TOTALLY GEEKED!

Mann won that poetry contest.

Good for him, its amazing to see such depth from one so young.

like

 

Where's the actual poem?

flan327 wrote:

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http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/wellness/atlanta-teens-white-privilege-poem-goes-viral/ar-BBujh0R?li=BBnbfcL

 

Since the violence that shook America last week, a poem written and performed by an Atlanta teenager this past spring, has been getting new attention. In fact, it has gone viral.

"White Boy Privilege" was an entry in a school poetry contest.

"To be honest I am scared of what it would be like if i wasn't on the top rung, if the tables were turned, and I didn't have my white boy privilege safety blankie to protect me," Royce Mann recited at the poetry contest.

Mann's message was a plea from a 14-year-old white male going to a private school in Atlanta: let everyone share his privileges.

"I love it because when I see a police officer, I see someone who's on my side," he recited.

Mann told CBS News he is just trying to be truthful.

"And that I wouldn't trade places with anyone," he said. "Because I think a lot of people aren't truthful about that."

Racial divisions seared America last week. After Minnesota and Baton Rouge, Mann's poem struck a nerve online.

Many loved it. Others attacked him.

More than eight million people have seen it.

"Everyone should have the privileges that I have," Mann recited. "Everyone's story should be written so all they have to do is get it read... I get that change can be scary but equality shouldn't be..."

Mann said he is not asking anyone to give up their dreams.

"I am not asking anyone to give up their quality," he said. "When you see something that is wrong, that is discrimination, speak up."

He finished his poem with talking about fear.

"It's time to let go of that fear," he recited. "It's time to take that ladder and turn it into a bridge."

Mann won that poetry contest.

flan

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 The "actual poem" is BOLDED.

flan

That's the entire poem? LOL! What a joke. Oh, how fall our education has fallen...

Ohfour wrote:

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That's the entire poem? LOL! What a joke. Oh, how fall our education has fallen...

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 I don't know if that is the ENTIRE poem.

Google it.

Of course, such a thing would NEVER happen in the God-Fearing state of TENNESSEE.

flan

FULL TRANSCRIPT OF POEM

Dear women, I'm sorry.

Dear black people, I'm sorry.

Dear Asian-Americans, dear Native Americans, dear immigrants who come here seeking a better life, I'm sorry.

Dear everyone who isn't a middle or upper-class white boy, I'm sorry.

I have started life in the top of the ladder while you were born on the first rung.

I say now that I would change places with you in an instant, but if given the opportunity, would I?

Probably not.

Because to be honest, being privileged is awesome. I'm not saying that you and me on different rungs of the ladder is how I want it to stay.

I'm not saying that any part of me has for a moment even liked it that way.

I'm just saying that I f------ love being privileged and I'm not ready to give that away. I love it because I can say 'f------' and not one of you is attributing that to the fact that everyone with my skin color has a dirty mouth.

I love it because I don't have to spend an hour every morning putting on makeup to meet other people's standards.

I love it because I can worry about what kind of food is on my plate instead of whether or not there will be food on my plate.

I love it because when I see a police officer I see someone who's on my side.

To be honest I'm scared of what it would be like if i wasn't on the top rung if the tables were turned and I didn't have my white boy privilege safety blankie to protect me.

If I lived a life lit by what I lack, not what I have, if I lived a life in which when I failed, the world would say, 'Told you so.'

If I lived the life that you live.

When I was born I had a success story already written for me.

You -- you were given a pen and no paper.

I've always felt that that's unfair but I've never dared to speak up because I've been too scared.

Well now I realize that there's enough blankie to be shared. Everyone should have the privileges I have.

In fact they should be rights instead.

Everyone's story should be written, so all they have to do is get it read.

Enough said.

No, not enough said.

It is embarrassing that we still live in a world in which we judge another person's character by of the size of their paycheck, the color of their skin, or the type of chromosomes they have.

It is embarrassing that we tell our kids that it is not their personality, but instead those same chromosomes that get to dictate what color clothes they wear and how short they must cut their hair.

But most of all, it is embarrassing that we deny this. That we claim to live in an equal country and an equal world.

We say that women can vote. Well guess what: They can run a country, own a company, and throw a nasty curve ball as well. We just don't give them the chance to.

I know it wasn't us 8th-grade white boys who created this system, but we profit from it every day.

We don't notice these privileges though, because they don't come in the form of things we gain, but rather the lack of injustices that we endure.

