everyone thinks anime is cool.
no matter where you go,
the park,
schools,
homes.
there's kids,
adults,
couples,
singles,
who love to watch anime.
why?
because it's cool,
it's trendy.
i knew this already
my brothers and sisters and i
would always gather around at lunch
and watch anime
while eating mochi.
the kids laughed
and made fun of our language
and made fun of our food
all while squinting and mocking,
mocking everything that made us, us.
why?
because it was uncool,
not trendy at all.
now it's trendy.
everyone pretends,
eats mochi with a smile
and watches anime
like they never
mocked
or ridiculed us for it.
like they never told us
that it wasn't cool,
or trendy.
it's not just us.
it's black people
who they steal from.
braids,
rap,
lips,
like they hadn't made fun of it.
they'll eat tamales
then wear a Maga hat
with the same breath.
they wear feathers to festivals
but don't want the natives
in America.
why?
because they think they're cool,
trendy.
it's okay to like anime
and mochi.
it's okay to wear braids,
rap,
have big lips
it's okay to eat Mexican food
and embrace native culture.
it's okay if as a child
you made a mistake,
were ignorant,
and have learned from it.
because we're only human
and everyone has the ability
to change.
but staying ignorant,
turning those mistakes
into habits
while still wearing,
eating,
stealing
from other cultures,
is not okay.
it's not cool.
and it's definitely
not trendy.
So as you can probably see from my profile picture, I'm not Asian. I'm actually black. This isn't based off of any personal experiences, it's based on a tweet I saw about cultural appropriation that I might've ignored at first, but later realized it's importance. Hope you guys liked it!
YOU ARE READING
Unapologetic// A Poetry Collection
Poetrya collection of poems written by me, about equality, struggles, prejudice, love, hate, and many other things. completed.
