Black Lies and the White Little Truth: An Interpretive Thematic Analysis on Brent Staples’s “Black Men and Public Space” In his essay titled “Black Men and Public Space. ” journalist and editorial author for the New York Times. Brent Staples writes about his clip shacking in Chicago as a college alumnus pupil and the struggles he faced with the populace. His essay reveals how the presence of black work forces represents the stereotyped misconception that the populace has about them even up to this twenty-four hours. It represents the world that every black adult male in United States faces twenty-four hours by twenty-four hours which is populating in perceptual experience of fright. offense and slaying. Staples realizes. within his college old ages. that his visual aspect in certain state of affairss causes uncomfortableness to the populace due to his race. Throughout the essay. the writer reveals that the racial favoritism he undergoes non merely falls down the oculus of the public but instead the agents of the jurisprudence every bit good. Through his essay. Staples states illustrations of confrontations of black work forces. including himself. with police officers.
These illustrations are something that the United States can so readily associate to these past months when so much contention has arisen between black work forces and agents of the jurisprudence. Consequently. we must turn to the elephant in the room and acknowledge that black work forces continue to be victim of constabulary ferociousness and favoritism because our state is going a constabulary province. Some persons renowned as physicians. professors and other professionals even suggest that the US lives in a military province. What is factual is that this essay represents a portion of history that supports the bing constabulary province the United States is undergoing. Basics starts off his essay composing upon a late dark experience in an destitute subdivision in the streets of Chicago. The first words from his essay qualify the writer as a possible felon. “My first victim was white adult female. good dressed. likely in her early mid-twentiess. ” ( Staples 1 )
The first words from this essay and the rubric make a immense connexion to what is to look frontward throughout the essay. The author’s debut restates his concern towards his audience. It is pure mastermind by the writer to do such a speedy debut to the contention about to come. The world in respects to the beginning of the first paragraph is that Staples is the true victim. He was a victim of racial profiling. Reading through the essay. the writer expresses how he came to recognize the consequence he has upon other persons. The first and 2nd paragraph represents the racial profiling the writer had to cover with in Chicago. He explains the different perceptual experiences that persons had towards him as an devouring dark Walker. Wordss like mugger and rapist autumn in the scope of the public’s perspective the writer had to undergo due to his race. In the public’s defence this is common perceptual experience within society.
There is complete confidence that most persons have been a victim and a felon of racial profiling as an devouring dark Walker. It is non to fault the populace for life in fright and self-defence because it is natural reaction to make so. It prepares these devouring dark Walkers to anticipate the worst and hope for the best through their journey. But however. this fright towards black work forces has been uninterrupted for more than a century now. It is a fright that lies within the populace and it is now latching onto constabulary officers. There are agents of the jurisprudence that deplorably fall within this immature perceptual experience of fright the populace oculus has towards black citizens. Because like Staples provinces. “I merely needed to turn a corner into a chancy state of affairs. or herd some frightened. armed individual in a anteroom someplace. or do an errant move after being pulled over by a police officer. Where fright and arms meet—and they frequently do in urban America—there is ever the possibility of decease. ” ( Staples 2 ) It is true what the writer expresses through his quotation mark.
There is ever a possibility of decease when confronted against an agent of the jurisprudence. We are witness of such atrociousnesss and happenings in urban America and it should non fall down this manner. Death should non come easy towards a confrontation against the jurisprudence. Soon. it seems as though the jurisprudence has merged to “point and shoot” instead than to “serve and protect. ” As if jurisprudence agents think that every state of affairs should be one where they are protected foremost. The truth is that the words in their autos that spell out “protect and serve” refer to the community and non the agents themselves. We have been witness of such lines of confrontations between black work forces and the jurisprudence. It has become portion of the USian civilization to stand for the durable struggle with black lives and deadly force. Basics essay relates anecdotes of confrontations between black citizens and agents of the jurisprudence down his last organic structure paragraphs.
The writer writes. “Relatively talking. nevertheless. I ne’er fared every bit severely as another black male journalist. He went to nearby Waukegan. Illinois. a twosome of summers ago to work on a narrative about a liquidator who was born at that place. Mistaking the newsman for the slayer. constabulary officers hauled him from his auto at gunpoint and but for his imperativeness certificates. would likely hold tried to book him. Such episodes are non uncommon. Black work forces trade narratives like this all the clip. ” This anecdote creates a great representation of what the United States police force soon reflects. The writer was non accustomed to see these types of confrontations daily. Nowadays. the universe lives in an epoch where the cyberspace connects everyone and everything more than of all time. Every hebdomad there are new pictures uploaded on the web of constabulary officers intentionally mistreating their power as jurisprudence hatchet mans.
These pictures show agents of the jurisprudence shot at point space scope to unarmed felons. picture of police officers tasering aged work forces. and pictures of these police officers physically mistreating guiltless bystanders by choking them to decease. These are hideous sightings from the same agents that should be protecting their community. What is more hideous is that every individual victim of the jurisprudence from the pictures caught on tape is a black adult male. The officers in these pictures do non stand for every police officer in the US but there is a point to admit in these pictures. There is something systemic incorrect in the constabulary force and it lies on how the constabulary section treats their agents. Police officers are being treated as if they were military work forces. They receive bigger guns. bigger vehicles and less ownership of their actions. Because the truth is there hasn’t been a individual confrontation between an officer and a black adult male where an officer takes ownership of a wrongfully committed action. This is merely another flash point that represents how the US is yet a measure nearer to a military province.
Through the reading. the writer states that a decennary has passed since the clip he lived in Chicago. This essay made an original public visual aspect in Ms. Magazine in 1986. Basics essay is about 3 decennaries old and it still mildly represents the present United States of America because the truth is the existing race dealingss in the US are in deep tenseness. The United States lives in a civilization surrounded by the misconception of the common perceptual experience towards black persons. The police civilization needs to alter by making a different option other than the usage of deadly force. The existing constabulary civilization revolves in between the controversial conversation on gun control and racism. The United States is a state good known to win in the international dealingss country. Yet does this powerful state find success in dealingss with its ain citizens. Something demands to alter in the United States police civilization non merely for the improvement of the state but for the improvement of people all over the universe.
Plants CitedBasics. Brent. “Black Men and Public Space. ” The Little. Brown Reader. Eds. MarciaStubbs and Sylvan Barnet 12th erectile dysfunction. Boston: Longman. 2012. 16-18. Print.
