Associations

This was in Pakistan. The seven of us were squeezed into the car and were going to visit a relative who lived out of the city. When we were almost there we took a detour to look for a shop to buy some sweets. This would be totally normal in the city, but here, in a more rural area, our car stood out in a place where people almost exclusively use bikes and motorcycles as their means of transport. As with any public place in Pakistan, there were some beggars standing idly here and there. When they saw us park, however, they slowly started moving towards us. Soon a young woman started knocking on the window. We pretended not to notice her for a while, but eventually my uncle pulled out 10 rupees and gave it to her.
What happened next was interesting. We had, unknowingly, altered public space simply by being in a car and then giving some change to a woman in need. The woman thanked us and walked away - towards two younger girls. She nudged them and pointed in our direction, then walked off. The two girls then proceeded towards us and began knocking on the window. My uncle handed them 20 rupees and told them to split it. Then they went and told others. This happened a few more times and seven or eight beggars were given some money by my uncle and my mom, before my dad came back with the sweets and we left.


This all has to do with associations. Cars are associated with wealth, hence the beggars flocked towards us that day. Similarly, black men are unjustly associated with violence, as "young black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of [street] violence"; hence many nighttime pedestrians swiftly walk away from them.
Fixing the problem that Staples described would be very difficult, because society's mindset must be changed before their actions will change. For now, the only thing we can do is change ourselves.

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