Just Walk On By
My old English Teacher used to say, “Don’t assume things because you make an ass out of u and me.” The author, Brent Staples, gave his account of how what it is like to be a black man in this world of so-called equality. I agree with his statement our own race frightens us. Mass Media rubs it in our faces that Minorities are the leaders in gang violence, rapes, muggings, robbery, grand theft auto, and the majority of crimes in the cities and towns that either house us or are close by. “Negro bitterness bore down mainly onto other Negroes.” It is the truth. How many times do I make the greatest effort to distinguish myself from the less politically correct, Black people or myself from the “other” African Americans?
Staples was …show more content…
What happens when you isolate an animal? It becomes anti-social and becomes agitated when you put it in contact with others. Society gave the boys in Staples community more reason to live up to that stereotype of being a tough guy. “Unfortunately, poor and powerless young men seem to take all this nonsense literally. As a boy, I saw countless tough guys locked away; I have since buried several, too. They were babies, really-,” No matter how much we as the black community try to change the way society sees us there is always a hold over those who can’t help but live by these expectations. Whoever tries to be better that what they came from gets backlash from those in their old lives as well as their “new” friends who persuade them to stay away from those in their old life. You never really fit in. There is always a fear of the color of your …show more content…
“I entered a jewelry store on the city’s affluent Near North Side. The proprietor excused herself and returned with an enormous red Doberman pinscher straining at the end of a leash…” Because of all these near hit situations Brent began taking precautions on how to make himself less threatening. He goes out of his way to create a sense of safety to those around him by whistling classical tunes (since a mugger wouldn’t be so educated to know classical music), waiting for some to clear the lobby he lives in so that they won’t think him a stalker or criminal locking onto to his next victim, and giving wide distances from others on platforms or on sidewalks when he has switched out of his business clothes( Black people in Jeans are always up to something late at night and early
My old English Teacher used to say, “Don’t assume things because you make an ass out of u and me.” The author, Brent Staples, gave his account of how what it is like to be a black man in this world of so-called equality. I agree with his statement our own race frightens us. Mass Media rubs it in our faces that Minorities are the leaders in gang violence, rapes, muggings, robbery, grand theft auto, and the majority of crimes in the cities and towns that either house us or are close by. “Negro bitterness bore down mainly onto other Negroes.” It is the truth. How many times do I make the greatest effort to distinguish myself from the less politically correct, Black people or myself from the “other” African Americans?
Staples was …show more content…
What happens when you isolate an animal? It becomes anti-social and becomes agitated when you put it in contact with others. Society gave the boys in Staples community more reason to live up to that stereotype of being a tough guy. “Unfortunately, poor and powerless young men seem to take all this nonsense literally. As a boy, I saw countless tough guys locked away; I have since buried several, too. They were babies, really-,” No matter how much we as the black community try to change the way society sees us there is always a hold over those who can’t help but live by these expectations. Whoever tries to be better that what they came from gets backlash from those in their old lives as well as their “new” friends who persuade them to stay away from those in their old life. You never really fit in. There is always a fear of the color of your …show more content…
“I entered a jewelry store on the city’s affluent Near North Side. The proprietor excused herself and returned with an enormous red Doberman pinscher straining at the end of a leash…” Because of all these near hit situations Brent began taking precautions on how to make himself less threatening. He goes out of his way to create a sense of safety to those around him by whistling classical tunes (since a mugger wouldn’t be so educated to know classical music), waiting for some to clear the lobby he lives in so that they won’t think him a stalker or criminal locking onto to his next victim, and giving wide distances from others on platforms or on sidewalks when he has switched out of his business clothes( Black people in Jeans are always up to something late at night and early