’ and rappin’, privilege sure has failed ‘em,
Twenty deep in the third millennium but fools remain wandering in the desert,
At the mercy of the vultures, the powers that be that should’ve known better.

Heard it all before, excuses from the judgmental and bigoted, flipping faster than Greg Louganis whenever they’re confronted,
‘I got a spouse or friend’ from whatever race or culture they’re hatin’, nobody’s buying it,  you never should have started,
‘I don’t feel comfortable with ‘em,’ bullshit, harden up and get to know ‘em rather than jumping to conclusions,
‘They’re all the same,’ says you, your prejudice serves  to generalize and defame, Fool,
A global utopia remains a pipe dream, as elusive as Lasseter’s Reef,
The curse is deeply rooted, survived for so long probably won’t fade into oblivion,
Not all are open to education, can’t wait for ‘em forever and nothing comes out of coercion,
They are beyond your control, it’s better to start small when it comes to long-term goals,
Work on yourself first to help heal this world,
Put an end to prejudice and embrace one another’s differences,
Hatred is learned behavior, teach children love in addition to reading, writing and proper manners,
The world has enough bullies so don’t you go planting seeds,
If All Lives Matter then it’s about time we lived it, no more unequal distributions of justice,
Quit blaming others for the sins of the stupid, spare your wrath for the culprits that deserve it,
Ignore the irresponsible unless you want to join the foolish and gullible, stereotypes and propaganda are a rotten motherfucker,
To the racist and bigoted, it’s high time y’all changed your ways,
They’re in disarray, enslavin’ you to acts of hate as you stay choking on those chains,
Open your damn eyes and stop the hate, strip away race, cultures and backgrounds we’re all the same,
We’re all part of the human race, the sooner it sinks can real changes take place.