In "Black Men in Public Space," Brent Staples describes many situations where he has felt discriminated against based on the way he looked. Whether it be his race, his clothing, or his actions. He tells of how woman have run faster when seeing he is behind them. He describes how people lock their car doors when passing them on the street.
As I have never been a black man or man in general, I don't know what it feels like to have a woman walk faster in front of me. But as a woman, I know I have feel threatened by any type of man walking behind me at night wearing sketchy clothing whether he is black or white, Mexican or Indian, or whistling or not whistling. Maybe I just have a large personal bubble, but when it's dark and I'm walking from the library to my dorm even I find myself clutching my back closer to me and avoiding eye contact when I pass fellow pedestrians.
I do know that I lock my door every time I get in my car to avoid the awkward locking of my door when I pass a stranger. I, also, try to make eye contact and smile when I pass strangers in the daytime even if they make me feel somewhat uneasy. I'm trying to change my way of thinking in stereotypes and judging people. I don't know them, and I shouldn't think the worst of them based on the way they look.
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I felt the same way while reading this article. I havent experienced anyone trying to get away from me, but i personally have done this. I am getting better about not being so fearful of people I dont know, but I still do this sometimes. I think this article is sad in many ways. I think it would definitely hurt my feelings if someone were to think of me as a threat or avoid getting near me, so I think that we should try to look past those stereotypes we have of people. I mean we are still going to be fearful of some people who may look sketchy, but I think we should sometimes look past the fact of gender, race, and body size. nice post!
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