Musical journey (129)

The acquittal of George Zimmerman after he shot dead African-American teen Trayvon Martin sparked the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in July 2013 and from then the #BLM hashtag became synonymous with the fight against injustice towards black people all over the world. Although the unlawful killings in America never stopped ever since the days of slavery, there was one particular case in recent history that stood out and that was the death of George Floyd. You must be living under a rock in another galaxy if you don't know who he is but here is what you need to know in case that's you.

Blacks and people of colour have faced racial injustice for eons and it's only when you've been in the minority camp will you fully grasp that feeling of helplessness and outrage. It's like bottled-up anger waiting to explode but due to societal pressures, you have to keep it in and hope that it doesn't implode and cause great harm, physically or otherwise. I personally have had my fair share of racist episodes ever since I became the minority after I relocated to Australia. Fortunately with the recent surge in Asian hate borne out of COVID, I haven't experienced any ignorant vitriol so far. Perhaps that's because Melbourne has been locked down for much of the pandemic (I'm a skeptic yes).

Besides being a skeptic, I'm a pessimist too so I truly believe this horrible reality of life will never end and so the fight against it can't cease as well. However there will always be little victories that we can celebrate and triumphs that can give the warriors just a teensy bit more fortitude to carry on. The conviction of George Floyd's killer last month was one of such small wins. To mark this event and also his one-year death anniversary this month, I wrote a song not only to commemorate but to remind myself and everyone else that this is just one battle won. There's still a long war ahead so let's all brace ourselves to right this wrong.

[Right This Wrong]

You, all censored and subdued
A storm waiting to break through
You're still in shackles
In need of hope long overdue

Busted and screwed
Locked up in a déja vu
You should try to take a walk in my shoes

If only you knew
Injustice the way I do
Change may one day come through

How could you
Be so blind and so cruel

I have to stand up and fight
To make the move
Not gonna let you tear me down
I'm ready to battle
No mercy for you

I have to stand up and fight
To make the move
Not gonna let you break me down
I'm ready to battle
Fuck this abuse

So we have to
Rise up, unite, to see it through
Not gonna let you tear us down
So listen to this war cry
It's time to right this wrong
And time to end this abuse