Yet these truths are no solace against the kind of alienation that comes of being ever the suspect, a fearsome entity with whom pedestrians avoid making eye contact. It is not altogether clear to me how I reached the ripe old age of twenty-two without being conscious of the lethality nighttime pedestrians attributed to me. Perhaps it was because in Chester, Pennsylvania, the small, angry industrial town where I came of age in the 1960’s, I was scarcely noticeable against the backdrop of gang warfare, street knifings, and murders. I grew up one of the good boys, had perhaps a half-dozen fist fights. In retrospect, my shyness of combat has clear sources.
when a female would see him, she would not make eye contact and grab her purse tightly. This is done because of a stereotypical black male walking at night must mean he is up to no good. Much less to say women these days are getting mugged and raped more than ever so they have a right to be aware of their surroundings. Stereotyping is sadly carried on throughout generations. Stereotypes get tossed around within society even to this day.
For instance Brent was casually walking down the street of Manhattan and he heard thunk, thunk, thunk of the car door. Furthermore another time was when Brent was rushing to his journalist office and the people called security because they thought that he was a burglar. Within the essay Brent expresses that because of the color of his skin he must take precautions when he’s in public. Precautions such as giving a wide berth to nervous people on the train, exchange business clothes for jeans and even not going in the building until the lobby is clear. Since he’s black people around him will only consider as a thug not as a college graduate or a journalist.
Newman 1 Michael Newman Anthony Holsten English 111 13 February 2011 A Summary of “Just Walk on By” by Brent Staples In the essay “just Walk on By” author Brent Staples remembers his realization of being perceived as dangerous just because of his color, and how this also puts himself in danger. The first instance he remembers was one night in Chicago. A young woman misjudges Staples to be a mugger, leaving him with an embarrassed feeling. Soon after this he realizes that when other think of him as being dangerous he could be wronged just as easily just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Later Staples moves to New York, were he notes that the more populated streets minimize these stereotypical encounters.
Writing Assignments: Staples “Just Walk On By” The whole story is about the author’s experiences of being mistaken for a criminal. Staples describes himself as “the youngish black man—a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket”(450). People, especially women, run away from him on the street at night because of his threatening exterior. In fact, there have been so many criminal activities have been made by African American, and many women have got mugged by African American. It’s easy to understand why a white woman in his story “After a few more quick glimpses, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest.” In most case like this, the majority of the
He tells of an incident he was involved in regarding a white woman at night where she ran away from him when he was simply walking down the street behind her. Staples states that he feels the reason she was frightened was because he was a black man walking at night and the woman was alone. I know that whenever I am walking anywhere alone at night, I'm always a little frightened especially when I see a man walking alone. I wouldn't necessarily say that I get more scared if the man is a man of color but I do understand this. I think that a lot of people will jump to conclusions and stereotypes when they feel pressured or scared.
The title "Another Evening at the Club" is indeed close to me meaning of "Just Another Evening at the Club" because at the end of this story Samia "the wife" shows that she has empathy towards Gazia (young servant)for what she and her husband have done to her. They in a sense through a mistake have ruined Gazia's reputation in town, she is being questioned by the police and will be ashamed in front of the whole town for a crime she actually did not commit. Samia is showing remorse by the narrator saying that "her body was trembling uncontrollably" that's what happens to you when you live with guilt I believe. And yet within a few minutes Samia and Abboud Bey gather themselves and decide to go out to the club for supper. So point being that life goes on for them as normal - "Just Another Evening at the Club" but in reality they had changed someone else's life forever….
The first time I heard the song I got all sad and teary because I know what it’s like to have someone close to you hooked on drugs and it is hard to get out. Every lyric of the song meant something to someone out there who knows exactly what the girl in the video is on. The Music Video shows that the young girl really wanted to get out of the mess she was in but she couldn’t. - The first Verse “White lips pale face breathing in the snowflakes burnt lungs, sour taste. Lights gone days end, struggling to pay rent long nights, strange men” is showing that she
From then on he starts to notice that people was stereotyping every where he went, when walking at night he noticed people crossing on the other side of the street not wanting to come into contact with him. The character now realizes how big of a problem stereotyping can be. A young black man 19 years of age, 6’ 8, backpack, khaki shorts, black shirt; comes out of a corner store only to be surprised by a group of cop cars. The policemen get out of the cars pointing their
Genovese screamed, "Oh my God, he stabbed me! Help me!" Her cry was heard by several neighbours but, on a cold night with the windows closed, only a few of them recognized the sound as a cry for help. When Robert Mozer, one of the neighbours, shouted at the attacker, "Let that girl alone!" Moseley ran away and Genovese slowly made her way toward the rear entrance of her apartment building.