The Puzzle of Society and Public Space

Jimi Hendrix, an African American musician, had the ability to bring hundreds of thousands of people together in one place. Woodstock alone had about 400,000 attendees, while Isle of Wight Festival, where he had his final performance, had about 600,000. People, like Sherman Alexie's father, believed that he brought people of all races together by his music. However, Brent Staples refutes the idea that black men can do this; rather, Staples believes that black men have the unfortunate power to clear any public area. After "being taken for a criminal" for so many years, Staples probably believes he could clear any place all the way to outer-space! It was in the fates that Brent Staples would grow up in front of "gang warfare, street knifings, and murders", but why do people treat him like he has committed these actions? While others might say that Staples gives off the appearance that he could cause trouble, it is just an issue of profiling. According to Dictionary.com, profiling is defined as: 

1. the use of personal characteristics or behavior patterns to make generalizations about a person, as in gender profiling. 

The issue I have with this definition is that the word "generalizations" is used. Generalizations have a lot to do with how people perceive black men, or any group. Society puts all people into specific categories, whether it's based on race, gender, religion, etc. Then we make generalizations, or pick out characteristics and assert them to all members of this group, when it may only be true for a few. Black men have been given the unfortunate characteristic of being perceived as felons. They are constantly under fire for being the instigators in fights. While black men may have it pretty bad, or even the worst, in society, other groups and people are also judged. For example, the Walls family. Jeanette Walls and her family traveled the country in search of work and a home. They were severely judged for their lifestyle. The kids often fought with other children in their neighborhood, like Ernie Goad. Ernie Goad would tease them about living in trash and somehow got the other children to avoid the Walls children at all costs. So, in a way, the Walls family had a way of clearing "public space" as well. Overall, I don't think it's just black men that can make people move; I think it has a lot to do with our personal judgement of these people, or "profiling". Unfortunately, human beings may always assume certain people act a certain way, making generalizations about almost everyone. Until this ends, I think everybody could have the potential to clear public space.