The Enduring Wisdom of Clarence

Last year I wrote a small essay about a man named Clarence, and the impact he had on my view of racism. An old friend just experienced something frightening and the first thing I thought of was what Clarence said about predicting the behavior of people by the way they look. In this little sentence, Clarence was talking about white people reacting to an unknown black man: “If a man steals corn from your field that doesn’t mean the next man coming down the road will steal your corn.”
My friend was working late and a homeless man walked into her office and asked for money for food and a shelter for the night. He was dirty and smelly, but not threatening in any way except the way he presented himself. She called her son who was about to get there anyway, and he gave the man a few dollars and sent him on his way. No harm done except a bad fright. So the question is why the fright? We are conditioned by what we hear and see not to trust the homeless. They are portrayed as a group as being aggressive in seeking handouts and potentially dangerous. Mostly they are not. Mostly they are sad down-on-their-luck people who just need a bit of help and want to be left alone. They are more often targets of aggression that perpetrators. But there are among them some bad actors. And these few make the rest potentially threatening. Like the man walking down the road, you can’t predict the behavior of one from the behavior of another.
What to do? Be careful and watchful. Use what I call the “reasonable person test” (1) which asks “what would a reasonable person do in this circumstance?” I guess that means locking doors after hours, walking in well lighted areas, generally being aware of your surroundings. Have a cell phone handy and a plan of action if trouble approaches. My experience with the homeless and panhandlers I have run into is that most of them leave you alone if you look at them and keep walking, or give them something or ignore them.
I am glad my friend was not threatened or attacked. But even if she was, remember the wisdom of Clarence and don’t be too quick to judge the next one.
Image: jared-and-eryn.com/?m=200802
http://searchesworld.blogspot.com/2009/12/clarence_15.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasonable_person