Brent Staples demonstrates the prejudicial treatment that African American men currently receive in the United States. Recalling incidents that occurred in the mid-1970s, he addresses the issue of race and of the genre using multiple rhetorical strategies in his article “Black Men and Public Space.” Many Caucasians have reconsidered their first impressions of black males due to Staples' effective use of imagery, ethos, and pathos however, his argument; is largely based on the sympathy of its audience who neglects to recognize the statistic presented in the article. Say No to Plagiarism Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? and Public Space,” published in Ms. Magazine, author Brent Staples reflects on the multiple occasions that led him to discover that his mere presence is enough to make people, especially Caucasians, perceive him as a criminal. During his first meeting, he met a white woman on a deserted street in Hyde Park, Chicago. He was in the driveway behind her when she turned and revealed a worried look on her face. After a few more glances, she began to walk faster and eventually run in fear. “It was in the echoing of that woman's terrified footsteps that I began to learn about the unwieldy legacy I had entered into: the ability to alter public space in horrific ways.” After that experience and those that followed, Brent Staples grew accustomed to being mistaken for a threat. Although Staples illustrated that he was a student with insomnia, haunting sleepiness instead of a white woman, he clarifies that these types of events are common. Caucasians continually have these misconceptions about African Americans – often assuming they are criminals – and allow their unnecessary fears of being robbed or attacked to surface. To appear less intimidating on the streets, Brent Staples whistled tunes by famous classical composers, which became an effective "tension-reducing measure." In his article, “Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples targets Caucasian men and women. His reasons are to inform them of the false impressions they have about African American men and to persuade them that the black race is not associated with criminality. She appeals to her audience by using descriptive writing that includes sensory details and figurative language. This allows his audience to recreate a vivid visualization of the experience he is portraying, forcing them to see through the angle of vision of a young black male. For example, “At dark, shadowy intersections, I might cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thump, thump of the driver – black, white, male or female – hammering the door locks. " Includes this scenario to describe the posture people have when simply crossing the street at night. The sounds of the driver activating the car door locks cause the audience to hear the noises and reflect on their actions, many may recognize their dishonest behavior. We can see further examples of images in the statements “Elsewhere… where the pavements are narrow and the buildings close together block out the sky – things can get very tense indeed”. , and with their bag straps tied across their chest in the shape of a bandolier, they advance as if preparing not to be tackled." Brent Staples' descriptive language actively engages the reader, so that he can identify with one of the individuals in the passage, with the perpetrator perceived as a predator or with the woman being a victim of fearEffective strategy is Brent Staples' ability to elicit emotional response. He uses painfully upsetting anecdotes from his personal background. “…in Chester, Pennsylvania, the small, angry industrial town where I came of age in the 1960s, I was barely visible amidst gang warfare, street stabbings and murder.” As part of the audience, we are exposed to the problems that Staples and his community have endured, which causes pathos. In the following lines we are also told that despite his harsh childhood upbringing and the negative influences surrounding him, he still managed to remain “one of the good guys”. There are many more of this rhetorical appeal in Staples's writings. “As a boy, I saw countless tough guys locked up; I've also buried several since then. They were children, really - a teenage cousin, a twenty-two-year-old brother, a childhood friend in his mid-twenties - all involved in incidents of bravado played out on the street. I quickly came to doubt the virtues of intimidation. I chose, perhaps unconsciously, to remain a shy shadow, but a survivor." Brent Staples garners sympathy from his audience by describing the amount of loss he has had to endure in his family. The information he reveals about himself contrasts his good-natured personality with the toxic connotation society associates with being black. Anecdotes also increase Staples' credibility. He connects to the issue of others stereotyping African American males because he has had first-hand experience being judged based on skin color, which establishes trust between him and his audience. “I went into a jewelry store… The owner apologized and came back with a huge red Doberman pinscher stretched out on the end of the leash. She remained standing, with the dog stretched out towards me, silent to my questions, with her eyes almost bulging. I took a quick look around, nodded, and bid her goodnight. The woman in the jewelry store was terrified of Staples. He acted by retrieving a ferocious dog with the intention of intimidating it into leaving the shop. She was very prejudiced against Staples because of his race. Despite questions from Staples, who she did not recognize, she did not offer him assistance because she thought he was a thief. While it may seem racist for white women to fear the presence of a black man, Staples says, "I understand, of course, that the danger they perceive is not a hallucination. Women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young men Black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of such violence.” This is a valuable statistic that Staples addressed; however, he provides no further explanation linking this counterclaim to his argument violent crimes and that there is truth behind their preconceptions; he can only elicit empathy from his audience in the following lines: “Yet these truths are no comfort against the kind of alienation that comes from always being the suspect, a fearsome entity with whom pedestrians avoid making eye contact." Although misrepresentations of race continue, tolerance alone will not reduce the amount of crime in the United States. Therefore, its solution defies logic. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, Staples effectively highlights the persistent stereotypes he is subjected to as a Black male. It engages its intended audience by making them believe that they are committing a crime, but ultimately indicates that the treatment they are receiving is due to the unconscious bias of.