Public space and black men

Brent Staples discusses in his post, Black Men and Public Space, how people’s perceptions of a person based on their race or background can be harmful to both the citizen and the society as a whole. He reveals the story of his life away from home as a freshman at the University of Chicago. As a consequence of his experience, it is apparent that being considered dangerous is a challenge in and of itself. This notion has expressed itself many times and locations in the real world; for one reason or another, the victims live a dangerous life.
Stereotyping is one of the most telling symptoms of a dysfunctional culture. As such, the members of the society associate some characters or behavior to a particular group of people. A case in point is the racial drama in the United States. The white community associates the black community with all sorts of evil ranging from drugs, theft, and murder to rape. Whenever there is a criminal activity in a neighborhood that consists of white people and the black individuals, the first people to be questioned are the black, despite their innocence or involvement. Whenever a white police officer pulls a white person over, the way he will handle them is much softer and friendlier that when the same cop pulls over a black man. They are always suspected irrespective of their positions in the society.

Another indicator is the presence of superiority complex within a society. It takes place when a certain section of the community, religion, race, tribe, or culture, perceives itself as more superior than the other. For instance, there is the perception that African and Asian countries are inferior to America and the European countries. Consequently, they are thought of as being weak and unable to survive on their own. Thus, it becomes difficult for an Asian or an African to freely live through in America or Europe. They are always seen as refugees, who have run away from the poverty in their country to find survival in the stable countries. These emigrants face intimidation and distrust from the locals that make them uncomfortable in one way or another.

The last factor that contributes to this hazard is the issue of religion. Here, the concept is manifested in two different ways. The first idea is that there are certain religious groups, specifically Islamic groups of believers that are perceived as terrorists, when it is not the entire Islamic community that is terrorists, but a specific group that tends to persecute Non-Islamic faiths. For instance, when Donald Trump took over the American Government as President, among his first initiatives was to deport all non-citizens, specifically the Muslims. The move was mainly because he associates the Muslim communities with terrorism and feels that it is a threat to the national security. The other side of religion as a hazard is belief. There are some regarded as believers in God and those perceived as Devil worshipers. Those, who believe in Christ, tend to associate the Devil worshipers with evil activities that, according to them, are not justified by the Bible. They avoid or seclude those, who do not believe in their God.

In conclusion, therefore, there is a need for a harmonious living in every part of the world despite your race, religion or your economic stability. The greatest virtues that one ought to practice are respect and appreciation for every individual, who makes up the earth’s population. When there is respect and appreciation for the cultures, religious beliefs, and race as well as support of each other economically, people can achieve harmonious living. However, society has to be vigilant with the guilty criminals within it and not point fingers or raise accusations because of one’s skin color or background.