black men in public space
... ordeal affected him mentally and socially. After the first encounter Staples said “I was surprised, embarrassed and dismayed all at once. Her flight made me feel like an accomplice in tyranny”. Allowing for a more sympathetic tone, in which he quickly captivates the readers by further explaining how the events that followed signified that a vast unnerving gulf that dwelled between the civilians that traveled during the night, particularly women, and himself. With this understanding, Staples would have to change his entire perspective on the character he portrayed in the minds of the ignorant civilians. Especially if he would like to preserve his life and freedom, which is proven by the following quote “being perceived as dangerous is a hazard in itself...I only needed to turn a corner…being pulled over by a policeman. Where fear and weapons meet…there is always a possibility of death”. With the reader now understanding that there were several events that led to this mindset, Staples shifts his text more towards the specific examples of misjudgment and the changes he encountered over an elapsed period of time that led to his way of thinking. With events such as when he entered the jewelry store and the proprietor left and returned with a Doberman pinscher. He (Staples) then goes further into the story by stating the dog was “straining at the leash…silent to my questions” while the woman’s eyes were “bulging out of her head” creating an image of a vicious dog protecting this horrified helpless woman and the inevitable for staples. When ironically, the dog should be protecting staples from the ignorant woman. One has to assume, after situations of this caliber happening all throughout his life, why doesn’t he just give them what the media has taught society to believe. Staples marks the movement from the body of the essay to the conclusion with a simple transition. The quote "Over the years," indicating that he is going to make a retrospective statement about the experiences he has related in the preceding paragraphs. The conclusion tells the survival tactics that Staples learned to employ because of having been perceived as a threat every time he walks the streets. Stating “Virtually everybody seems to sense that a mugger wouldn’t be warbl...