Black Men and Public Space

    In Brent Staples Black Men and Public Space (1996), Staples claims that because he was a black man, strangers  felt intimidated whenever he was near them.  The author recounts a few incidents in which people were frightened by his presence.  The author wrote this article in order to inform his readers that in judging others, we often forget that the ones we misjudge are human and have feelings too.  The author's audience is anyone who may have judged someone else because of the way they look.

     As a woman, I can honestly say that whenever I go to  downtown Atlanta, a different country, or even in a store parking lot, I like to be aware of my surroundings.  I try to avoid any person, male or female, no matter what race, that may be acting strangely.  Realistically, we all know that this world can be a dangerous place and we all need to be cautious.  People get robbed, raped, and even murdered everyday.  Unfortunatly, it is the bad seeds in every race that gives everyone else of their race a bad name. I have been fortunate enough to have friends from  different countries, and I know that there are good and bad in every race, therefore, when I  do judge someone, it's because of their actions.  I find it sad that not everyone feels the same way.   As a very sensitive person, I know that I would feel very isolated if people avoided me because of the way I looked, or because my accent was different, or even just because I was different from them.  
     This informative article shows the readers how being feared by others caused the author to realize that where fear was involved , his own saftey could be in jeopardy.  The author states that "Where fear and weapons meet,... there is always the possibility of death."
    

Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police

"Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police" is an essay by Martin Gansberg that investigates a murder case that had thirty-eight witnesses. The essay explains the victim’s intention and the criminal’s actions.

Catherine Genovese was a twenty-eight-year-old who was going home after a very normal day at work. She was stalked as she headed towards her apartment and was stabbed by a mysterious man. She screamed “Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me! Please help me!” but no one ever did. A man in the upper apartments convinced the criminal to leave. The criminal shrugged his shoulders and headed towards a white sedan. Once the apartment lights faded, he was back. He stabbed her again and made her shriek “I’m dying!” Windows busted open and lights cut on, but still no one actually helped. The criminal drove away. He came back and was looking into the doors of the apartments. She was discovered at the bottom of the steps struggling. She was fatally stabbed for the third time. It took thirty minutes for the police to be contacted. Within those thirty minutes, Ms. Genovese had been stabbed three times and killed. The killer was Winston Moseley. He had a wife and two kids. When he was questioned by police, he admitted to two other killings.

The point of writing this essay was carried out thoroughly. It brings awareness to me and it’s making me angry. This is another flaw in humanity that I wish I could have discussed in my concept paper. People are chipping away. Some people who were questioned said that they didn’t want to be involved and others said that they didn’t know why they didn’t call. This makes the lack of compassion really evident to me. It is an essay that couldn’t save Ms. Genovese, but has saved me from making such an idiotic mistake.