Call Me by Your Evil Name

Perhaps we should all go by exonyms.
Give up on naming ourselves, our people.
Seek out those people who despise us most,
Or those certain to least understand us.

Adopt the outrageously insulting,
Dehumanizing names they use for us—
Apefolk, Pinheads, Cannibals, Bignoses,
Stinky, Fisheyed, Cheesesniffers, Headhunters,

And worse. There’s always a worse name out there
And someone who claims there’s no harm it.
Given most peoples call themselves humans,
That is, whatever term means Real people,

Natural people, First people, Allfolks,
Goodsouls, Original Children of Light,
But view membership as honorary
For anyone born to their enemies,

We should all just give it up, beginning
With whoever holds the most weaponry,
The most hegemony, the most brutal
Systems of production for consumption.

Yeh, won’t happen. Find a human being
Who’ll accept and relinquish othering,
And you’ve found the one genuine other.
Human? I know you are, but what am I?