Americans Stereotypes: Loosening stereotypes Americans are always scared when they see a black man and think about them trying to harm them. Actually, that isn’t always the case and isn’t the case a lot of the time. Brent Staples in his writing Black Men in Public Spaces shows some of the societies stereotype issues. Americans should stop stereotyping blacks, not purposely go around them at night, and he shouldn’t have to whistle to make people comfortable around him. Americans put stereotypes on different ethnicities. Americans stereotype blacks to be murderers, rapists, or robbers. Brent Staples was conceived to be a robber. He was taken out of his own office because he was mistaken for a burglar (Staples 1). When Americans see black men …show more content…
He gave the example of when he was walking, a girl saw him and watched him closely. She ended up running away from him (Staples 1). He had to walk past an entrance of a building to let skittish people in so that they wouldn’t think that he was following them, “If I happen to be entering a building behind some people who appear skittish, I may walk by, letting them clear the lobby before I return, so as not to seem to be following them.” (Staples 3). When Brent was on the subway or walking late at night he would hum or whistle a common classical song. He whistled a common or recognizable tune to make people feel comfortable around him. Brent stated, “I whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and the more popular classical composers” (Staples 3). When he whistled some people even would join along in the melody. Black men shouldn’t feel they have to be careful when walking not to scare anyone. They are not all bad most of them are just walking or trying to get somewhere. Americans shouldn’t stereotype different ethnicities. People should not try to go around them because they look scary, and he shouldn’t have to whistle to make people around him conformable. What makes us think this way; well it’s because of what media says. What we see is what we think we believe from one news story on a black guy, and so we think that they all are like that when they