When is it Acceptable to Suspect Someone?

Brent Staples, author of “Just Walk On By”, writes an anecdote about a young woman who was walking ahead of him “late one evening” in Chicago. In a state of fear, she ran away from him thinking that he could be a “mugger, rapist, or worse”, although he is anything but the sort. Staples is appalled by the thought of being “indistinguishable” from criminals. In defense of the woman, however, I can understand how she must have felt, and it is not necessarily Brent Staples’ fault. If I were walking alone at night and a stranger was close behind me, I wouldn’t be so dramatic as to start sprinting unless the supposition was confirmed, but I would pick up the pace. The reason for trying to get away from a possible threat is more so human instinct than anything else in this case. It is insurmountable to tell the difference between any regular person and a criminal by appearance alone. The latter may be assumed simply because it is better to be safe than sorry. Nevertheless, this does not mean that it is okay to suspect people as if they were hazardous in any given circumstance. For example, it would be racist and unnecessary if someone bolted at the sight of an African American while others were around, and it was in broad daylight. There are incidents where considering the worst-case scenario is a matter of safety, but there are also incidents where this is harmful—in which assumptions are based upon fictitious stereotypes.