No Such Thing as "The Typical White -- or Black Person"

Being a New Yorker and working evening shifts in restaurants, I was not immune to muggings in those days. In fact, I was probably a prime target of them.

I was mugged 3 times, all three times returning home from work between 11PM and 1AM.

For those who have never been mugged, it is quite a terrifying and in some ways, life-altering experience.

For me, the first time occurred around 1972.

I had just entered my brownstone building, but before the outside door closed, two young black men, about 17-years-old quickly followed and attempted to grab my bag. I started to run up the stairs and one of the teenagers, grabbed my ankle, causing me to trip on the steps. I was then hit in the face several times with a flat, narrow piece of wood while the assailants demanded my money. But, in a panic, I tightly held on to my bag, trying to use it as a weapon to fend off the blows. I screamed very loudly and after what seemed like forever, a couple of neighbors opened doors and yelled the attackers away.

I escaped that particular mugging with some cuts and bruises around my head and a black eye.

But, they never got my bag.

The second time occurred a few years later. But, this time, the 3 young teenagers, including one girl, (about 13 to 14) rushed me just before I got to my building. I managed to struggle and get away just as someone came out of an adjoining apartment building. The teenagers fled.

But, the third time was the most frightening.

It occurred in 1990. It was a lovely spring night when I completed work about 1AM. Instead of fetching a cab as I usually did, I decided to walk the dozen blocks to my home.

The streets were pretty quiet at that hour with little pedestrian or vehicle traffic.

I was walking down 86th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues.

Suddenly a car pulled up near the curb and a tall, athletically built, light skinned, black man in his late 20's jumped out of the passenger seat of the vehicle and rushed towards me. Before I realized what was happening, he hit me so hard across the face, I fell to the ground. He grabbed my bag and jumped back in the car as he and his partner quickly sped away.

My mouth bleeding from a chipped tooth, I was able to summon help after a few minutes and filed a police report.

But, not getting the license number of the car, the perpetrators, to my knowledge, were never found.

That particular mugging turned out to be costly. I lost more than $140.00 in cash, several credit cards, a checkbook and even my Social Security card.

But, as much of a hassle as it was to replace all of those things, the thing that was truly terrifying about that experience was the knowledge that I could have been pulled into the car that night and murdered. -- And that the attackers had all my personal information.

I was very lucky to get away with only minor injury and financial loss. It seems the perps never tried to use or sell my Social Security card.

That last experience was, however, life altering.

To this day, I never leave my home with more than $20.00 in cash and only one credit card when planning to actually use it. I don't carry a checkbook and certainly never a Social Security card.

For many years, I didn't even carry ID with me, though I understand now, that such is mandated by law.

But, the one way muggings didn't affect me was to alter in any way, my perception of the African American race, despite all of the attackers being of African American descent.

I remember both my Mother and Grandmother teaching me from an early age that all people must be evaluated and experienced as individuals as opposed to judgment of their race, sex, religion or nationality as a whole.

I believe that.

I have never allowed negative experiences with individuals of particular sex, nationality, religion or race to color my perceptions of humanity as a whole.

Since the 1990's, I spent several years working with Black and Latino people in Harlem to rescue stray cats and dogs. I do most of my shopping in Harlem because its cheaper than the Upper East Side of Manhattan. And the shelter where our small animal rescue group gets most of our animals from is located in Harlem. I have spent many a night feeding cats in Harlem or picking up strays.

I don't "clutch my bag tightly" or cross the street when seeing black men.

But, I also don't carry wads of money and credit cards with me regardless of what neighborhood I am in, what time of day or what people I encounter.

In trying to explain away his seeming disparagement of the Grandmother who helped to raise him and who, according to Barack Obama, was afraid of unknown black men on the street, the Presidential candidate implies that his Grandmother's was just a "typical white person" who harbors irrational fears of black people and who was "bred" to have racial insensitivity.

I think it is Barack Obama who harbors "racial insensitivity" and bias.

Perhaps it is due to his years listening and looking up to a racially insensitive pastor.

Or, perhaps there are some childhood psychological issues connected to Obama's early upbringing and interracial heritage that color his perceptions and attitudes today.

Who knows?

I can only say that Barack Obama is very wrong and misguided to attribute whatever racial "fears" his Grandmother had to her race or her generation.

He would even be wrong to attribute them to white victims of black crime.

Barack Obama needs to learn to evaluate and "judge" people as individuals, not as representatives of race.

In reality there is no such thing as, "The Typical White -- or The Typical Black Person."

As for me, I will continue looking at people as individual souls, as opposed to the outer colors they wear -- though like the slogan that opened this writing, I am not quite so "liberal" now as I once was.

It seems, "racism" where and when it occurs, occurs both ways. --PCA

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Written by mandy787 Blog about this entry

This entry has 3 comments: (Add your own)

#3 Comment from rainystreet39
3/27/08 3:55 PM | Permalink

I'm so glad that even though you went throught the trauma of being raped, you still try to not let that distort your racial views. You sound like a very strong person. It's hard to not be affected by events like that. It sounds like this new documentary series coming out called "I Survived" on the Biography Channel on Mondays at 9pm ET. It features real-life survivors from all walks of life. I work for Bio so I got to preview some episodes and saw one where this woman got kidnapped from her home,raped and then shot. The best part is at the end when she goes "If I can survive that, I can handle anything". So inspirational! And you hear her narrate how she survived the entire time! If you want to find out more about the show or preview some clips you can at http://www.biography.com/isurvived/ . Anyone here thinking of tuning in?
#2 Comment from gilmannyc@...
3/23/08 9:28 AM | Permalink

This disgust me. That you have been mugged, and so many times. I am sorry, Patty.
#1 Comment from jmuhjacat
3/21/08 4:00 PM | Permalink

It would be very positive if every one of us, no matter our faith, race, ethnicity, culture, or whatever, could rise above nicheing and categorizing ANYONE. As a multicultural person of an other-than-mainstream faith, I'd have a hard time indeed if I started hating people based on their religion, color, ethnicity or culture. And as someone who deeply cares about animals, I'd have a very bad time if I allowed the ignorant to talk me into adopting the mindset that we as a species are "better" than any other. Guess that about takes care of intolerance, which I abhor. While genuinely hating cruelty, intolerance, and apathy wherever I find them, in my thoughtful and most logical moments, at least, I do apply the "there but for the Grace of God go I" to most people and situations (barring those of cruelty, intolerance, and apathy) and try to live and let live. Sounds like you are doing an admirable job of walking the talk yourself, Patty. Good on ya for that! ;)

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No Such Thing as "The Typical White -- or Black Person"