consent

so the other day, I’m sitting, reading the paper
about this asshole who took his ex girl, and raped her
now the judge, went and cut this guy ten years of slack
because the girl, in his honor’s opinion, shoulda fought back
never mind the fact that the guy had a white hot screw-driver
and the choice for her was murder victim, or motherfuckin survivor
for the judge, there was not enough damage, not enough bandages
to prove her ex had taken advantage – and what I can sadly understand is
how this is the best our legal system can manage

like sure, the judge was called out, and reprimanded in public
but he’s still got a job and a pension like punishment, fuck it
plus police expos got corporate arms dealers sponsors
so the cops got surveillance software, and rocket launchers
not to mention armor, assault rifles, and tanks
yet somehow, there is not enough in the bank
to pay to test the DNA in the rape kits
— how the fuck do police chiefs with straight faces say this?

I for one, can no longer hold my tongue
I ain’t got a daughter, but best believe if I had one
she wouldn’t learn to load a dishwasher, before a shotgun
since self-defense sometimes requires tools to get the job done
and as with most problems, stopping rape starts with one
now, if that type of talk makes you fear for your sons,
for your brothers and male friends, then please, give them this
consent should be by no means ambiguous
like, respect his or her existence
or expect to get left <chk-chk> dickless
but its for the rest of ya’ll that I came here to spit this
I came here tonight to bear witness
to crimes in which we are complicit
that we excuse, in the name of business

because every other day, I’m reading the paper
about some country, somewhere near the equator
where we fuck a few million people over for fabric and minerals and flavors
you think the kids picking coltan with their hands
or the youth that pick our fruit in tropical lands
are the ones who decide when “that’s enough,”
or get to say, “I don’t do that type of stuff?”
Like someone who’s bent on assault, or rape
we’re only focused on what we can take
we only ever talk sweatshops when we talk about what they make

we cut the corrupt, including us, slack
never mind the fact the conquistadors took the land, and never gave it back
or that the military goes after civilians while a small handful makes millions
for us, the horror in the maquiladoras
and the blood of a thousand dead reporters
are not enough to stop being supporters
because we know that’s exactly the type of damage
the legal system was set up to manage
and we like the low prices – they’re our vices

so “economy” is commodities and stock prices
instead of the people who are living in crisis
you know what I want? what I see in my suenos?
a world where “me too” sees “ni una menos”
I want us to say “fuck this colored cloth”
and start acting a little more “ni una mas”
I want a woman’s right to put threats down to extend
from Hollywood and white to Third World and brown

if ya’ll don’t start to see the connection
so we can, together, find a new direction
to replace this world where everything’s for sale
where we normalize behavior that’s beyond the pale
or when this whole Ponzi economy scheme fails
you can bet the last words we’ll hear before we die
will be filth that for once, will not be a lie
— “you were asking for it”