The impact of ones appearance

After reading A Black Man Wore Different Kinds Of Clothing To See If People Treated Him Differently I have many different feelings and reactions about it. These feelings and reactions are in response to how the individual, Pedro, in the story felt when he changed his cloths and how different clothing choices affected others so strongly. With that being said, I will elaborate further in the paper below.

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This article honestly made me sad and a little embarrassed as a human being. I mean after all we have been through in regard to our history must we still succumb to these stereotypical views and reactions? It seems as though we must with all of the evidence Pedro was able to gain on the subject as support for such a statement. The common theme for each of Pedro's days were simple. He would structure his days in two parts, which included dressing up first and then dressing down second. He would visit select places, in both attire, and compare the experiences. Pedro had favorable experiences when dressing up. but very negative ones when dressing down. These negatives I am referencing came in all sizes, but were all equally unacceptable in my opinion. Pedro would get extended greetings, more respect, less stereotypical action taken against him, and in fact experience equal and appropriate treatment when dressed up. In the same situations he would not get the door held open for him, be seated at the front of the restaurant, be given a break, right away, when coming up short with bus fair, or have the respectful and carefree conversations all people, despite appearances, should be able to have. The whole thing just upset me. I mean what are other factors that went in to this? I can be sure in saying anything, but race and dress seem to be the biggest factors. Are there other things? I am sure, but clearly the above mentioned are central and I think that is ridiculous. Pedro was just dressing comfortably in sweats and a sweatshirt most of the time. That does not make him a thug or criminal or something, but it seems our society has become blinded by expectations given to us by our media and outdated opinion. In my opinion it is awful and I hope it one day gets better.

Further, I think it is important to mention how Pedro felt while dressing up for this experiment. This experience gave him an influx of emotions it seemed. He felt confident and good when dressing up, but no himself. Then, on the other hand, when he was dressing down he seemed to have to prepare himself for the aggression and anger he would get for being himself and that is ridiculous in my opinion. He could not feel completely comfortable in his attire it seemed and that hurt me to see. So, beyond the results, we see how a person can feel going through a difficult experience like this.

To conclude, I think Pedro's experiment was very successful because it showed the awful present situation our society finds itself in. It seems we have become predisposed to negatively view African American males by their look and dress and that is not right. The feelings Pedro has about the experiment,a s it was happening, in reaction to the experiences he was happening dressing up and dressing down all but confirm that I think.