Because of my gender, I can watch any sport on TV, and feel like that could be me one day.

Because of my race I can eat at a fancy restaurant without the wait staff expecting me to steal the silverware.

Thanks to my parents' salary I go to a school that brings my dreams closer instead of pushing them away.

Dear white boys: I'm not sorry.

I don't care if you think the feminists are taking over the world, that the Black Lives Matter movement has gotten a little too strong, because that's bulls---.

I get that change can be scary, but equality shouldn't be.

Hey white boys: It's time to act like a woman. To be strong and make a difference. It's time to let go of that fear.

It's time to take that ladder and turn it into a bridge.

Update: This post has been updated with a commentary from Royce Mann.

He's 14.

He's parroting what he has heard.

And with bad language.

Poor kid.

apple wrote:

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lilyofcourse wrote:

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He's 14.

He's parroting what he has heard.

And with bad language.

Poor kid.

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 He is 14, give him a break, the sentiment is obviously what is important here.

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apple wrote:

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I'm thinking that the sentiment behind the poem is more on point.
The amount of words used isn't. Many great poems are not all that wordy.

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 The sentiment behind the poem? 

He's apologizing for being born male, white and not poor.

And he doesn't understand that a privilege isn't a right.

He is a perfect picture of "everyone gets a trophy" entitlement. 

lilyofcourse wrote:

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apple wrote:

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I'm thinking that the sentiment behind the poem is more on point.
The amount of words used isn't. Many great poems are not all that wordy.

---

 The sentiment behind the poem? 

He's apologizing for being born male, white and not poor.

And he doesn't understand that a privilege isn't a right.

He is a perfect picture of "everyone gets a trophy" entitlement. 

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 He is a PERFECT picture of a young White man who realizes that he is NOT the center of the world.

flan

apple wrote:

---

lilyofcourse wrote:

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apple wrote:

---

I'm thinking that the sentiment behind the poem is more on point.
The amount of words used isn't. Many great poems are not all that wordy.

---

 The sentiment behind the poem? 

He's apologizing for being born male, white and not poor.

And he doesn't understand that a privilege isn't a right.

He is a perfect picture of "everyone gets a trophy" entitlement. 

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 His poem is his reality, his feelings. How you can berate a 14 year old for writing a poem is beyond me.

 

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 Oh please.

I'm not berating anyone.

I'm saying that this kid is apologizing for things he shouldn't be apologizing for.

 

No one is berating him. We are berating the people that think this is an award winning poem. The dumbing down of America at its finest...

He's 14.

He's parroting what he has heard.

And with bad language.

Poor kid.

He's apologizing for being born male, white and not poor.

And he doesn't understand that a privilege isn't a right.

He is a perfect picture of "everyone gets a trophy" entitlement.

Lilys words and yes I see them as criticism which is berating.

apple wrote:

---

He's 14.

He's parroting what he has heard.

And with bad language.

Poor kid.

He's apologizing for being born male, white and not poor.

And he doesn't understand that a privilege isn't a right.

He is a perfect picture of "everyone gets a trophy" entitlement.

Lilys words and yes I see them as criticism which is berating.

---

 And what about any of that isn't true?

apple wrote:

---

lilyofcourse wrote:

---

apple wrote:

---

He's 14.

He's parroting what he has heard.

And with bad language.

Poor kid.

He's apologizing for being born male, white and not poor.

And he doesn't understand that a privilege isn't a right.

He is a perfect picture of "everyone gets a trophy" entitlement.

Lilys words and yes I see them as criticism which is berating.

---

 And what about any of that isn't true?

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 It is criticism, it is your opinion. If it makes you feel good to berate or criticize a 14 year old who has written a poem that has gone viral and won a prize.  Go ahead, fill your boots. 

 

 

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 Freedom of speech & all that jazz!

flan

Lots of people win prizes they don't deserve.

First.

I can disagree and state why I disagree.

Second.

Don't like what I post, ignore it. Cause I don't care if you like it or not.

Third.

The blurbs in the OP were meant to encite.

The whole of the poem reveals a whole lot more guilt than a 14 year old boy should feel.

Fourth.

His body languge, wording, and general tone is poor.

He isn't helping anything with this poem.

His school originally posted the video on Facebook in May, where it gained tens of thousands of views, he said, but they took it down because officials were unable to monitor the comments. About two weeks ago, he rereleased the video onto YouTube, where it has been growing, especially over the last few days.

