BROTHERLY HATE We stole your country, Black Man, And took its riches away from you We made you a slave and forced you to work for us We called you primitive, backward and inferior We disliked you, nigger, but thought you could be of use. So we tried to use you, just as if you were some tool. We profited by your weakness And felt stronger in consequence But did not like you any more for it. So whenever we talked about you, We stressed how musical and strong you are, But how lazy, unreliable and stupid too. Things became worse when you talked About independence and equal rights And started stealing back what in fact had always been yours We really started hating you then, Black Man, Because so many “innocent people� got killed. Seated in our cosy chairs, we refused to consider That the colour of our skin was a symbol too: Of self proclaimed superiority, of oppression, Refused to see the harm and sorrow that it represented Nothing but Evil and bad things we had brought to you.
6