Author: Aashi Sharma, Class VIII F
I see the world in black and white
Each pristine red of prims drowned amidst the roses into blackness
Each ray of sun blinding into white
Each pair of pretty eyes hollowing black
Each star in the sky burning only to be seen in little light
Oh how I wish I could escape the black and white…..
I capture your words before they escape your lips
They shatter on the ground, yet the reflection remains crisp
Your eyes lace fierce with hues of disappoint
I’ve heard it all, but it’s meaning still lays blurry in my viewpoint
The machine in me is collecting rust
The screw’s going undone, yet you keep insisting on trying sawdust
The privilege I behold hangs on by a thread
To pull it back is what I dread
Maybe one day the stars will align
The light for which I hope may lay in your hands to find
But till the story’s not over, it’s happily ever after
The room will be silenced with your indifferent laughter
I suppose we’ve all heard of pretty privilege. Oh how the girl with the pearly-white smile and diamond blue eyes gets her way around with everyone….and she’s also somehow unwaveringly perceived to be intelligent! But have you ever heard of…rich privilege? The answer is probably no, since I just made that term up on the spot. Formally known as the socio-economic privilege, we people oh so “down to earth!” never seem to ponder on the fact that the twelve richest humans on this planet now stand with more money than the bottom half population of the world–that’s right folks, I’m talking 4 billion people. And if you’re not living under a rock, you probably are FULLY aware that isn’t an accident, but instead the collective manipulation of corporations and government systems over a number of years to be exact.
I mean we all hear about the bombings and wars going around and how “some poor children just lost their home!” However, what exactly do we choose to do? Do we send our support? Do we donate? Do we even care to VOICE our opinions? The answer is that we choose a much simpler emotion, one that only comprises four letters! We choose to stay N-U-M-B. Why yes, we’ll see a youtube short with “5 TIPS TO GLOW UP BEFORE SCHOOL and the next thing will be PLEASE HELP MY BABY, OUR HOUSE WAS JUST BOMBED TO BITS! Our reaction to both clips? The same blank, unfulfilled expression as we scroll further and further into….darkness–because yes, I like to be dramatic.
What makes it even worse is that some of these videos may be staged–just another example of our privilege!
The thing is, it all starts with the small stuff. Wasting food because you bit off more than you could chew. Rich Privilege. Laughing at a poor girl across the street. Rich Privilege. And yes, while we don’t know how the poor girl wound up on the street or how your mac-n-cheese was sourced, what about what you DO know? The wounded cat across the street? The young 2 year old boy begging for money? Of course, it gets much more complex. Your trash keeps the sweepers employed, people manipulate situations all the time–but this is all part of a much bigger problem, and so to say that I understood it all would make me a part of rich privilege. So, what do I want you to do? The answer is (ironically) quite simple–VOICE YOUR OPINIONS. ASK QUESTIONS. Because if what’s already wrong in our world doesn’t kill humanity, silence surely will.
