Unfairy tales
A long time ago, when I was younger,
I found a book full of stories.
The book had no covers as it was very
old.
It did not have a title, no author
and many of its pages were torn.
I spent many nights reading that book
by the light of a candle.
It was full of sad stories, good
stories, lost stories, black stories…
I will share with you tonight,
A few of those fairy tales. Some of them, as you well know,
Most have changed due time and because
they have been told and re told.
Fairy tale number one:
Once upon a time there was a man who
lived and worked for his brother’s and sister’s rights.
He was a dreamer who wanted to change
the world.
He went all over his land,
proclaiming these words:
“Let there be work, bread, water, and
salt for all”
But the high people of his country
refused to listen.
They wanted to make him stop. They
wanted to make him quiet.
Most of his life, this brave man, was
chased, arrested, faced trial and finally was incarcerated.
And while behind bars, he read so
many books and kept feeding himself with knowledge.
Later, that wise and brave man was
released from prison.
The common people of his land; his
brothers and sisters, celebrated his liberty by placing in his hands the
highest power they could give him:
The power to rule over them.
And so, he did, with love and
justice.
Later, this free man, visited far
places and enunciated the statement of his heart:
“Education is the most powerful
weapon which you can use to change the world.”
This fairy tale made me feel very confused and sad.
Fairy tale number two:
Once upon a time there was a Dessert
Flower growing in the dirt.
She and her three sisters were
stripped off their petals in the name of a savage and cruel tradition.
The elders of her tribe, performed on
her a brutal mutilation.
They cut her with rusted, dirty blades,
While singing under muttered voices:
“There should be no feminine pleasure
on Earth”.
The Dessert Flower grew up and became
a woman.
Her gender was for her a blessing and
a curse.
Her beauty was for her a blessing and
a curse.
The color of her skin was for her a
blessing and a curse.
So, one day, she fled away and found
a place
where she could raise her voice for
the world to hear
And this is what she said:
I want to tell the truth about what
is happening to girls and women in my land:
They are being hurt. They are being
sold.
They are being exchanged for the
price of two goats.
Girls in my land are dying of pain
and shame
As they have husbands that have four
times their age.
Somebody asked the Dessert Flower
what she wanted to do
And she responded that she wanted to
tell the truth.
The fairy tale of the dessert flower,
really made me cry.
Fairy tale number three:
Once upon a time there was this black
boy who wondered why
he did not have the same rights as
the white lads.
He kept asking his mother questions
that had no answers at all:
Mamma, why Jesus is white and has
blue eyes?
Mamma, why all the angels are white?
Mamma? Why Mary’s Little Lamb is
white?
Mamma? Why is the Ugly Duckling
black?
Mamma? Why black cats bring bad
luck?
Mamma? Why is Tarzan and not an
African man king of the animals?
Mamma? Why is Miss América always
white?
Mamma? Why does the President live
in the White house?
Mamma, why all the good and heavenly
things are named white?
Mamma, why all the ugly and devilish
things are named black?
Mamma? Why if I threaten you they
call it “Blackmail?
Mamma? Why don’t they call it
“whitemail”? As I’ve seen that they lie too.
The boy, whit all his questions, grew
up and became a very strong man.
That man, won honor, glory and a
piece of gold for his land.
But three nights later he was refused
to being served a meal in his own
downtown.
That fairy tale made me feel ashamed
of not being able to be there and
stood for the pride of this man.
Fairy tale number four:
Once upon a time there was this lady
who was riding in the bus.
And then one day she refused to give
up her seat to a white man.
I will call the police, the bus driver
said.
You better call them the woman
responded,
As I am staying just where I am.
That woman did not move from where
she was seated
Because she was tired of the way that
she,
and her brothers and sisters, for the
past centuries, had been mistreated.
It did not made me happier, to know that
the bus company
One year later, was offering no more
rides
As they went out of business due to
several strikes.
The fairy tale of the lady on the bus,
made me feel very mad.
I closed the book on the last night.
And exhausted, said out loud:
These are not fairy tales at all.
As a reader, I wondered:
What kind of fairy tales are these?
That make me feel sad instead of
feeling joy and bliss?
As a common bystander, I wondered
why…
Why all these people had to suffer
and endure so much?
Are not we brothers and sisters,
children of the same good God?
I had so many questions. I simply could not understand.
So, when I finished the book I tossed
it in the garbage can.
Because I thought the author of these Unfairy tales,
most have had a very evil and ugly mind.
