A Personal Reading Response For The Song Hands Up By Vince Staples

Through manipulation of language, Staples demonstrates his comprehension of the effect this discrimination had on innocent black males. Since he has had firsthand experience in this matter, Staples discerns his situation as an “unwieldy inheritance” with “the ability to alter public space in ugly ways.” Clearly, Staples feels as if he was cursed, for he was constantly treated like a “fearsome entity with whom pedestrians avoid making eye contact with.” This put him in an

He uses long sentences for intensity. Staples says “Yet these truths are no solace against the kind of alienation that comes of being ever the suspect, against being set apart, a fearsome entity with whom pedestrians avoid making eye contact.” (2) He is saying that people want to avoid eye contact with him because they frightened because he is a different skin color so he shows it by saying that. He also says “I only needed to turn a corner into a dicey situation, or crowd some frightened, armed person in a foyer somewhere, or make an errant move after being pulled over by a policeman.” He is using a long sentence to make us understand what he is saying about how easily he can get into a situation. He also uses short sentences. Staples says “She cast back a worried glance.” (1) He says that to be more direct and straight

The brutality of the police force has been a long worldwide problem, but especially between the years of 2012-2016. Black people are being unjustly beaten and shot in plain sight for doing nothing while being unarmed. Journal of African American Studies “Blacks are viewed as deserving of harsh treatment in the criminal justice system” (482). “Black males with more “Afrocentric” features may receive longer sentences than blacks with less Afrocentric features like lighter skin and straighter hair”(482). Nowadays it is important to know about the police force. It’s important to know our rights as citizens and be careful around cops. Not everybody is good, but not everybody is bad also. In The New York Amsterdam News 21 people were killed by Chicago police in 2008. Entire families were being attacked. They believe it’s because of their skin color and how they are different. The year of racism started off with the world seeing the police murder of Oscar Grant. “The media have pushed people away from hearing the issue of police brutality, and it has fallen off of the radar screen.”(2) “You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit!”(2) African Americans say do not trust the cops with anything. “They will ruin you.”(2)

In "Black Men and Public Space," Brent Staples writes about how he was treated differently throughout his life due to his race by using connotative diction that invites ethos and pathos. Staples describes the problems, discrimination, and disapprovals he faces being a black man in public places. Staples explains how through his lifetime, people have discriminated against him because he is an African American man who works as a writer in a primarily Caucasian field. Brent Staples explains, the first time he understood how much his presence startled or concerned others was after an experience he had when he used to take late night walks as a graduate student. In addition to his first experience Staples describes countless other different occurrences of when he felt he had been discriminated against by other people based on his race. Staples has constantly been seen as a threat or criminal solely because of the color of his skin, leading him to have to deal with many distressing situations.

I commence with this anecdote for several reasons one of which is to humbly acknowledge my unique, and privileged position as a Black female scholar in the midst of a war waged against Black bodies. Another reason is to recognize police brutality as a national endemic that plagues Black communities, unveiling remnants of anti-Black racism that legitimately suppresses the lives of Blacks in America . The non-indictments in each case concerning the sanctioned murder of Black youths evoke a

With so many news stories and incidents surrounding the topic of race and the police these days, it is not surprising for people to come to the conclusion that racism may exist within the criminal justice system. We will be taking a deeper look into the problem to find out what other possible determinants may play a role in deciding how an officer makes an arrest or stop and continue to analyze what is happening in those contexts. The issues surrounding the topic of race is like the two faces of the same coin as there are usually two sides that we have to consider: reality and media portrayals. The reality side of situations is always there at the time, but it is so subtly hidden from society that nobody understands it unless they witness it firsthand and with the media spreading filtered information, it becomes even harder for us to identify the key issue; this is especially the case when dealing with the police and racial profiling. If you turn on the news and flip to a channel where it is reporting on the police and their arrests, you will most likely see more arrests pertaining to minorities than other ethnicities. In the news, we can often see a misrepresentation of ethnic minorities, usually African-Americans, being arrested when compared to others and this has caused problems around societies countless times. For this essay topic, I will be discussing the different issues surrounding race within the parameters of criminal justice and inequality; furthermore I will be

Brent Staples use of pathos though invoking a sad emotion that is invoked through me due to the situations he is put through with police, and people in general. “I could cross in front of a car stopped a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver – black, white, male, or female- hammering down the door locks” (174). This also invokes some anger at those people who are simply rude. “Then there were the standard unpleasantries with policemen, doormen, bouncers, cabdrivers, and others whose business it is to screen out troublesome individuals before there is any nastiness” (174). These instances not only show how only Staples was treated but how all of the black community was being treated in a dark era in American history. “The fearsomeness mistakenly attributed to me in public places often has a perilous flavor.”

