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Just Walk on by

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Just Walk on by
Just Walk on By 1. Do the women in this story have the right to act the way they did in front of Staples? Is putting their safety over judging another person justified? 2. Does the way that black people are treated contribute to making more dangerous criminals? 3. Staples acts as if his intimidating demeanor is a handicap. Do you think this was a wise decision? Instead of standing up and expressing his thoughts on how he is treated, is it better to keep in mind the delicacy of the social issues at hand?

I believe the central idea of this essay is to show how Staple’s race and size affect how others view and treat him. How must one feel to be treated like a criminal constantly? Are the people justified to be afraid of Staples? If so, does it give them the right to arrest and harass Staples because he looks large and dangerous? Also, do you think this negative treatment of blacks is contributing to creating more hate filled criminals? In the essay, Staples treats his race as a handicap, and works his way around it so people will find him less intimidating. Was this the right course of action at the time? Was the social tension between blacks and whites too great at the time for Staples to express his opinion on the injustice he endured? If you were in Staple’s shoes, what would you do to combat the social injustice he faced? Also through this essay, we also see how people judge and group people, and act in a certain way towards each group. Can middle eastern people today relate to what Staple went
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