Social Profiling The image that will be critically assessed in this paper is a profile picture of a black male named Daniel Heartless. What can be said about Heartless basing the judgments only on the available picture? Daniel Heartless is a young black man wearing a yellow hoodie, black beanie hat, and a pair of denim jeans. An old idiom says that a picture is worth a thousand words. A person can be described to you in a plethora of ways, their appearance, attire, personality, quirks, and traits. Yet, sometimes, the only thing you need to compose an almost complete opinion of a person is to just look at them. According to the article published in Psychological Science, it …show more content…
Dreadlocks and baggy clothes which supposedly conceal either firearms or drugs are staples of the gangsta-rap culture. So if a person has only ten seconds to form a snap judgment about Daniel, they might subconsciously cling to stereotypes. Those stereotypes, cultivated by the popular culture, might tell them that Daniel Heartless is a threat. That he's either a violent criminal or simply a person that shouldn't be trusted, a person that you don't want in your social circle. It also gives vibes of a drug-user. Due to the worldwide popularity of a Bob Marley, a reggae artist and an advocate of marijuana use, dreadlocks, the hairstyle that Bob Marley donned for his entire life became synonymous with pot use, a "dreadlock hat" even becoming the popular souvenir. “The Black Thug …show more content…
Due to the sheer volume of applicants, a business might have, the recruiters simply do not have time to get to know every potential employee on a personal level, so they have to make an assessment based on external factors, such as the person's appearance. The thug-like wardrobe might also make him a victim of racial profiling by the police who are constantly on the watch of suspicious individuals. According to a data provided by New York Civil Liberties Union, blacks are more frequently stopped and frisked by the police, even those who aren't dressing themselves as stereotypical black caricatures “Stop and Frisk Data New York Civil Liberties Union-American Civil Liberties Union Of New York State.” The silhouette of a classical "black thug" might increase the rate at which Daniel is harassed by the police even
Gainley demonstrates of people who “make assumption about people based on their appearance every day, an often we assume exactly what they want us to assume” (4). In a recent personal event, a classmate and personal friend of mine recently went through the complete hiring process with a local police department, but was disqualified for visible tattoos on the neck area which could not be covered up. It was later addressed that public opinion would view a police officer as not being professional. Gainley indicates that “the message may be my uniform says I am a police officer or I like the latest fashions or I am a gang member” (3). Consequently, this could not be further than the truth as we all have the right to establish our own choices in life, but on that same note, willing to live with our
Touching upon one specific case of this growing problem, she incorporates “Michael Brown,” who was an “18-year old unarmed black man shot down by a white police officer.” As heartbreaking as it sounds, it has happened on several occasions to men similar to “Michael Brown.” Accordingly, Myers formulates that it “is the same story. It is just different names.” Myers logically lists the other names of several black men who unfortunately fell victim to hate crimes, (Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin), as well as flashing their images on the screen. Not only does Verna Myers use imagery in order to show that there is an evident issue with brutality and racism, but she knows it will tug on her viewers heartstrings. Likewise, this makes her audience become wary and sympathetic towards the situation at
People tend to views an image based on how society say it should be they tend to interpret the image on those assumption, but never their own assumptions. Susan Bordo and John Berger writes’ an argumentative essay in relation to how viewing images have an effect on the way we interpret images. Moreover, these arguments come into union to show what society plants into our minds acts itself out when viewing pictures. Both Susan Bordo and John Berger shows that based on assumptions this is what causes us to perceive an image in a certain way. Learning assumption plays into our everyday lives and both authors bring them into reality.
The mass media being one of the greatest influencers of public perceptions, their false portrayal of black males significantly impacts how the public perceives and behaves toward them, how black males see themselves as well as their the opportunities and achievements. But the mass media canbe part of the solution. Of course, the responsibility is not the media’s alone. But the media, as the public looking glass, can and should show the full spectrum of the lives of black men and boys.
