We regret that someone must be purposely humiliated
In this case, looks like it's gonna be you
The actual culprits' involvement has to be eliminated
Hidden from any crusading journalists' baleful view
This all came about due to a since bastardized call
Sending you mounted policemen to patrol the border
Resulting in a video tape that seemed to show you all
Callously herding black folks into dangerous waters
In the initial heat of the feverish news reporting
Our exalted leaders mistook the riders' reins for whips
Salaciously used this painful antebellum imagery courting
Electorates whose forebears came on slavers' ships
While with revulsion the national conscience was incensed
Leadership sought breathlessly to make political hay
Publicly swearing without remorse or thoughtful hesitance
"We'll make those racist brutalizers pay"
Thus, you and your horse were thoroughly investigated
And though there was found no evidence of malicious actions
Our legal staff crowed innocence as a defense is overrated
And our infallible leadership's too busy to issue retractions
Even after the real truth was eventually deployed
Showing you border cops had been greivously maligned
That no whips or whippings had ever been employed
Official apologies must'a been "cone of silence" confined
Instead of acknowledging that you'd been falsely accused
Leadership said everyone but they are guilty of something
We were told to find some offense that can't be excused
And couch it in obtuse, mumbo jumbo, wording
What we came up with made our bosses really proud
"Derogatory talk while operating a horse in an unsafe manner"
An imprisonable hate crime if used in a sensitive crowd
As a co-conspirator, your horse is being sent to a glue canner
Understand, whoever sent you on this parentless mission
Must remain hidden, like Oz behind the curtain
Bad "optics" could result in their political demolition
Their reputation's more valuable than yours, they're certain
YOU ARE READING
We Regret Your Necessary Humiliation
PoetryBad things can happen when leadership sends the wrong troops off on a poorly defined, perilous mission.