Ideas for poem titles or poem ideas:

 

  1. Blame Game (a poem title)
    1. Probably about the blame each race assesses the other.

                                                               i.      Minorities say whites are holding them down/back with racism, and that the whites in control are racist and therefore don’t help the non-whites.

                                                             ii.      Whites say minorities are taking over the country, that they’re using up the country’s resources, and that they’re taking all the white folks’ jobs.

  1. Who’s To Blame (poem title)
    1. Probably about who is to blame for the current racial tension/problems.

                                                               i.      Who hates the other more?

                                                             ii.      Why are we fighting?

                                                            iii.      Is everyone racist?

  1. The Upside Of Racism (poem title/idea)
    1. Try to figure out possible (though maybe unrealistic or mocking) “upsides” to racism.
    2. Can it help anyone? Does it help anyone?
    3. Find humor.
    4. Possibly from the POV of a racist white, or maybe just the mocking tone of myself.
  2. Katrina
    1. Write about Hurricane Katrina.
    2. Talk about the race issues that came up during the hurricane.
    3. Why wasn’t LA prepared?
    4. Who’s to blame?
    5. Is race even important, in the big scheme of things, considering the lives lost?
  3. Who’s More Important (poem title/idea)
    1. A poem about who is the “best” race.

                                                               i.      Maybe consider many races, maybe just blacks and whites.

                                                             ii.      Either use outside stereotypes, or things each race takes pride in

                                                            iii.      Again, find the humor.

                                                           iv.      In the end, try to say that no one is the “best” race, and that it is lame to think there might be.

  1. Heathens (poem title/idea)
    1. Poem about heathens
    2. Talks about what a heathen is (nowadays) and what it was (back in the day).
    3. Show how the term is racist

                                                               i.      What is a heathen? What did the missionaries mean by that term?

                                                             ii.      Can any race/skin color be a heathen?

                                                            iii.      What makes one race more sophisticated than another?

                                                           iv.      What makes one race think its ideas are better for another race?

                                                             v.      Were the missionaries actually trying to help?

  1. The Last White Guy On Earth (poem title, epic poem? Longer poem, definitely)
    1. A long poem about a racist guy who wakes up as the last white guy on Earth.

                                                               i.      Everyone else is not white; they might all even be one specific race to make him feel even more like an outcast.

                                                             ii.      Maybe he wakes up as the only black instead. Might be funnier.

1.      He’s still racist, either way. Even if he’s that race.

                                                            iii.      People could be rude, or be very nice. Hard to decide

                                                           iv.      Was it a dream? Is he stuck? Leave questions unanswered?

  1. Red Blood (poem idea)
    1. Definitely not the title.
    2. Something about how everyone bleeds red blood.
    3. This is a defining characteristic of our species, and along with many other things, but blood is our life and we all have it.
    4. Somehow mention how a blood transfusion from someone of any race would help someone.
    5. Try and mention the phrase, “blue blood,” if possible.

 

  1. United For A Day (possible/ but doubtful poem title, poem idea)
    1. Poem about 9/11 and how everyone was American after that day.
    2. Why were we all together for only one day? Or one month? How come the “everybody’s American” thinking didn’t last?
    3. What does it take to unite our nation? Is death the only option?
  2. Too Many (poem title/idea)
    1. Is there such a thing as too many of a race in America?
    2. How close do we actually think we are to being totally overpopulated?
    3. Do we expect everyone to have the same beliefs? The same faith in America?
  3. 2 Faiths (poem idea)
    1. Is it possible to have faith in your heritage and in America?
    2. Those who are Irish/Italian/etc. do not seem to have problems with being ridiculed for their pride, why are other cultures?
    3. Should your faith/love for the country you live in (America) outshine the faith from your home country?

                                                               i.      You live here, so why would you say another place is better?

                                                             ii.      The doors aren’t locked, so you can leave whenever you want. Why would someone stay somewhere they didn’t think was the best?

                                                            iii.      Who is actually anti-American, but lives in America? Isn’t that kind of silly?

    1. Maybe mock those who live in America but hate it, compare it to someone living in Egypt and getting the hell out of there (Moses reference, maybe?).
  1. The Black President (poem title/idea)
    1. What would a black president say and do?
    2. Why hasn’t America had one yet?
    3. What would the African-American race do to celebrate? How big a deal would it be?
    4. Maybe he’ll be somewhat urban, but since that doesn’t fit, as far as presidents go, maybe he’ll be upright.

                                                               i.      If he’s upright, will his race turn against him?

                                                             ii.      Will he be accused of being whitewashed?

    1. Keep the humor alive and don’t let politics blind the message.

 

 

Ideas I want to convey:

 

