The Dark Truth
A boy walks down the middle of a Chicago street at night, until he doesn’t, his bullet riddled body lying on the line between law enforcement and civility. A Chicago woman is caged for contrived circumstances during a traffic stop in Texas, bars the last thing she sees before her life ends. A man jogging down the road, alone in a time when gatherings are discouraged, is confronted by two men in a pickup truck, three shotgun blasts their deliverance of Georgia justice for the crime of being black.
There is fiction in the belief that this will end anytime soon. For each, the one thing darker than their skin is the darkness of times that never seem to end. To see the truth, imagine any past leader of color and know that, with each of these, his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream.
Although far from fiction, this is my response to Prosery: Maya Angelou, presented by Björn at dVerse ~ Poets Pub. With Prosery, the challenge is to write a piece of flash fiction with a 144-word limit. Included in the bit of prose is to be a complete line from a poem. For this prompt, the line to be included is “his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream” from Maya Angelou’s “Caged Bird.” I didn’t feel I could write fiction worthy of the weight of Maya Angelou’s full poem, but this does meet the additional challenge of hitting the 144-word mark, exactly.
This was such an act of white supremacy. So very sad. Who do those men think they are that they have the right to take a life? It is sickening.
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Their claim to innocence owes everything to vigilantism, but only points to their own arrogance.
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Jim Crow lives…unfortunately. Excellent focus and sad facts.
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Thank you, Glenn.
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Well said. Sadly, there seems to be no end to it.
As someone said, what would happen if a group of black men with guns were menacing a state legislature with their grievances? (K)
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Thank you.
A. What is the purpose of automatic weapons carried by visitors to a legislative session. Intimidation.
B. What would be the reaction if those visitors were not white. Panic (as it should be for any gun toting visitor to a legislative session).
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Exactly.
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My heart aches for those who are subject to such abuses, you have captured the futility, and banality of it for me.
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Thank you.
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Pleasure Ken
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This was so powerful Ken. I am disgusted to say we live in a racist society and the hatred is encouraged by the White House. You nailed it. Well done.
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Thank you, Christine. I have no use for the man.
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Me neither. An excuse for a man 😡
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Profoundly moving. May the murderers of the young jogger be convicted (one can only hope).
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Thank you, Janice. Yes, justice must be served.
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Wow. This is really amazing. You have done Maya proud with your response to her words.
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Thank you, very, very much, Judy.
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It’s heartbreaking. And it’s not just guns, is it? Black people are dying of corona virus and other diseases, killed by poverty and lack of chances. Black people are being threatened for wearing masks to protect themselves. Something has to change.
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Opportunities denied say little for the notion of equality. Equality means little, without respect.
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Very powerful words.
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Thank you.
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There is some racism in the UK, nobody is blind to it, but it is nowhere near as violent and frightening as what you describe, Ken. I despair.
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Imagine fearing for your life, knowing that you have a far higher risk of personal harm than your equals. I wish I couldn’t.
Thank you, Kim.
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This is worse than our present pandemic. So very sad
Be safe
Much💟love
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That it is. Thank you. ❤
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“darkness of times that never seems to end” …. So painfully true. How is it we continue to spawn these creatures of hate who blot the hope and dreams of the majority of us for a world of peace and love? A pox on them and their faux superiority born in ignorance.
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Some times it so subtle, we’re supposed to pretend it’s not there. But it’s pervasive, making it seem the norm. And then it escalates. A pox, indeed. They are the pox on society.
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“Fiction in the belief…” how do we expose the fictions in these beliefs that change these beliefs into mere fictions? Really thought provoking piece. Thank you for posting this.
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And thank you for your insight.
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Racism permeates our society… but with guns the mix becomes lethal.
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Indeed.
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Very well said, Ken. So many nightmares and screams. It seems like it will never end.
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Thank you, Merril. Yes, when it should be ancient history.
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Yes. Sigh.
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It seems we can never move ahead. You began this in the violent way that racism rears its monstrous head.
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And it rears its head all too often.
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