Rhetorical Analysis Of Black Men And Public Space By Brent Staples

Black Men and Public Spaces, by Brent Staples, is one of those articles that provide a statement so horrific and one that exists in the reality of our daily existence. He talks about him as a caring and smart human being, but in public spaces his accomplishments are overlooked, where a menacing idea approaches that describe him as more of a savage monster than that of a civilized man. Here is where Staples shows that although we are civilized and that we have evolved quite a bit we still have the ability to discriminate or judge people and put them in a specific category. And although they might see them as something dangerous to them, Brent Staples uses the persuasive appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to prove to the audience that he, and …show more content…
The second way he uses ethos is by explaining his childhood and then establishing that he and many other black men are innocent. “I came to doubt the virtues of intimidation early on. I chose, perhaps unconsciously, to remain a shadow...” (7). This quote shows that he is in fact not a monster as many of them might see him as he is a pacifist and doesn’t want to be even included in violence and thus more believable when he says that he is the real victim. Ethos is used to show that the narrator has good sense, in the way that their motivation is not entirely self-driven. Staples shows that he is, in fact, a good person like when he allows people that seem scared of him to “clear the lobby before [he] returns, so as not to seem to be following them” (11). When he does these good deeds the reader believes that he wants the best for everyone and due to that the reader will accept his messages. Through his high status, the experience of his childhood and him demonstrating his good will, he manages to make the reader get on his side and make his statement of that he and other black men can be victimized, even if they have a good reputation like he …show more content…
For example “I understand, of course, that the danger they perceive is not a hallucination. Women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black men are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of that violence” (5). He creates other logical insights by proving why some people feel that he is a danger to them. This is mostly because many people might confuse him with the people who take place in “..gang warfare, street knifings, and murders” (6). These examples prove that he comprehends the matters of how women and men respond to his appearance on many streets and why some may look frightened when they see him. When he proves their action have a legitimate reason it takes off the blame that might be put on women or men for acting in certain ways that appear to be racist. But even though he understands this it can cause many problems as when there is “... fear and weapons meet - and they often do in urban America - there is always the possibility of death” (2). And even though he says he understand why certain people act differently when he is around, it can still cause a certain amount of damage to his life. Another way he proves that he is the real victim is when he says he has “... tension-reducing measures: I whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and