I have been interested in Suspicious Activities since before the government cynically stoked hysteria by encouraging all freedom-loving Americans to "report suspicious activities" more than a decade ago, while consistently declining to provide any guidance as to identifying indicia of suspectness.
It was at that time, contemplating the values and objectives behind the apparent contradiction that a poet-friend and I noted the chilling effect of such an blank mandate, realizing the government operative behind the campaign must be Norm. Hence the beginning of the People's Peaceable Assembly Line's project of Reporting Suspicious Activities by dint of Letters to Norm.
So, naturally, I am interested in others' parsing of suspicion. And this is very interesting:
Produced by NEWMecca Movement's JayDex, the "Am I Suspicious?" public service campaign features those items identified as indicia of suspectness in connection with the shameful murder of Trayvon Martin -- a bottle of ice tea, a bag of skittles, and a hooded sweatshirt worn by a dark-skinned youth in the vicinity of a gated community -- displayed by a variety of Howard University students, understandably uncertain about what it might take for them to be gunned down with impunity.
Another "Am I Suspicious?" PSA, features individuals in hoodies asking "Am I suspicious, or are you a racist?" although I think a better question might be "...or are you afraid of hooded sweatshirts?" Perhaps, to a racist, the hooded sweatshirt might have some racial implications, but I find myself wondering whether I wouldn't have to get a glimpse at the hooded figures's faces before arriving at any conclusions as to their races.