Stranger Danger

This whole week my thoughts have been preoccupied about MUNUC (Model United Nations University of Chicago, which is this weekend), so when I read that setting of the first anecdote in “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” was in Chicago, I just thought about MUNUC again.

The woman who ignorantly ran away from Staples did base her actions off a few assumptions and stereotypes, but I thought to myself, would I have done the same thing? We are told to always be careful and take care of ourselves, something I will consider for this trip in Chicago as well as we're all on our own. If I were out at night and any random guy seemed to be walking in my direction, my paranoia would for sure kick in and I would think they were following me. ThoughI wouldn't run away so obviously like that, I'd probably slip into some store if I really felt like there was a problem.

My question becomes where do you draw the line between a genuine suspicion or question, a sound intention, versus a judgment totally based off of prejudice, bias, or stereotype? There are obviously wrong cases, such as the time Staples was "mistaken for a burglar" or some security lady who "extended [a dog] towards [him]." However, it is difficult to see or prove not acting with bias in other situations. For example, whenever we go to the airport, my mom, who covers her head, is always taken for some sort of special screening. TSA comes up to us, pleads their "random screening" case, and proceeds to do what they must. I really believe in the necessity of security checks, but when I look around and see all of the "random" people fitting one certain characteristic, it doesn't seem so random to me.

Staples states, "I began to take precautions to make myself less threatening." Unless you're actually a threat and doing this so you don't blow your cover, I believe that no one should feel the need to change themselves at all based on society's closed-mindedness. This topic really has no clear cut definitions or boundaries, but it is true that there is bias behind most actions.

Comment how you feel about how intentions, bias or anything else influences an action or decision.