White Comedy Comments

This poem shared a powerful message to the reader about how horrible the racism is right now. It really inspired me! Thank you :)

People called me white jack Some hailed me as a white wog, So I joined de white watch Trained as a white guard Lived off the white economy. a very fine poem. tony

memes seem to be funny but not in witch sort but the best meme remes no seemingless pain

hello ben i loved this poem it tasted like pork and was delicious, tanks

disliked how you separated the races but overall amazing

Saw you at the poetry cafe a few years ago and thought you were brilliant! Love the way you perform poetry. Good poem

we are all refugees and there are no refugees.refugees are the by product of the concept Country invented by the white man because he thought he owned the land

I truly enjoyed reading this poem in my sense of understanding, the poem is based on black and white and Benjamin basically replaced the word black with white Truly deep and what a talented poet

Very well expressed poem about white and black. Enjoyed reading it.

White, black, coloured etc does not matter. Its just outward appearance. Man's intellectual capability is real thing

Highly Original and witty. Also very telling, with a hard edged ironic reprimand!

Lived off the white economy! Thanks for sharing.

Lives off the white economy! Thanks for sharing.

Like everybody else, I disagree heartily with Andrew James - and also with Brian Minniear. I think it is an excellent poem and hilarious and very clever, but carrying with it a sobering and serious issue. In my opinion, racism is for cowards. There is nothing worse than injustice, and this is one of the worst kinds. I am enjoying your poetry immensely, Benjamin. I have read and commented on 2. I only have time to read and comment on 1 more tonight.

I read the title and the first thing to hit my head was racism. IDK why.

It's unfortunate when we overshoot the mark like this. Black is the darkest color and therefore connotes mystery, evil, absence and many other emotions universally associated with negative circumstances. Similarly, white is the brightest color and has naturally lent itself to uplifting and positive metaphors for centuries. This poem is really a testament to how askew we can allow our indignation about racism to become. Many, if not all, of the terms Zephaniah uses here predate African American slavery by several centuries; some originate in the Middle Ages. So while it remains convenient and satisfying to interpret this piece as a clever play on words that perceptively exposes the racist ideology...immersed in [the english] language, it is, in fact, mere exaggeration. If you look close enough, you can tell that the author was aware of diz. Racism is very real, very tragic, and is not best conveyed through tongue-in-cheek aphorisms.

Andrew James what can you possibly know about english culture, many of us accept that ours is a multi-cultural society, its shame people with an attitude like yours still have the use of a brain when really a spinal cord would suffice! All power to Benjamin

Thank you Ali! Also A. James - why even waste time reading these poems if you know you don't like them? Iman xx

Andrew James why bother wiritng the same comment on every single poem by this man. Not only does he make politics accessible heuses language and rythm to add power and strength to the concepts behind it. Just because you are racist/ignorant, does not lessen this mans talent and control of language.

drivel... evidence that english culture is falling into a cesspool of illiterate dunderheads... zephaniah's ouvre is empty headed drivel... he has little to say other than preachy diatribes imparted with trivial insights slapped together for mass consumption and appeal... sadly i agree with his politics and share concern for the realities facing the non-white world... i also respect his passion for his subject... that does not make him a good poet or me a good politician...