Writing Workshop

When seeing someone you don’t know for the first time don’t judge them solely based on their appearance.

Many people get judged by their appearance and are profiled to be a certain way just by their looks. I have had it done many times the most memorable was at Dillard’s when I was accused of stealing based solely on my appearance. I was wearing a hoodie and Dickies pants and apparently because my outfit was one of what a shoplifter would wear I was profiled as one. I have never in my life been in any kind of trouble but because I didn’t fit the “non shoplifter” image it was automatically assumed that I was one. Staples uses examples of this in his essay, when the gentleman is walking down the street behind the young white woman she gets scared because of his appearance. He is described as being a “youngish black man – a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket.” The lady perceived him as being dangerous based on his looks when in reality he posed no threat to her at all he was walking at night not to catch people and hurt them but to catch some sleep since he was suffering from insomnia. Staples goes on to say that the gentlemen had to change the ways in which he conducted himself the guy had to start whistling classical tunes as he walked at night to make others feel at ease or would have to walk by a building