understanding, angst.

red. white. blue.
still black and white divided too?

ignorance and arrogance
privilege of an unknowing elite?
when i look into the mirror,
stand in the grocery store,
walk through a park,
or drive my new car,
do i have to notice first that i'm white?
indo-european, to be precise.

buying beauty products,
hair conditioner and shampoo,
do i see, understand, know,
that it's made for people just like me?
or, friends, is my white privilege
putting blinders on?
ignorance and arrogance,
privileges of the unknowing elite?

frustration, anger, come with knowledge.
what do i do? how can i act?
hands tied behind my back
in a harness of my own crafting.
realization, wisdom dawning:
there are no simple solutions
and that is half the problems' source:
anger and misplaced hate,
shallow understanding,
and simplicity on the near side of complexity.

with deepening understanding
comes fear. anger. frustration.
but sharing in the shackles of knowledge,
even if that means remaining bound,
unable to act,
lands greater understanding
to be applied with right power
when the time to act
is rightly granted.