Enter the Biracial Neo-Muslim

It's just a personal observation. Currently being „the Black/white biracial German“ is about as wicked as it gets. Here particular paradigms collide with social discourses on immigration and religion creating new fictional identities that get projected upon every citizen whose appearence deviates from the 1950s text book German.

As for being biracial:

Aside from the fact that people regularly mistake you for North African, Arab, Brazilian, etc. now cafeteria personnel will actually point out to you that „that side dish has some pork in it.“ That is so thoughtful, given that mainstream media predicts anti-muslim violence to break out any second. Thoughtful, yet strange given that being biracial does not mean being Muslim or member of any other religious group for that matter.

Now, if mainstream media is right all bets are off. People tried to burn down Berlin's biggest mosque and recently reports of people percieved to be Muslims getting attacked by white Germans pop up in every local tabloid.

I would love to be able to say „Folks, I will just sit this one out“ but it's not going to work this way. Being biracial means depending on the situation you represent white people, Black people, mixed people, immigrants, POCs in general and now it means representing Muslim religion as well. All wrapped neatly around gender, sexual orientation, age, perception of national belonging and a yet to be revised version of class. It's like adding skins to an onion.  „Zwangsislamisierung“ (forced Islamization) is about the most absurd phenomenon in German society in 2010. Luckily this year is going to be over soon and the new hype of the city gossip is going to be „game show madness“.Whatever titilates the mainstream. Whatever gets politicians re-elected in 2011. As long as no Muslims and/or People of Color get battered I might just be able to exhale and have a sip of my Arnold Palmer. 2011, I salute you!

a) Race is not a biological category, it's a social construct. Being biracial means being descendant of people located on the two opposing ends of a racist hierarchy based on those constructs. b) German language does not yet provide the vocabulary to write about a biracial experience without reproducing racist connotations. Hence the English lingo. It's sad but true.

Consider one accordingly

Consider one a human being
of a particular age, let’s say late twenties
Consider one male, one straight
for the purpose of argument
in addition consider ones behaviourisms
accordingly
Consider one Black in the United States,
Coloured in South Africa, mixed in Europe
if you ask white people. Consider one white
if you ask Nigerians. Consider one Nigerian
if you are Black and ask Germans. Consider one
privileged to the average Arab immigrant. Consider one Arab
to the privileged, Muslim to the masses, danger to the elderly
Consider one pissed if asked
whether one is slightly biased.

Consider me one Consider u 2
consider us all thus
have some consideration
the next time
u line ur
prime presumptions
up 2
prove a point.

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Picture source: http://wrightswords.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/biracial11.jpg 
Poem: P. Khabo Köpsell .2010. "Consider one accordingly".  in: Die Akte James Knopf. Afrodeutsche Wort- und Streitkunst. Münster: Unrast-Verlag.

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