is this idea a little heavy handed?

So i go out on evening walks to train my sense of perception. I go through a series of exercises that focus on my posture, beat, outward appearance of confidence and working within the realm of the mob as a singular individual. So ANYWAY, the whole time I'm out on my evening walks I make sure to never ever let my eyes hit the ground ever, I also make sure to make full eye contact with people I pass.

After a few weeks I have started to notice a phenomena that is startling; white women are going for the classic purse clutch maneuver! I mean, yah OK this is the city, I live in SF. Does purse snatching still happen? I laugh because I have seen some obvious lockdown happen when we are passing each other. BUT HERE IS THE FUNNY THING the purse lockdown happens even when I'm dressed to impress. I'm the farthest from anything street; no sagging, everything is fitted from the jeans to the shirts. Yet, I still get the same reaction.

So I went to art school and I am an artist and I have been thinking.....what if i made up a small run of cards that adressed this issues. A card that said something along the lines of; "Greeeeeeeeeat. I hope you are pleased, you have managed to save your purse and alienate me at the same time. Think about your perception for a second"

I'm still working on the what the card will say but I am thinking about something that as i see them go for the clutch I can hand the card over to add to the freak out level because, well, people dont expect the social contract to be broken.


so....is this idea too heavy handed? or am i just being cry baby?

 

I like it.

 

It depends by what you mean by "maintaining full eye contact at all times". Now if you are just looking around fine, but if you are starring at me, right in the face, I am worried. Not that you are black but that you are crazy! No offence, but what is your facial expression like at the time? Are you smiling? If not I am going to be slightly concerned. I could not care less if you are black, white, latino, asian etc. If you are starring at me as I am walking towards you with no facial expression and you don't break eye contact, I am going to be worried. There are a lot of nut jobs out there and I am thinking that you are sizing me up. Plus you said you do this during the evening. It just adds to it.
You have to admit, women need to be careful on the streets at night. Not of black men but of ALL men to a certain degree. I am not paranoid but that would just not feel right to me. I would get that wierd feeling in my stomach that some women get when they think there is the chance that something might be happening. For me it has nothing to do with race, it has to do with the sense of vunerability that some women have when walking alone on the streets at night.

And if you tried to hand me something, there is no way in hell you would ever get close enough to me to give it to me. I don't care what you are wearing.

 

Ladeda (de, we like to party!),

I think action, no matter how light or heavy handed, is better than no action. You mentioned that you're doing these walks for self improvement (focus). The way I see it is that the walks are just the first part of your plans. The eye contact is the second. The look of confidence if based on something legitimate (ie you feel that you're good looking, you're intelligent, you're talented, etc...) is 3rd. To get "home", I believe there does need to be a final course of action. If it's just saying hello, shaking someone's hand, making small talk or even if it's your card idea, I say do it. I'd love to hear about the reactions.

However, I don't believe you can expect "them" to change as a result of your action. I believe confidence is believing in yourself no matter what reaction you get. If you're doing it as a way to break through a sticking point in your self improvement, go gung-ho. But don't expect a smile after you hand out the card.

 

I clutch at my purse no matter who's around, where I go, or what time it is. People get their shit stolen all hours of the day. Saw one on the news not long ago where a lady was just at a grocery store in the parking lot and some mofo grabbed her purse and -dragged her with it til the strap broke-

 

Mate, you really need to look at the scenerio.

You are walking in the evening (I would imagine it is dark) staring -> :shock: <- at everyone you come across. Any Woman will feel a little startled under those conditions.

When a Woman feels uncomfortable, she will hold on to her most valuable possesion. I wouldn't class this as a White Woman scenerio but, any Woman who is scared under those conditions.

I've witnessed such happenings (Women clenching their bag) from all types of Men in the dark. You may not realize how frightened Women can become. And you staring at them in the evening with who knows what kind of look on your face is not helping at all.

Ever walked past Women on a nice sunny day? Their bags will literally knock you down. :lol:

 

i really feel bad for the idiot that wants to snatch my purse.....lol

 

oh. ha. ok, thanks for the reply. Please let me clear up a few things, when I say eye contact I dont mean staring someone down. I know that I have a habbit of averting my eyes when out in public and its a nasty habbit that I aim to break. When I say look into the eyes of others I mean it as a return to what is already being given to me. When I say evening, well that is a broad term. I do not specifically mean when its dark out, its still summer and the sun is still up when I get off work. And as far as my facial expression I should have added that facial control is a big part of the exercise, I try to relax every muscle in my face.....or, smile. A lot of people smile back or keep it moving but some individuals react differently and these are the people that I would like to specifically address.

I think I am far from giving people the stink eye in total darkness on empty city streets. If I met someone doing that I would freak out.

I dont mean to change someone perception I just want people to be aware of actions that they may be unaware of. I tend to notice it because these are the people that are reacting out of a group of 20 or 30. It is really obvious and somewhat off putting. So I try to laugh about it.

 

There are some people that are very self conscious about themselves. So, when some one looks at them they feel very insecure. Possibly this is what is happening.

Please bare in mind your little experiment is unknowing to the person you are looking to wards. The reaction is the end result which shouldn't be so surprising because, they have no idea why you are looking at them.

While some will take it as a compliment, others will not. You may need to look at it from their perspective in order to get a better understanding on what is circulating through their mind at the given moment.


Cheers!