12-8-15 Brent Staples Essay In the busy streets of New York City, an Arab approaches a mother. His long beard, bellowing hair, and brawny presence made the woman feel a sense of powerlessness, of vulnerability, of intimidation, of disturbance. Likewise, around the corner of an old cafe in Mexico City, an older child encounters an old Indian woman. A sudden stench filled the air, and sweat enveloped the woman like a cloud. Her clothes were ripped, her hands were cracked, her body was undernourished but luckily her Saree covered most of it. The child sees her, walks faster, and hopes to lose sight of her as quickly as possible. What makes the mother and the child uncomfortable and uneasy are the races of the man and woman and the stereotypes …show more content…
that are associated with them.
In Brent Staples’ essay, "Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Spaces," and throughout society, races play a dominant role in perceiving a man or a woman as a menace in a public space. This type of racial segregation has been ubiquitous throughout history. In the 1850s, African Americans were frequently deprived of the basic necessities of life. In the 1940s, Hitler, who believed that his Aryan race was superior, executed a genocide that killed six million innocent Jews. Even today African Americans, like mentioned in “Black Men and Public Spaces,” often find themselves victims of discrimination and members of a stereotype by falsified beliefs. Although discrimination is not as dominant as before, it is something that will forever be omnipresent. Race plays a dominant role in the way we perceive others as safe or dangerous. For example, Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old Arab who built a clock simply to impress his math teacher, was arrested because …show more content…
his teacher thought it was a bomb, a potentially dangerous weapon. This young student was being profiled because he was an Arab. Arabs are often associated with violence, religious extremism and terrorism. Stereotypical representations of them are often manifested to a society's media in a negative manner, which have had adverse repercussions in their daily interactions and current events. The negative stereotypes that shadow Arabs, like Mohamed, often cause people to have an unfavorable view of them thus making them feel threatened when approached by one in any way. In addition, Tahera Ahmad, an Israeli passenger, was deeply discriminated by an American flight attendant: She was refused to give an unopened can of soda because it could be used as a weapon, but later watched the flight attendant give an unopened can to the man seated nearby. Completely disappointed and debased, Ahmad was completely surprised at the uncivil manner of the attendant. Because she was wearing a hijab, a veil that covered most of the top of the woman's hair- uncommon in the American culture- she was automatically assumed to be threatening. People like to assume that because some of the worst terror attacks came from the Middle-Eastern area, all Middle-Easterns are dangerous. Their race and the stereotypes associated with them quickly provoke people to make assumptions and discriminate others without any knowledge and sense of who they really are as a person. Race clearly is a key factor to judging others and perceiving if they are menacing or not. Although many believe that race is a main variable to determining a person’s danger, there are people who stand in the other stand of the spectrum claiming that gender is the dominant factor. Many argue that men are the major perpetrators of violent crime. The National Crime Victimization Study states that 80% of all offenders were male and only 20% were female, causing the perception of men to be much more belligerent, but woman, too, have proved to be just as aggressive. In fact, a woman suicide bomber was identified for aiding ISIS murder 129 innocent people in Paris on November 13th, 2015. Woman can be just as controlling, aggressive and physically abusive as men. Gender is not the main variable to perceive a person’s danger. A small, weak and timid man might not seem dangerous, but will a Arab with a long beard and messy hair seem somewhat threatening? What about a tall, slender and muscular African American? The stereotypes associated with some cultures are sometimes negative and force people to believe things that aren’t always necessarily true, but still affect the way we perceive a person. Races are automatically associated with stereotypes, and stereotypes are what cause people to come to conclusions over a person’s danger. Racial segregation is ubiquitous in our society today.
