Sightings Stroll Through Any Mall

Sightings stroll through any mall should be a wake-up call, for it is society under the magnifying glass. It is as if the mall represents some scientific laboratory where race and class prejudices can be viewed through a microscope.

All it takes to witness this is to sit still for a moment and observe. Don't shop. Don't talk on the cell phone. Don't talk to your best friend sitting next to you or allow your mind to wander to that particular person standing a few feet away that really sparks your interest. Just sit and look.

More than likely, you will see a few elderly men, sitting alone, obviously waiting for their wives to finish shopping so they can go home to their favorite chair. They generally ignore everyone around them, and seldom make eye contact. They look tired.

You will also see young families with baby strollers and toddlers in hand, shopping for clothes, shoes and toys. Above the general 'white noise' of the mall, it's easy to hear shrieks and cries from the children. They are cranky from hunger or they've been told they can't have a particular item or they're tired and, like the old men, just want to go home to their favorite spot.

Then there are the young singles, out for the day, maybe to buy something or maybe just to window shop and meet up with friends. Regardless, they are having a good time.

Middle-aged and older females are the serious shoppers. They are there for a purpose. They are checking prices, quality of products, and spend much time comparison shopping. They aren't really having fun, but are rather fulfilling a duty. Most look tired.

These groups consist of African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Caucasians of every class status, some poor, some middle-class, and some wealthy. Yet, they are all there, under one large roof. Although they may not interact with each other, there seems to be some unspoken code of respect. Everyone just wants to finish their business there and go home.

However, the ethnic gangs that dot the crowds throughout the mall seem to have another purpose and another code. It is almost as if they are patrolling, like a cop on a beat, always on the look-out for something or someone. They are young. They aren't loaded down with packages and children. They aren't on the search for the best buy. They aren't tired.

Outside the mall, it is much the same, yet perhaps less noticeable. But they're all there - families with whining children, women tending to domestic duties, singles flirting, and lonely old men waiting for someone. The gangs are there too, cruising their beat, always on the look-out for someone or something.