In the article, “Black Men in Public Places,” Brent Staples first grabs the reader by telling them about his first victim. This, “victim,” was not harmed by Staples at all, he only walked passed her at night, which made her incredibly uncomfortable and she was not the only person that had felt this way. Staples describes how people would lock their car doors when he would walk by, just because of his appearance, to them he looked the same as a mugger or rapist. Staples moved to New York, and faced the same racial profiling he did back in his hometown. Staples describes himself as shy and timid, while the people where he grew up were gang affiliated and were dying at young ages.
Author’s first point in his essay is the way black males are seeing in the streets during late night. “It also made it clear that I was indistinguishable from the mugger who occasionally seeped into the area from the surrounding ghettos” making this type of judgement of black males in public, does not just affect the person in ways of low self-esteem, but it also changes their behavior towards society; creating distinctiveness in racial issues. For example; a black male might feel less valuable than a white person
Empathy and Acceptance First, Brent Staples, “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space,” addresses his personal experience of being a black man but also being stereotyped throughout his life. Truthfully, he identifies and tries to understand that woman fear him to be a rapist or a violent criminal by the color of his skin: “I understand of course, that the danger they percieve is not a hallucination. Woman are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black males are dratsically overrepresented among the perpretators of that violence.” In fact, Staple explains in the late 1970s and early 1980s of his personal stories of people misjudging his motives in public.
As a society, we have both positive and negative perceptions of people with the same or different racial and gender identities. As we strive to improve America’s tolerance, it is still common for black men to be mistakenly seen as criminals. When discussing his ability to “alter public places in ugly ways”, Brent Staples considers the impact he has on others around him. Brent Staples’ goal is to draw attention to the continuous stereotypes toward black men, who are usually represented to be stereotyped as being a threat. By explaining how these unfair ideas make black men feel, the author seeks to influence others’ perceptions of them.
He wrote this piece to express his important opinion about the effect of racism and how he’s viewed as a man of color. He talks about his first encounter of racism when he was young man in college and was assumed to be a mugger or killer just because of skin. “It was in echo of that terrified woman’s footfalls that I first began to know the unwieldy inheritance I’d come into the ability to alter public space in ugly ways.” I feel that the author is trying to connect to his vast audience of people who don’t understand what it is like to a black man in society. Later he contemplated that he rejected or shunned by the white race collectively as a dangerous man.
In modern society stereotypes and racism are still well and alive, and seen on a daily basis. Its seen everywhere and it greatly affects certain people more than other due to many negative connotations or saying associated by that typical race. For some its a part of everyday life, while some are not greatly affected on their day to day life , some people are greatly influenced and impacted by it. In Brent Staples;s “just walk on by : black men and public space” we are shown how Staples is being affected in his daily experiences. Staples argues how racial profiling has greatly impacted his life on a day to day basis through the use of diction, irony and Staples , using stereotypes and good diction describes his experiences with a middle age woman to show how stereotypes are presented towards him every day and the displeasure he felt.
Effectiveness is defined as “producing a decided, decisive, or desired effect” by Merriam Webster’s dictionary. Therefore in order for police body cameras to be effective they must produce the desired outcome that they were enforced to accomplish. The goal of police body cameras is to lessen the amount of police related accidents and injuries involving citizens, and hold police officers accountable for their actions. In order for body cameras to be used effectively people must be open to new ideas, and law enforcement may have to transform their way of thinking so that the cameras can be used accurately. Body Cameras have the ability to transform police work and eliminate most on duty mistakes if they are used properly.
His sympathetic persona along with his analogies actively connect the reader to his story, while the strong diction and depressing tone make a strong emotional impact. Unlike most essays, the anti discrimination message can be applied to multiple minority groups and other social issues. As a whole, Brent Staples essay succeeds on all levels as it makes an impactful argument describing how society's view on African Americans as being dangerous violent criminals is truly
Synthesis Research Paper Everyday growing up as a young black male we have a target on our back. Society was set out for black males not to succeed in life. I would always hear my dad talk about how police in his younger days would roam around the town looking for people to arrest or get into an altercation with. As a young boy growing up I couldn’t believe some of the things he said was happening. However as I got older I would frequently hear about someone getting killed by the police force.
In his essay entitled Black Men and Public Space (1987), Brent Staples talks about how people will have a common misconception on the black community by thinking that they are all mugger ,rapist or thugs. Staples supports his claim by telling the reader events/ stories that occured to him and talks about how people will assume that he is a danger to society when in reality he isnt. The authors purpose is to inform the reader that his experiences of being stereotyped is to show the reader his point of view when it comes to these types of situations. Staples writes in a formal tone for an intelligent or free minded person.
I believe that police officers should have to wear body cameras, have them turned on at all times while on the job, and be required to show the footage (unedited) to the public whenever it is wanted or needed. When most people hear that a crime was committed, they think “I wonder what that criminal did.” But what if the wrongdoing was from the officer? If an officer had done something unlawful, most people would want to know about it. Sure, there have been many reports on law enforcement not using the correct protocol when dealing with a situation.
“Hands up! Hands up! Drop your weapon!” A voice screams out. You are confused.
It is becoming more important for law enforcement officers (LEOs) to have video recordings of civilian contacts recorded from their own perspectives. Many times critical incidents happen out of range of the vehicle cameras. Just like most things in life, technology has found a way to make advancements in everything we do. Advancements in law enforcement are of no exception. Technology has put cameras in squad cars and now on our officers, but unlike vehicle-mounted cameras, the body-worn cameras travel with officers.
Throughout his essay, Staples is able to make the audience understand what he has to deal with as a black man. Staples does this by using words and phrases such as, “...her flight made me feel like an accomplice in tyranny” and “... I was indistinguishable from the muggers who occasionally seeped into the area…” (542). By writing and describing how he (Staples) feels, the audience is able to get an inside look into how black men are treated and better understand why society’s teachings, play a vital role in how we see each other. Staples’ powerful writing also allows the reader to take a step back and see how as a society, people make judgements on others based on appearance alone.
In his essay “Black Men and Public Spaces,” Brent Staples explains that people often find him intimidating because he is tall and black. Staples shares his account of a number of personal encounters, arguing that in each situation, he was misinterpreted as being dangerous because of his daunting physical appearance. Staples asserts that as a result of this misinterpretation, he was continually mistreated. Staples begins his article by describing the events leading up to his life-changing realization that he has inherited “the ability to alter public space in ugly ways (183).” When he was twenty-two years old, Staples found himself one evening, walking behind a well-dressed white woman on a deserted street in a rather wealthy neighborhood.
