Response to: Fear and Loathing in Philadelphia

The author of this paper made the argument that although very few people hold strong racist views anymore, we all on some level are still at least aware of other races. The author cites a business man on the subway who seems frightened by a young black man, a Chinese woman, and two young punk girls. The author argues that most of us still act differently around people who are not of our race. Whether we do this because we are actually racist, because we have a certain mentality that has been passed down through our ancestors, or because we feel like we owe them something. Either way, even though most people feel that some racism is gone, there are still traces of it that linger in our daily lives. As far as I know, this business man is not a KKK member, a Neo-Nazi, or affiliated with any other extremest group. This man was just afraid of a young black man. And the problem with this argument is that too much emphasis is placed on the color of the young man's skin. If he was a young white man dressed in a trench coat, dyed blue hair, and lip piercings, the business man would probably be just as scared. The environment also must be taken into account. They were in a subway. Subways, dark alleys, and unfamiliar areas are all places that lend themselves to crime thus causing someone to be more alert when in such a place. I don't believe that this business man was racist; he was just scared.