There has been both positive and negative feedback to the poem. Friends and family have called and messaged him, congratulations for the hit.

“Most of the negative comments aren’t content-based, which frustrates me,” he confided. “Like, if they’re just going to start calling me names, then I don’t respect their viewpoint. But when people say they disagree with me about something content-based, then we can have a discussion.”

After the events of last week, he is considering writing a second slam poem. People are way too quick to generalize about groups of all sorts in this country, whether it be “all black people this” or “all police that,” he said.

“We just don’t see people as individuals,” he said. “That’s at the root of a lot of our issues.”


Below is a transcript of Mann’s piece:

Dear women, I’m sorry.

Dear black people, I’m sorry.

Dear Asian-Americans, dear Native Americans, dear immigrants who come here seeking a better life, I’m sorry.

Dear everyone who isn’t a middle or upper class white boy, I’m sorry.

I have started life on the top of the ladder while you were born on the first rung.

I say now that I would change places with you in an instant, but if given the opportunity, would I?

Probably not.

Because to be privileged is awesome. I’m not saying that you and me on different rungs of the ladder is how I want it to stay.

I’m not saying that any part of me has for a moment even liked it that way.

I’m just saying that I’m ****in’ privileged and I’m not willing to give that away. I love it because I can say ‘****in’ and not one of you is attributing that to the fact that everyone with my skin color has a dirty mouth.

I love it because I don’t have to spend an hour every morning putting on makeu-up to meet other people’s standards.

I love it because I can worry about what kind of food is on my plate instead of whether or not there is food on my plate.

I love it because when I see a police officer I see someone who is on my side.

To be honest I’m scared of what it would be like if i wasn’t on the top rung if the tables were turned and I didn’t have my white boy privelege safety blankie to protect me.

If I lived a life lit by what I lack, not by what I have, if I lived a life in which when I failed, the world would say, ‘Told you so.’

If I lived the life that you live.

When I was born I had a success story already written for me.

You were given a pen with not paper.

I’ve always felt that that was unfair but I’ve never dared to speak up because I’ve been too scared.

Well now I realize that there’s enough blankie to be shared. Everyone should have the privileges I have.

In fact they should be rights instead.

Everyone’s story should be written, so all they have to do is get it read.

Enough said.

No, not enough said.

It is embarrassing that we still live in a world in which we judge another person’s character because of the size of their paycheck, the color of their skin, or the type of chromosomes they have.

It is embarrassing that we tell our kids that it is not their personality, but instead those same chromosomes that get to dictate what color clothes they wear and how short they must cut their hair.

But most of all, it is embarrassing that we deny this. That we claim to live in an equal country, an equal world.

We say that women can vote. Well guess what: they can run a country, own a company, and throw a nasty curve ball as well. We just don’t give them the chance to.

I know it wasn’t us eighth grade white boys who created this system, but we profit from it every day.

We don’t notice these privileges though, because they don’t come in the form of things we gain, but rather the lack of injustices that we endure.

Because of my gender, I can watch any sport on TV, and feel that that could be me one day.

Because of my race I can eat at a fancy restaurant without wait staff expecting me to steal the silverware.

Thanks to my parents’ salary I go to a school that brings my dreams closer instead of pushing them away.

Dear white boys: I’m not sorry.

I don’t care if you think that the feminists are taking over the world, that the Black Lives Matter movement has gotten a little too strong, because that’s bull****.

I get that change can be scary, but equality shouldn’t be.

Hey white boys: it’s time to act like a woman. To be strong and make a difference. It’s time to let go of that fear.

It’s time to take that ladder and turn it into a bridge.

But racism DOES NOT EXIST...

flan

apple wrote:

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lilyofcourse wrote:

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Lots of people win prizes they don't deserve.

First.

I can disagree and state why I disagree.

Second.

Don't like what I post, ignore it. Cause I don't care if you like it or not.

Third.

The blurbs in the OP were meant to encite.

The whole of the poem reveals a whole lot more guilt than a 14 year old boy should feel.

Fourth.

His body languge, wording, and general tone is poor.

He isn't helping anything with this poem.

---

 This young man has started a dialogue that has people talking, even nasty people or negative thoughts are still dialogue.

 

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 No. He hasnt.

He has taken everything he has heard in the media and put it into a poem.

MLK started dialogues.

This kid is just repeating what he has heard.