A Whiter Shade Of Pale

Those who seek power over our communities

Typically attempt to divide us along ethnic lines

And some young guns fall for it every single time,

And that’s why education should be free,

And that’s the reason that we tell each other stories, not his story

And why we’re loyal to friends and family, not land, or flag, or queen

But listen up: How deep is your love?  How big is your family?

Is the family big enough to include all of we?

If we expand our definition of community, maybe

Our communities won’t be so divided and weak, subject to repeated attack

From the usual suspects, with taxes and flags.

If we agree to share land, we won’t need a Defence League

They’re only an embarrassment to “their” apparently “beloved” country

Like The Daily Mail, they’re offended by broad social trends,

And the demographics of the East End.

But when you fight them in the streets you only

Validate their (ironic) fantasy of being an oppressed majority.

There are more fascists in Westminster than there are in Burnley –

I’m more concerned by the psychopaths in Parliament

Than the under-educated racist fools running around Barking.

Both have a history of unprovoked violence against people of different races

But we all know which are more dangerous….

The powerful that taught us to fear and hate other races

Now blithely dismiss racists as retarded,

And once again, violence is perpetrated

By those whose faces are a whiter shade of pale.

Racial categories were invented in the 16^th century

To justify colonialism and slavery

And we all still deal with that legacy today

And say: “We can’t possibly be racist,

Look at the corridors of power and you see dark faces, in high places”

Which is some old bullshit: “I can’t be racist, I’ve got a black mate.”

It’s not guilt for guilt’s sake, for history I didn’t make

All the violence and subjugation that made Britain great

But my hometown was built on the slave trade – check the place names.

With the material advantages on this side of the world

It’s the mind state that’s ill, not the race that’s powerful,

It’s survival guilt that makes us mentally ill

Because we’re still less likely to be killed

By preventable disease, terrorism, or other government policies

Than our long-lost siblings overseas.

Borders don’t even keep money inside, because

Capital can travel wherever it likes,                         

It’s people that must go begging – or hide,                

To cross arbitrary, imaginary lines

Capital flight and economic depression

Create perfect conditions for the rise of fascism

But that game’s been played, forget nation states.
Global culture and markets have killed national pride,

Which, if you think about it, might just make us more civilised

Because we can expand our family to include everyone alive

See, we mostly just want to be family, son –

And it ain’t no fun if your homies can’t get none.

Clayton Blizzard