Brent Staples’ essay, “When the Paranoids Turn Out to be Right,” acknowledges the issues of racism and racial profiling committed by police. In “Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun,” Geoffrey Canada also expresses views on this issue when he asserts that police fail to protect and serve individuals in poor neighborhoods. Staples contends, “Among the day-to-day acts of discrimination that shadow African Americans, none are more stressful or dangerous than those committed by police, some of whom treat black people as criminals until proved otherwise.” (Staples. 380) Although statistics show that the looming presence of narcotics and violence is more prevalent in urban neighborhoods, police should apply the same effort to protect individuals in these

Staples proves his thesis through detail description of incident in his life. He describes about an encounter with a white young women, who he said was his ‘victim’. The female increased her speed suddenly disappeared after seeing Staples walking behind her as if he is going to kill her or harm her in some way. Staples says that a young black men who is six feet tall and his hands were buried into his military jacket was of no harm to that female still she flew away from the street within seconds. He is blaming himself for the fear he caused in that female. This reaction of the female only shows how a

“ Police brutality refers to force used by law enforcement officers that is excessive and/or unnecessary in dealing with civilians. Excessive use of force means more than is needed in a given situation. It may include physical injury…” ( "Police Brutality and Race."). In the book. through pages 19-23, describes an incident that happened between a police officer and a young black male. Rashad was wrongfully accused of shoplifting and assulting a white woman. The white lady stubbles over rashad which causes him to drop his bag of chips next to his bag, this caused the owner of the shop to think that rashad was shoplifting. So, the local police officer took action and handcuffed him. The police officer was hurting Rashad and he moved, Guzzo (the police officer) believes that rashad was resisting and throw him on the ground which results in a broken nose and cracked ribs. The authors purpose is to show the readers about a fictional situation that often occurs in real life. This can cause an effect on readers by showing them how racist some police officers can be. Along with that how stereotypes can often ruin and harm many lives. Many readers can relate to seeing something, that they wished they didn’t, and not knowing what to do after. “.... but i spent most of the night still stuck on the sidewalk outside Jerry’s, me heart pumping fiercely in my throat, and when someone

1.) This man who was suspected of a burglary, was a victim of institutionalized oppression from the police officers questioning him. Although the officer confirmed that the call was for a different neighborhood, this man was automatically assumed to be the burglar because he was black, and that in itself was deemed suspicious by the police due to the stereotype of black crime. These officers, who were also black, have internalized oppression about black criminals, which means that they harbor the oppressive thoughts about their own minority group. This leads to the fact that this man was also facing horizontal hostility. Despite the fact that the officers were the same race as the ‘suspect’ they still jumped to conclusions about his actions instead of approaching this man without judgment.

Primarily, this paper is structured as a cause and effect essay as he narrates his personal experience, reinforcing his message and making the audience realize his viewpoints. In his article, Staples takes out all of his frustrations of being treated as a criminal throughout the passage. Firstly, Staples express the fear a white woman faced when she felt a young,broad six feet two inches black man with a beard and billowing hair was menacingly close. He continues by stating more incidents he experienced as a teenager, as a journalist and so on where people (mostly women) panicked imagining him as a mugger or a rapist. Furthermore, the author

In Brent Staples’ life, he has had many life experiences dealing with racism and has experienced racism first hand. Relaying these personal experiences is what he chose to write about in his essay. A life experience that Brent Staples shared is, “My first victim was a woman - white, well dressed, probably in her early twenties. I came upon her late one evening on a deserted street in Hyde Park, a relatively affluent neighbourhood in an otherwise mean, impoverished section of Chicago…. She cast back a worried glance. To her, the youngish black man – a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into he pockets of a bulky military jacket-seemed menacingly close. After a few more quick glimpses, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds she disappeared into a cross street.” (Staples

Similar to Dumas’ struggle in America as an Iranian, Brent Staples’ “Black Men and Public Space” details the struggle of being a black man in America. There are countless stereotypes implanted in the minds of Americans of the typical black person, aggressive, dishonest, ruthless, and overall ill intentioned. The first encounter with this racist outlook on blacks Staples had was in a wealthier area of downbeat Chicago, who began to appear worrisome and soon after proceeded to run from the author, who had done nothing intentionally to provoke fear in her. I agree that women should always place their safety as their first priority and should remove themselves from any situation in which they find themselves uncomfortable or at risk, but if blacks and whites can’t manage to walk the same streets without one race thinking the other is going to attack at any given moment due to the misconceptions floating around in their heads, then America really isn’t a land of diversity. It then becomes a land of hierarchy. As he says, Staples is too scared to even wield a knife at a chicken, let alone wield a knife at another human being, but by the color of his skin and appearance, one would never know this. Being perceived as dangerous, he writes, is a hazard in itself, and could easily land him in the back of a police car

Vince Staples is an American rapper, who released the song ‘Hands Up’ as a single from his 2014 album, titled ‘Hell Can Wait’. In Hands Up, Staples recalls his previous encounters with law enforcement in the United States and the abuse of authority that has resulted in the controversial deaths of young African American males that were suspected criminals but were not proven guilty at the time of their death. Staples highlights the issue of police brutality and discrimination towards people of colour, while also speaking on the feelings and fear held by victims of abuse of authority by police officers.