  1. I want to show how I don’t think it is ok to live in America, but believe another country to be better. This is the best country on Earth, and I’m not being sarcastic. We have a lot of race/money issues, but that’s because we’re so big, and our doors are so open (they are!) so we’re going to have economical and race issues. Clashes happen when cultures come together, just as long as they develop civility, then everyone should be fine.
  2. I want to go over racism, or at least racist lines of thinking, existing in the media. How come more people don’t notice when the papers and television are openly racist? How come when certain celebrities say stuff (Rush Limbaugh), even if it isn’t that racist, people blow it out of proportion? How come if one black guy says something is racist, everyone jumps on that bandwagon, even if the evidence is minimal?
  3. Why does each race think the other race is holding them back? Are we (as whites) purposely holding other races back? Are other races actually against whites, do they purposely steal anyone’s job? Do we want the jobs illegal immigrants do?
  4. Does affirmative action work? Does it equalize the workplace and give qualified minorities jobs? Is it helping our workplaces? Does it help companies perform better? Has it helped minorities get the jobs they want, get the money and place in society they want? How long will we need affirmative action? Is the workplace every going to entirely balance out? If most of the country is white, shouldn’t most of the country’s jobs be occupied by white people?
  5. Will American ever be a race? How long will America be a country before people are American by race? Will they ever be? Do we all have to totally forget where we came from (historically, racially) before America gets any acknowledgement?
  6. When something like 9-11 happens, is that the only time we unite? When Osama hit the towers, was he attacking all of America, or just whites? What about those minorities who don’t believe themselves to be American? Why don’t we unite over other, equally important things, like presidential elections? Did we set aside racism for just a month or a day, or did we forget about it? If it is so easily forgotten, how come we can’t just move past it? If we set it aside, then that means we’re apart on purpose, which is hurting, is there another way to go about it?
  7. Why haven’t we had a black president? Would there be anything wrong with a minority president? There might be humorous stereotypes to write about, or might it be more humorous if he didn’t match the stereotypes white people think up? He could be very urban/from the ghetto or very upright, maybe even “whitewashed.” How would the country react? Would there be assassination attempts? Would the secret service be racist?

 

 

General Ideas

            I want to find some humor in all this race conflict. I think things are funny, when sometimes others do not. I want to try to find the lighter side of racism, even when people really stick to their guns sometimes on being racist. I want to shine some light on racists. Why are people racist and against who? Every race has some racist people in it, right, but is any race more racist than the others? Why are people racist? How does that help them succeed in life? I want to ask questions, even if I don’t know the answers. I want to propose ironies, and things I notice that I don’t think all people else notice. I want to see if I can find humor in the stuff people seem to take the most seriously. I want to find humor in the gang wars and killing, racist stuff in the media, racial stereotypes that people have about everyone else (except themselves) and how racists think America would get along without all the other races here. I want to try to joke on people who think all the illegal immigrants should just be deported and gone, and anyone who thinks that Mexicans are crossing the border to take American’s jobs. I want to mock anyone who doesn’t like this country, yet lives in it, and anyone born here, who leaves because they’re mad, but still collects their paychecks off of something based in America. Like actors born here who think they’ve outgrown the country. Nobody is better than America, and nobody is above it either.

 

Image Ideas

 

            I want some racist images from the media. That’s the main thing. If I find more images than I have poems, I will write more poems. I want the images to inspire me to be humorous. I want to be able to mock big publications and little ones alike. If someone on a small, hick website says and shows something racist, I want to exploit that site just like I would nytimes.com. I think it is important to get the captions and show exactly what is wrong. I need pictures that are self-explanatory, simple, but holding complex meaning. I want some other pictures, pictures of stereotypical people of each race, and others of people who look or seem to be acting against the stereotypes of their race. I’ll find more pictures than I use, I just want plenty of examples to link to so I don’t repeat links. I want to find newspaper clippings, websites, blogs, and opinion polls, anything that shows racism out in the open. Open racism is the most important thing I am trying to cover and comment on. I want to find racist statements made by politicians, comedians, and anyone famous. I want to expose racists, or at least those who say or think (publicly) racist things. I want to make jokes, maybe not to mock, or like fully belittling, but I want to make them to show my message and to show what I’m really trying to convey to my reader(s). I want to mock racism, and show how we (as people, as Americans) should be beyond racism. We all exist in the same country, we’re all American if a draft happens, and I think people need to start realizing that. Any time someone hates on America, they hate on everyone in America. They’re attacking every race, every single person in our great country. I think people need to realize uniting is important, and that if some other country tries to bring us down, they have another thing coming. Even if we look separated, we are together, and together we would fight any oncoming trouble. I think we all need to start making light of each others’ differences, realizing it’s funny that some races (every race) do certain things, and other races do other things. I think we have to find humor in everyday happenings, and try our best not to be ethnocentric. I also think those that are naïve, or ethnocentric, need to be treated nicely, and gently, and explained the errors of their ways. Being mad at people who know no better serves no purpose. I think we need to realize and recognize innocence.

 

Mainly, I just want to write some humorous, though meaningful, poems.  I want people to be able to laugh at other races, as well as their own. To quote Carlos Mencia, “If you’re not laughing, you’re not living.”

 

I don’t think rhyme is important, nor is being silly. I do think writing poetry that means something, with links that lead to somewhat self-explanatory links. I want to link to things people haven’t seen before, or if they have, they haven’t seen them in the same light I am putting them in. I want people to see things the way I see them, being a white person, who (in his own mind) doesn’t put race anywhere on the map. I accept and acknowledge race, but I don’t let it get in the way of anything, and anything that happens to me because of my race, I assume to be meant to happen, generally, and I don’t worry that it was my race that may have caused this event to occur. Being reasonable, and understanding, is important. Being called a ha‘ole doesn’t really bother me, but being called (or referred to as) a “fucking ha‘ole,” really does bother me. I think a lot of other people feel the same way. It’s ok to use a racially descriptive word, even if it isn’t 100% acceptable, but it isn’t ok to use it, and add “fucking” to the beginning, and mean a much nastier thought. Being extra racist really is going too far. I can accept a lot of stuff, but generally, I can only accept so much.

 

I’m not actually trying to offend or piss off anyone. I just want to shed a new light on old information (in one sense or another). I’m not going to pussyfoot, or avoid hot topics, but I’m not going to worry about people getting mad at me. If people think my work is racially insensitive, that’s fine, because it might be. If people think I am racist, I do not agree, nor do I agree I hold racist beliefs. I also don’t think the topics I cover should be limited or censored, nor will I show any racist or distasteful images (I hope!). I think in the end, the poems will be funny, tasteful, informative, and creative. I think it’ll be a new look for a lot of people, and I think that’s a good thing.