Wether it is racial slurs, derogatory remarks about a person's race or color, teasing, or offhand comments, it can really affect the physiological well-being of a person. Although the judgment of others can come very naturally to some people through the rife use stereotypes in our society, it is important to begin to stop making quick conclusions over a person. Stereotypes tell us little about a person’s actual morals and values. In fact, they urge us to hate a certain group for minimal reasons. It springs up from ignorance- from the lack knowledge, evidence, and narrow-mindedness of a person. It favors color and looks over talent. It is used to debase people and divides them by their visible difference, not for whats inside. Although it is difficult and almost impossible to eliminate stereotypes, we should begin to stop using them. Race doesn’t define who we
are.
Brent Staples’ “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” is about how racial profiling has affected his life and made him think of himself as a perilous person. He supports this argument by allowing the readers to see things from his point of view during the times when he was treated like an outsider because of the color of his skin, followed by sharing how the situation made him feel confused and foreign. Staples’ wrote this essay in order to make readers become aware of how often racial profiling actually happens among men. His intended audience is primarily people of color because that is what his essay focuses on, but the intended audience is also those who are not of color because the author is trying to convince them about the
Ghettos, low-riders, hip-hop, rap, drugs and crime, it has got to be a Black man right? Saggy pants, unintelligible language, lazy, and the lists continue to both stereotype and describe Blacks. Do Black Americans perpetuate their own discrimination? Are Black Americans creating their own low status in society? Black people around the world have been hypnotized into believing all their failures in life are due to discrimination, but are they correct? Blacks are often their own worst enemies, often the cause of their own disasters, and many don’t see that until it’s too late, if ever. Discrimination and prejudice are imposed upon Blacks, often because the culture they live in is not “acceptable” to the dominant society. On the other hand, an understandable reason for Blacks actions is often due to unattainable opportunities towards the American Dream.
People in America are not all seen as equal, and this is especially true when it comes to people of color. According to “Theories and Constructs of Race” by Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpe: “The continuous racial targeting of people of color and the privileging of whites, along with the misinformation about race passed along from one generation to the next and reinforced through the media, has imbued people of all races with a distorted sense of personal and group identity” (Holtzman and Sharpe 604). This quote means that people of color are often targeted in a negative way, which shows that racism and discrimination is something that can be passed down or learned from the media. Today, there are people who still think minorities are inferior based on the color of their skin. “Theories and Constructs of Race” also mentions how from an early age, minorities become the target for racism, blame, and overall hatred. According to “Theories and Constructs of Race” by Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpe: “The myth of racial inferiority and superiority has been upheld not only by physical violence and discriminatory policies but also by the psychological violence conveyed through stereotyping and racist messaging” (Holtzman and Sharpe 604). This quote means that minorities are constantly targeted both physically and psychologically, which shows that inequality is a “monster” due to the damage it causes to individuals on multiple levels. Racism can also lead to internalized racism, which causes individuals to adapt a self-deprecating attitude and engage in self-destructive behavior. Furthermore, hate, racism, and discrimination often result from people not understanding that not everyone is offered the same opportunities due to the lack of
In American history, there are centuries upon centuries of black people being deemed less than or not worthy of. Never in were black people equal, even in the sense of humanity. White people declared black people as three-fifths of a human, so to the “superior race”, because one has darker skin that automatically takes away 40% of their humanity. Now, in white history they repeatedly dominant over other nonwhite groups and especially the women of those groups because they feel anything that isn’t white is inferior.
In his essay “Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples discusses his personal experiences of being an African American male, while coming to the realization of the harsh realities of the stereotypes it carries. Through his anger and frustration, he learned to alter himself in public spaces by making others around him feel less threatened. Not always would it work, such as the occasional double glances he’d get from the person in front of him or a click when walking past someone in their car. Seeing first-hand the effects of being an African American male made me think twice about how they had to present themselves in public due to the decade long stereotypes that the color of someone’s skin can carry. Seeing this happen through my eyes made
Staples, Brent. “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space.” 50 Essays. Ed. Samuel Cohen.
