Racism in politics:
Shouldn't it be a deal breaker?
But in some places it
Appears to be a deal maker.

A candidate who jokes about
Public hangings and embraces
Voter suppression candidly
Can win elections in certain places.

She can wear a confederate cap
And pose with a rifle. Would she brag
About her segregation academy
Photo with a confederate flag?

Racism is a monster with
Tentacles reaching far and wide.
Many grasped by its hateful clutches
Often deny it, but how they've lied!

I used to think that humans had
Progressed, and my naïveté
Made it hard to accept that it
Existed in the world today.

But, oh, it is alive and well--
Sometimes blatant, sometimes systemic.
It must be countered by understanding,
Empathy, and fierce polemic.

-by Bob B (11-28-18)