Throughout history, as far back as one could remember, African- American men have been racially profiled and stereotyped by various individuals. It has been noted that simply because of their skin color, individuals within society begin to seem frightened when in their presence.In Black Men and Public Space, Brent Staples goes into elaborate detail regarding the stereotypical treatment he began to receive as a young man attending University of Chicago. He begins to explain incidents that took place numerous times in his life and assists the reader is seeing this hatred from his point of view. Staples further emphasizes the social injustices of people’s perception of African-American men to the audience that may have not necessarily experienced
Even so, his persona shines through with his point of view and recollection of past events of racial profiling he experienced. For example, he mentions that he was suffering from insomnia and, thus, would walk the streets at night, and when he faces the contempt of fellow pedestrians, he points out that he “was stalking sleep, not defenseless wayfarers” (Staples 542). With this in mind, it shows the reader that he is trying to defend himself against all the derision that society throws his way. Likewise, Staples’ persona can be seen as desperate, yet it can also be seen as angry and frustrated. As seen from his point of view, Staples indicates his helplessness and frustration in the way that he has no control over how the people of society view him; all he can do is try to act and coax people into believing he means no harm- the truth. Unfortunately, society still had a strong grip on stereotypes and judged and presumed the worst of him. In this case, by using his point of view, he gives the audience his insight of the cruel position he is in which gives him the credibility to show how racial profiling dominates in society against African Americans like himself. In the same fashion, Staples also uses anecdotes to show his difference between him and the stereotypical portrayal of an African American that society gives. One
To conclude, the stereotypes that circulate in American society of young black men make it difficult for them to thrive and live peacefully in our society. These stereotypes cause issues in the business world, encounters with law enforcement and even everyday in the general public. It is unfair that young black men are only seen as statistics or stereotypes by the majority due to skin pigmentation. But as a whole, young black males suffer the consequences of the few imbeciles that play into these stereotypes. Though unfortunate and unfair but it is the duty of young black men to shift these negatives to positives. As well as, not play into these stereotypes and overcome.
The image on the left is of the Virginia Serenaders, which were a group of white actors that took on the guise of African American individuals. These actors were quite famous amongst the public. The poster allows the viewer to see the transformation from a white man to an African American man, highlighting the profound effect of “black face”. Moreover, it reinforced how society viewed African Americans, since there is a major contrast between the stature of the white men and their black face characters. The white actors appear to be sophisticated and well-kept, while their black counterparts appear to be loud and rambunctious.
“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart” (Kahlil). People focus more on the outward appearance instead of the inward appearance. One’s inward appearance is comprised of their character, values, morals, and the true nature of their heart. On the other hand, the outward appearance is composed of one’s dress and grooming. The inward and outward appearance determines whether or not a person is ugly or beautiful. The choices that we make also define whether or not one is ugly or beautiful; choices made in the past can sometimes be repeated in the future.
In the article, “A Letter My Son,” Ta-Nehisi Coates utilizes both ethical and pathetic appeal to address his audience in a personable manner. The purpose of this article is to enlighten the audience, and in particular his son, on what it looks like, feels like, and means to be encompassed in his black body through a series of personal anecdotes and self-reflection on what it means to be black. In comparison, Coates goes a step further and analyzes how a black body moves and is perceived in a world that is centered on whiteness. This is established in the first half of the text when the author states that,“white America’s progress, or rather the progress of those Americans who believe that they are white, was built on looting and violence,”
People always say never judged a person by their cover, yet some of us still do it without even trying sometimes. I have done this on multiple occasions without really trying to judge a person. I once had an experience where I was trying out for a new club team and I saw this girl who looked really mean and scary because of the expression on her face. I always thought if I ever talk to her she would be mean, but one practice we started to talk and she wasn’t at all the person I thought she ways. It turns out that she is a nice person who just takes soccer very seriously. This just shows that we can have a certain opinion on someone by their looks, but they may be completely opposite from the way they appear.There’s this book call “Freak the Mighty” which has a good way of showing the theme of not judging a person
In this narrative essay, Brent Staples provides a personal account of his experiences as a black man in modern society. “Black Men and Public Space” acts as a journey for the readers to follow as Staples discovers the many societal biases against him, simply because of his skin color. The essay begins when Staples was twenty-two years old, walking the streets of Chicago late in the evening, and a woman responds to his presence with fear. Being a larger black man, he learned that he would be stereotyped by others around him as a “mugger, rapist, or worse” (135).
Staples successfully begins by not only admitting the possible faults in his practiced race but also by understanding the perspective of the one who fear them. Black males being opened to more violence because of the environment they're raised in are labeled to be more likely to cause harm or committing crime towards women but Staples asks why that issue changes the outlook of everyday face to face contact and questions the simple actions of a black man? Staples admits, "women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of that violence," (Staples 384) however...
The first one is that all blacks contain a subordinate status of laziness and are naturally born to and are fitted for servitude and the second one is that they are reduced to the signifiers of their physical difference, such as thick lips, fuzzy hair and broad face and nose (Hall, 1997) as well as how they are just a tool used in ‘white’ entertainment. Soon stereotyping of blacks in popular representation became so common that cartoonists, illustrators and caricaturists would be able to create an entire gallery of ‘black types’ with just a few strokes of a pen (Hall, 1997). A world famous example would be ‘B...
Stereotypes create misconceptions of race. People are quick to judge and can mistaken someone for who they really are. Physical appearance can change the way people conceive who you are and categorize you in a group. Staples technique’s of changing his appearance did not really adjust the way others looked at him. Brent Staples tried to convince others that he was not who they judged him to be.