Outside city hall, black folks stand in a long queue that circles around the
city. One endlessly long line. There were ten different makeshift medical office
kiosks. The black folks arrive from all over the country to find out if they are
alive or dead. They wait in line for only one reason: 1) at each kiosk, they
hold out their wrists for the white people to hear, read, measure their pulse.
BLACK MAN: What did you hear?
WHITE MAN: A pulse.
BLACK MAN: Am I still alive?
WHITE MAN: Yes
BLACK MAN: Are you sure?
WHITE MAN: I think so.
BLACK MAN: You think so or you know so?
WHITE MAN: You have a pulse.
BLACK MAN: And you think it means I am still alive.
WHITE MAN: Medically speaking.
BLACK MAN: Racially speaking?
WHITE MAN: Racially speaking, I think you are not dead.
BLACK MAN: Do you want me to die?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Then, how could you feel my pulse?
WHITE MAN: I wear a lab coat.
BLACK MAN: I thought you were a cop.
WHITE MAN: What’s that?
BLACK MAN: You tell me.
WHITE MAN: The dictionary says “a conical or cylindrical roll of thread wound onto a spindle”
BLACK MAN: There are so many definitions for it, why did you choose that one?
WHITE MAN: It makes me less accountable, I think.
BLACK MAN: Are you Asian?
WHITE MAN: No.
BLACK MAN: Then how do you know that I am not dead?
WHITE MAN: I checked your pulse.
BLACK MAN: With what?
WHITE MAN: With-
BLACK MAN: Your gun?
WHITE MAN: My fingers, my index and middle.
BLACK MAN: What happened to your thumb?
WHITE MAN: It’s hard to do an accurate reading with my thumb.
BLACK MAN: Do you think I am dumb?
WHITE MAN: No.
BLACK MAN: Then why did you not use your thumb?
WHITE MAN: I am a doctor.
BLACK MAN: Sure you are.
WHITE MAN: I can guarantee that you have a pulse.
BLACK MAN: You can guarantee that I have a pulse.
WHITE MAN: You have one already
BLACK MAN: You use the tip of my own gun to measure my own pulse.
WHITE MAN: I could use a pulse oximeter if you want me to.
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: Yes
BLACK MAN: Good boy
WHITE MAN: Thank you.
BLACK MAN: We finally agree on something
WHITE MAN: I’m scared
BLACK MAN: Why?
WHITE MAN: It’s harder to kill a dead person
BLACK MAN: It is, isn’t it?
WHITE MAN: Sure is
Image Credits: Emily Raboteau
BLACK MAN: What did you hear?
WHITE MAN: A pulse.
BLACK MAN: Am I still alive?
WHITE MAN: Yes
BLACK MAN: Are you sure?
WHITE MAN: I think so.
BLACK MAN: You think so or you know so?
WHITE MAN: You have a pulse.
BLACK MAN: And you think it means I am still alive.
WHITE MAN: Medically speaking.
BLACK MAN: Racially speaking?
WHITE MAN: Racially speaking, I think you are not dead.
BLACK MAN: Do you want me to die?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Then, how could you feel my pulse?
WHITE MAN: I wear a lab coat.
BLACK MAN: I thought you were a cop.
WHITE MAN: What’s that?
BLACK MAN: You tell me.
WHITE MAN: The dictionary says “a conical or cylindrical roll of thread wound onto a spindle”
BLACK MAN: There are so many definitions for it, why did you choose that one?
WHITE MAN: It makes me less accountable, I think.
BLACK MAN: Are you Asian?
WHITE MAN: No.
BLACK MAN: Then how do you know that I am not dead?
WHITE MAN: I checked your pulse.
BLACK MAN: With what?
WHITE MAN: With-
BLACK MAN: Your gun?
WHITE MAN: My fingers, my index and middle.
BLACK MAN: What happened to your thumb?
WHITE MAN: It’s hard to do an accurate reading with my thumb.
BLACK MAN: Do you think I am dumb?
WHITE MAN: No.
BLACK MAN: Then why did you not use your thumb?
WHITE MAN: I am a doctor.
BLACK MAN: Sure you are.
WHITE MAN: I can guarantee that you have a pulse.
BLACK MAN: You can guarantee that I have a pulse.
WHITE MAN: You have one already
BLACK MAN: You use the tip of my own gun to measure my own pulse.
WHITE MAN: I could use a pulse oximeter if you want me to.
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: No
BLACK MAN: Am I dead?
WHITE MAN: Yes
BLACK MAN: Good boy
WHITE MAN: Thank you.
BLACK MAN: We finally agree on something
WHITE MAN: I’m scared
BLACK MAN: Why?
WHITE MAN: It’s harder to kill a dead person
BLACK MAN: It is, isn’t it?
WHITE MAN: Sure is
Image Credits: Emily Raboteau
