Blog Post 10

I found Brent Staples’ “Just Walk on By” to be very interesting and honest in regards to his personal experiences with his race and background.  Although this may be an uncomfortable situation for Staples to address, I thought that he wrote in a manner that was extremely honest, which made the reader feel somewhat at rest throughout the entire article.  Instead of attacking or accusing these people who react to Staples in a fearsome manner of being racist, Staples tries to understand why people respond towards him in this way.  He takes a very open-minded and neutral approach when describing these experiences and confrontations with others who assume that he is a possible criminal.  Although I believe our country has come a long way with improving the issue of racism, this particular situation that Staples addresses in his article proves that there are still traces left over from our racist past.  Staples gives examples that I myself have witnessed; I have seen my own friends lock the car doors if someone they consider to be suspicious walks nearby their car.  Although this is just a safety precaution, there are many times when this safety reaction occurs solely because of the appearance of the person.  I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry, but someone’s physical appearance, race, gender, class, etc. should not imply that the individual is a possible criminal.  Although there have been African American male criminals in the past, this should not imply a reprehensible stereotype for the particular race and gender.  There have been plenty of Caucasian criminals, as well; but since Caucasians are a majority race in the United States, people tend to react in a less fearsome or defensive manner when judging their physical appearance.  Overall, Staples’ article made me realize the remnants of racism that still exist in our society today, and the affect that it has one those who experience this form of discrimination.