Brent Staples Just Walk On By
Luc Brubaker
Professor Kovak
English 110
Reading Journal 4
23 September 2012
Reading Journal 4, Prompt 4
“At dark, shadowy intersections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver - black, white, male, or female - hammering down the door locks.”
Throughout the whole essay, Staples gives different examples of how society views him as a menace without even actually knowing him. A lot of the people he encounters are quick to judge him, mainly because of the color of his skin. He touches on the point that it’s a little unfair that he gets judged like this because he’s not the guy street walkers think he is. This quote tops all of the other examples off showing that even though the so called “victims” are in their car, where most people think they are safe, they still feel the need to lock their doors. It is absurd that during his nightly walk people thought that he was so dangerous that their was a possibility that he would rob their car. This quote is deemed important mainly because the true colors of society bleed out and are exposed for everyone to see. Just by the fact that the people felt the need to lock their car because he was crossing the street in front of them, it can be implied that they assumed that he was a criminal or that he was going to do something criminal like. It also implies the nature of society and how a lot of people automatically thinks the worst in each other. If Staples was clearly walking towards the car, then it’s understandable that the people might want to lock their car, but crossing the street is a whole different story. The reader can see that they were clearly scared of Staples, which is disappointing because he’s done nothing to have a reputation like that. Since Staples has been dealing with this all of his life, one can infer from this quote that society labels individuals and groups with stereotypes regardless of their first hand knowledge. Staples
Professor Kovak
English 110
Reading Journal 4
23 September 2012
Reading Journal 4, Prompt 4
“At dark, shadowy intersections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver - black, white, male, or female - hammering down the door locks.”
Throughout the whole essay, Staples gives different examples of how society views him as a menace without even actually knowing him. A lot of the people he encounters are quick to judge him, mainly because of the color of his skin. He touches on the point that it’s a little unfair that he gets judged like this because he’s not the guy street walkers think he is. This quote tops all of the other examples off showing that even though the so called “victims” are in their car, where most people think they are safe, they still feel the need to lock their doors. It is absurd that during his nightly walk people thought that he was so dangerous that their was a possibility that he would rob their car. This quote is deemed important mainly because the true colors of society bleed out and are exposed for everyone to see. Just by the fact that the people felt the need to lock their car because he was crossing the street in front of them, it can be implied that they assumed that he was a criminal or that he was going to do something criminal like. It also implies the nature of society and how a lot of people automatically thinks the worst in each other. If Staples was clearly walking towards the car, then it’s understandable that the people might want to lock their car, but crossing the street is a whole different story. The reader can see that they were clearly scared of Staples, which is disappointing because he’s done nothing to have a reputation like that. Since Staples has been dealing with this all of his life, one can infer from this quote that society labels individuals and groups with stereotypes regardless of their first hand knowledge. Staples