They are us.

Thu, 04/10/2014 - 02:58 -- hamhand

This poem is a response to Suey Park’s bias against “mainstream Asian America.”

I am learning how to be soft again
And say “I understand” and mean it,
Because to be mean is understandable.
However, forgetting is not.
We cannot preach relearning our histories,
Without remembering we did not know them
And didn’t want to once,
Because that is written into our work.
There is no “better” other
When we all are the Other.
To say otherwise, is divisive—
Or dichotomous,
As our academic theory spouts.
Because when we do so,
We are not rewriting our pasts,
We are erasing them.
And why would we wanna do that
When we already know how hard it is
To know ourselves
In spite of the impossibility
Of returning to a pure past?
No, those who do not know
Are not our enemies,
They are us,
Reminders of our work,
Reminding us to be soft. 

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