Does racism and discrimination happen everyday? In a recent article written, Brent Staples, the author of “Black men and Public Space” has written his article to inform readers how, because of racism and discrimination, he can alter public space. By being black he is able to change public space, by doing certain things and acting a specific way he is allowed to make people think he is a dangerous criminal that is up to no good. FOB’s vs Twinkies” is written by Grace Hsiang. She captures the real life scenarios that racism happens everyday between different races and most of the time, ironically, in the same race. She talks about intraracial and interracial problems, and which ones she has seen or heard of. In this essay I will be explaining the similarities and differences between two authors, who write about similar things occurring every day, we pay no attention to. In these articles, the authors show similarities of discrimination; however these articles highlight similarities using tone, diction and audiences. Racism and discrimination are both discussed in these articles. And in my opinion I feel like it would be the main topic throughout both …show more content…
In Black men and Public Space, Staples uses his diction to come off as sarcastic, to add humor to his text. Hsiang, on the other hand, uses her word choice to demonstrate the fear and pessimism her race endures everyday. Although their diction used is a difference, the other difference is who their intended audiences were to be. For Staples, his targeted audience was geared towards young women who are afraid of black males. The audience he preferred to write this for was gender based, to make these young women who are frightened by him aware of unconscious prejudice and racism. In the article “FOB vs Twinkies” her preferred audience was race based; she targeted the young Asians within her
Ahmed challenges DeMello’s stereotype, of posing a sexual threat to women, through expressing guilt for not calling after his beautiful evening with Charlene. This guilt illustrates that Ahmed too experienced an emotional connection and was not looking for just a sexual encounter. Perceptions of racial stereotyping “can become self-reinforcing, as lighter-skinned people will get hired and promoted more often, leading to more light skinned people in positions of power and authority” (DeMello
In Black Men and Public Spaces, Brent Staples handles the stereotyping and ridicule he receives from white individuals serenely. Staples vividly describes one occasion in the essay when a woman was on the same street as him, she looked back at him and observed him, and then she began to run. It was the
The section of “White Woman, Black Man” further delves into his views of white women and the role that society has in shaping gender relations between black men and white women and also in influencing masculinity and femininity.
In Patricia Williams' book Seeing a Colorblind Future: The Paradox of Race there was an instance of everyday racism that took place on a train. The incident she spoke of was that she was on a train heading from New York to Washington D.C. with two of her black colleagues. They were heading to a lawyers convention and when the train stopped in Philadelphia, PA a young white female entered the train and sat in the same row as them. She was a heading to the same convention as them. Not long after the conductor came and saw the four people but only three ticket stubs.
Racial discrimination is a significant problem still in today’s day. In fact there was an article published in April 2015 called “ The Skin I’m In”. It's about an African American man who had been discriminated not only by classmates and strangers but by authority figures also. He started off in Kingston attending Queen’s University. He noticed the police following him in his car.
Philippe writes "I am not here to discuss, massage, understand, or grant absolution for your interest in “race play” [...] I cannot be the racial representative of what you thrill yourself to." (Philippe 16). This quote illustrates the pressure that Philippe felt to serve as a representative of his race for white people and the way in which his perspectives were often dismissed later on. Through Philippe's personal experiences, the book highlights the importance of empathy and understanding in building genuine connections with people of different
Racism is an astronomical problem people face each and every day. In the article Black Men in Public Space by Brent Staples, the true colors of people are shown and depicted from the perspective of an African-American man making a living in Chicago. In “FOBs” vs “Twinkies” The New Discrimination is Intraracial, Grace Hsiang dives into the racial divisions that are within the Asian-American community. In these two articles, readers are exposed to a world of racism and stereotypes within their community and culture. The articles share similarities in the overall idea of racism, however the differences in the essays include the social groups the racism takes place in, the culture being discriminated, and personal experiences of the authors.
While I think that most people have discredited the idea that body types can be directly associated with crime, I do think there are some trends that may be used to make connections, all while keeping in mind the idea that correlation does not equal causation. As far as determining my body type, due to the nature of the sport which I participate it makes this a fairly difficult question. I’m definitely not frail, but as a cyclist, I definitely have much more muscle mass in the lower body than the upper. I don’t really fit the description of an ectomorph, due to the lack of fragility, but I wouldn’t say that I’m a naturally muscular individual, so I’m not a mesomorph. I’m definitely not an endomorph as “soft and round” are two words that I would not use to describe myself.
(Griffin 8). After acknowledging more about the circumstances of being a different skin color, comments about it can not “describe the withering horror and sadness” that is felt by those who experience such cold and spiteful words or actions (Griffin 46). If we do not make these changes together as a nation, our society will become ruined as those with
In my daily life, one of the things that I am very conscious about is the color of my skin and my background. This is because of the different types of stereotypes that I may be associated with. In the article, “Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale” by Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones, she talks about the social construct of race and its impact on racism. Dr. Jones broke down racism into three levels: institutionalized racism, personally mediated racism, and internalized racism. She also suggested that the reason why there is inequality in the United States is due to the government not being concerned about equality.
The women’s racism caused her reaction of “running in earnest,” “worried glances” and her eventual getaway, exemplifying the prejudice of a black male. He further demonstrates his “ability to alter public space” when just crossing “in front of a car stopped at a traffic light.” He hears the “thunk” of the driver locking their car regardless of them being “black, white, male, or female.” Staples understands the world is dangerous and people have the right to fear those around them, however, he continues to endure discrimination. But I am the person making those judgements.
In his essay, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space”, Brent Staples uses the rhetorical strategies of anecdote and diction in order to convey his message that due to racial discrimination black people (mainly men) have to change the way they naturally conduct themselves in public for they run the risk of something terrible happening to them. Staples uses anecdotes to bring in the personal side of the message to the audience. Staples creates a persona of innocence and almost alienation in his writing. Anecdotes such as his both instances in which he accidently scared women on walks and the time in which he and another reporter were mistaken for murder suspects or robbers are used to show real life proof of his message.
In this paper, I will be critiquing these articles and films in order to evaluate the purpose of these readings and how they have helped further develop race in America. But most importantly, whether the author has achieved its purpose to inform readers about CRT, whiteness, and racial inequality. First article, I will be analyzing is Critical Race Theory: An Introduction by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic. Both authors explore Critical Race Theory in detail. As I previously mentioned, CRT is one of the most important developments mainly in the legal studies department.
During his inaugural address on January 12, 1971, Jimmy Carter said, “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over.” It has been forty-five years since that quote, and racial discrimination still has not come to an end. There are many different examples of racial discrimination, such as discrimination within single race communities, or discrimination consisting of one race against another. The articles “FOBs vs Twinkies” by Grace Hsiang and “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples portray both of these examples of racial discrimination. “FOB’s vs Twinkies” addresses the intraracial discrimination that occurs within Asian-American communities and the difficulties that result from this.
In his essay “Black Men and Public Spaces,” Brent Staples explains that people often find him intimidating because he is tall and black. Staples shares his account of a number of personal encounters, arguing that in each situation, he was misinterpreted as being dangerous because of his daunting physical appearance. Staples asserts that as a result of this misinterpretation, he was continually mistreated. Staples begins his article by describing the events leading up to his life-changing realization that he has inherited “the ability to alter public space in ugly ways (183).” When he was twenty-two years old, Staples found himself one evening, walking behind a well-dressed white woman on a deserted street in a rather wealthy neighborhood.