Don't Laugh at Me

I'm deaf, I'm blind, in a way, aren't we all?

Welcome to new subscribers and regular readers! Thank you for joining me for today’s song, “Don’t Laugh at Me” by Allen Shamblin and Steve Seskin (1998). If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics which are written in italics. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEIC (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.

(567 words)
In every culture around the world, there seems to be a human quality that we have trouble putting an end to. Bullying. Bullying happens when one person wants to feel like they are better, stronger, or more popular than someone else.

But usually, the bully is weak. The bully doesn’t know how to feel good about themselves. They might feel frightened about something, feel alone or threatened, or be abused in some way.

Bullying may start with calling other people names. That means, for example, to say they are stupid or some other word that isn’t nice.

We can choose to act with kindness toward others. We can choose to make friends and not enemies. This song is asking us to show kindness.

Some children wear glasses but others laugh at them if they do. Others don’t look like everyone else or aren’t interested in what everyone else is. Then, others think that’s strange and call them a geek.
I'm a little boy with glasses
The one they call a geek

Sasha Obama with braces (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

Some children go to the dentist and find out they need braces on their teeth to make them straight.
A little girl who never smiles
'Cause I've got braces on my teeth
And I know how it feels
To cry myself to sleep

Often, children playing games will choose teams. Sometimes, there’s one child who nobody wants on their team.
I'm that kid on every playground
Who's always chosen last

Young teenaged women can become pregnant in high school. This is a challenge for the young mother because she has to take care of a child even though she, herself, is still quite young. She might face stigma as well.
A single teenage mother
Tryin' to overcome my past
You don't have to be my friend
But is it too much to ask

People who experience this kind of unfairness are only asking that we don’t tease or make fun of them.
Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

When we see poor people on the street, do we turn away? Do we look them in the eye?
I'm the beggar on the corner
You've passed me on the street
And I wouldn't be out here begging
If I had enough to eat
And don't think I don't notice
That our eyes never meet

Human beings are pretty much the same on the inside. We all want, a home, a good job, someone we can love and who loves us. On the outside, we all look different from each other. Some have physical or intellectual limitations.
I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall
I'm deaf, I'm blind, hey, aren't we all? This means that all of us are not able to see some things, in a metaphorical meaning.

Well I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall
I'm deaf, I'm blind, in a way, we are all
I’m black, I’m white, and I am brown
I’m Jewish, I’m Christian, and I am Muslim
I’m gay, I’m lesbian, I’m American Indian
I am very, very young, I’m quite aged
I’m quite wealthy, I’m very, very poor

All around the world, we see people with outside differences. Our challenge is to remember that in more ways than not, we are the same.

Photo: unsplash

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Vocabulary

call someone names 罵る
geek オタク
braces 歯列矯正器具
overcome 克服する
tease からかう
take/get pleasure in 楽しむ
beggar 乞食
beg 物乞いする
deaf 耳が聞こえない
blind 目が見えない
muslim イスラム教徒

#英検2級 #TOEIC #CEFRB1

Courage to stand up