Space for Public

Controlling public space all comes down to how far away one is from assimilating to the culture. The more one assimilates, the less power he has to control this space. On the other hand, being idiosyncratic will most definitely give one power to alter public areas. Race, gender, appearance, and actions all contribute to the difficulty in assimilating. For Brent Staples, his race and gender make it extremely challenging to fit in. Just because he is black and male, his attire and actions need to be overly proper to make him seem unlike the stereotypical black criminal. In his essay "Black Men and Public Space," he writes, "Virtually everybody seems to sense that a mugger wouldn't be warbling bright, sunny selections from Vivaldi's Four Seasons" (12). This is an example of how Staples uses actions to assimilate to the rich, white, and proper standard in America. Since he hums famous classical songs, others would view him as not a criminal, but a normal, law-abiding citizen. Interestingly, Staples has to act in a genteel manner in order to be viewed as normal, but if he were to merely act normal, he would still be viewed as a hazardous threat.

For me, I can manipulate a crowd through my unusual noises and voices. Sometimes I have the urge to spout random, cacophonous sounds and then talk in a high-pitched, indian accent. When this happens, I often receive creeped-out glances from strangers and small smirks from friends. All of this, however, is in good fun and I believe that if no one is hurt, I can abuse my freedom of speech. As can be seen, there are many ways to control public space. How do you do it?