In Brent Staples “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” (Published Version in Ms. Magazine in 1986):
Racism still exists today in this day and age. African American men are particularly stereotyped to be drug dealers, criminals, and gangsters. People have there on opinion about black men, if someone is sitting in their car, and a black man walks by they’re going to lock their door, because they’re scared there going to get robed. The stereotypes about African American men are not true. There are educated African American men just like any other race. Two articles “Black Men in Public Space” and “Right Place, Wrong Face” deal with the issue of two educated African American men that get treated differently, because of the color of their skin. The articles are focused on times when both
I am choosing to write about “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Spaces by Brent Staples”. His story is one I can feel sympathy for and is relatable to many people. The prejudice black people face is one that not many others do not have to deal with. That same prejudice makes their lives harder to live, and they shouldn’t have to change the way they live to make those around them feel safer. We are all human we should not fear those who look
Many are unaware of the atrocities committed against African Americans after Hurricane Katrina. America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but those that lived in New Orleans were abandoned to die, making the scene look like a third world country. Once they were finally evacuated, families were separated, some were jailed, and others were put in highly guarded housing. Some saw the cruelty, birthing the idea behind the Black Lives Matter movement. Although founded in 2013, the Black Lives Matter activist movement still has momentum. One of the campaign’s focuses is police brutality and, specifically, the deaths it has caused in the African American population. Due to an unfair association with black people and crime, they become
In his article “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space”, which first appeared in the women’s magazine Ms. Magazine and later Harpers, Brent Staples explores the discrimination he faced as a black man living in Chicago and New York. In writing this piece, Brent Staples hoped to use a combination of pathos and ethos to demonstrate to the women that read Ms. Harper’s that Staples is actually the victim when the women treat him the way they do and to get these women to view him, and other black men, differently and to make them realize that they are people too. Staples use of his ethos and pathos serve well to support his position and convince others to take a new perspective. Staples uses ethos in multiple ways
In “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space,” by Brent Staples has a different perspective of the people who is discriminated against by their appearance. This short story gives the audience an overview of a young African American male who is categorized as a criminal. Although, Staples was discriminated against he sees the perspectives of White Americans’, and tries to go out of his way to ease their concerns. Staples created this short story to give people an outlook of his life with the color of his skin. Staples accomplishes this through figures of speech such as Point of View, Hyperbole, and Idioms.
In the short essay, “Black Men in Public Space” written by Brent Staples, discusses his own experiences on how he is stereotyped because he is an African American and looks intimidated in “public places” (Staples 225). Staples, an intelligent man that is a graduate student at University of Chicago. Due to his skin complexity, he is not treated fairly and always being discriminated against. On one of his usual nightly walks he encountered a white woman. She took a couple glances at him and soon began to walk faster and avoided him that night. He decided to change his appearance so others would not be frightened by his skin color. He changed the way he looked and walked. Staples dressed sophisticated to look more professional so no one would expect him to be a mugger. Whistling classical music was referred to the “cowbell that hikers wear when they know they are in bear country”(Staples 226). The cowbell is used to protect hikers from bears. But in Staples case, it was to not be stereotyped and show that he is harmless. The general purpose of Staples essay was to inform the readers that stereotypes could affect African Americans and any other races.
Staples describes his experiences in Chicago of being racially profiled, for example: people locking car doors as he walked by, people crossing to the other side of the street after seeing him, or police officers assuming him to be a threat. Then, Staples moved to Brooklyn and experienced similar responses, seen as “a fearsome entity with whom pedestrians avoid making eye contact” (136).
“As I often say, we have come a long way from the days of slavery, but in 2016, discrimination and inequality still saturate our society in modern ways. Though racism may be less blatant now in many cases, its existence is undeniable.”- Al Sharpton. Discrimination has been around for many generations, but now in modern days, discrimination has played a huge role in our society. Although discrimination isn't as bad as it was in 1964 where it was the time of segregation, discrimination still uses some violence around the world. For example the movement “blacklivesmatter” is a group that is protecting justices and freedom for black people. Discrimination is something that people should not spread because