what makes the whites/blacks so afraid of young black men?

Question

i'am black while i was at a store tonight two black young men came in and i was afraid sad to say it but i was and i know it is not right to judge every young man but i try not too so why?

Answer 1

People live up to their expectations, and society doesn't expect much from young black men. That is why they join gangs, to have a feeling of self worth because the rest of society views them as a criminal before they have ever done anything wrong. It isn't so much a racial issue as it is an economic issue. If new retail stores and business parks would open in economically depressed and majority black areas, there would be more economic equality and people would not view others so much based on the color of their skin.

Answer 2

I dont know but i used to be afraid of black men and im black too and i have no idea why and some i still am afraid of

Answer 3

I'm not going to lie I get nervous too. But for me it depends on the way he is dressed and carries himself. If he comes in with slacks and polo type shirt I am cool, But if he is dressed in thuggish clothes and acts a certain way I get nervous. Also it depends on the setting. If I am at the grocery store its one thing but the ATM late at night, Hell to the Naw. But that is the way society (and also some people's actions) condition us: What do we see on the news all day? They brush over the white criminals and go on and on about all of the dangerous black men at large. "Lets lock those ******** up before they rape our women. They're dangerous" Its the big bad black man thing, ready to steal, kill, and rape. (I know you heard about that movie Birth of a Nation.) And people cannot tell me that the news isn't biased because I have noticed lately with all of the immigration controversy now, For the past few months here they have been highlighting all of the Hispanic criminals on the news. Every story, a Hispanic male this and Hispanic male that just like they do black males.
Edited for clarification
Longview: I appreciate your honesty and polite tone but I must interject. I don't know where you are from but here down south young white and Hispanic males also act that way with the pants and music. As a matter of fact I hate the loud rap so when I hear it I look to see who it is so that I can glare at them and 70-80 percent of the time, in my experience, it is a white person. Be careful about your generalizations. I will agree though that I do see a disproportionate amount of black people behave embarrassingly but as I have stated time and time again, people in a lower socio-economic class usually behave this way. No matter what country you go to the economically disadvantaged people are generally uncouth, sometimes because they are angry and frustrated and sometimes because they don't know any better. Usually when people live in poverty they have life experiences that cause them to be angry individuals. Poor whites are just as bad as poor blacks. I'm not making excuses I'm just stating human nature.

Answer 4

I honestly believe the media has something to do with pushing the color line when they report the news and oftentimes, it is the young, black males whose faces appear on our television screens and the announcement of the heinous crimes they have committed. Coupled with the horrendous pictures of the wild hair and crazed eyes - who can blame anyone for not being afraid of black males on the street. You are slowly but surely being conditioned to this horrible stereotype while the balding, white professional with his Brooks Brothers suit and tie is wiping your slate clean of your pension and lining his pockets with your cash. Makes you wanna say..hm....who's the criminal here? My suggestion to you would be try to judge each person as you meet them. Not every black man wants to rape, rob and pillage. I believe in my heart that if we start to show more love toward one another, it would kill fear with it's double-edged sword. God did not make us so that we would be afraid of each other. The world and the society in which we live has conditioned and hardened our hearts and minds so badly that we cannot see the love in each other's eyes....There is a great need to show more love toward one another. One person at a time.

Answer 5

America has a culture of fear that perpetuates these stereotypes, and encourages them. Look at what is represented in most hip hop videos.......I think it's a pretty uniquely American thing.....In Canada there is much less racism, and there isn't the stereotype about young black men.

Answer 6

i do the same thing, even though i have a brother and several cousins that dont fit the description we often recieve. i think we get scared because almost everytime we see a black man on television its a mug shot or a wanted ad or something. i think if we were more open minded and watched the news a little less we wouldnt be so critical of our own kind. in the future try to think of that person as your family or something, someone u know wouldnt do anything illegal.

Answer 7

While rudeness and other offensive behaviours aren't confined to one race only, it seems that the offenders are disproportionately black.

Shouting in the library, incessant cursing, ear drum-bursting music being blasted on car stereos without regard to those in the immediate vicinity who might like to preserve their good hearing, pants deliberately worn so low that a person's whole rear end is deliberately showing so that even small children can see it, walking in the street...deliberately jaywalking as slowly as possible in front of moving cars, owning and allowing dogs that they've trained to be overly aggressive (pit bulls, rottweilers, etc.) to roam freely in the neighborhood, ganging up on others in fights inschool, embracing and fighting (dirty) to keep double standards in place which they erroniously believe benefit them...

In my area, the people who engage in the above behaviours most are young blacks. Not mostly young hispanics, not mostly young whites, not mostly any other group but young blacks.

That is not to say that all young black men are that way, neither is it to say that there aren't plenty of young people of other races who are not. I have met many young black men who were church-going, polite, hardworking and law abiding. But, I was somewhat prejudiced about most of them before I got to know them.

I think it's natural for anyone of any race to 'play the odds' when sizing up someone whom they have just met. It is good manners, and just good sense to keep your opinions to yourself, though, until you have all the facts about the new people in your life. That way, you don't have to eat any crow. Still, one must be prepared.

So, my answer is, it is just the natural instinct of anyone to be cautious about new people in their environment, and to play the odds when making snap judgements about what to expect from them. (We all must make snap judgements to avoid violence, avoid accidents, avoid hurting people's feelings, etc. sometimes.) Some times those judgements are wrong, but most adults generally base them on their past experiences.

There should be a give and take in society over this issue. It seems that--in my neck of the woods, anyway--most folks of all races are trying to not be prejudiced against young black men. In return, I think more young black men ought to try to break away from the negative stereotypes associated with them.

Be well.


edited to add:

I rarely watch television. I base my answer on actual experience.

Answer 8

um how is a black person afraid of a young blk man their people just like you and for whites they want something to be afraid of

Answer 9

Did they look threatening or because they were black, you were instantly afraid ??

Um yeah...you probably need to see someone about that. Thats a problem.

Answer 10

I think you should get therapy.It would probably help find the source of your problem.