David Mamet’s “Race” at the Goodman Theatre looks at biases

• Reprints

Updated: February 21, 2012 8:31AM

The first thing I noticed when I pulled into the bank driveway to use the ATM was the idling car off to the side.

A young white man inside the car was trying to get my attention. I rolled down my window.

“Do you have a pen?” he asked.

It was dark, but I didn’t hesitate to open my purse and fish out a pen.

I thought about this moments later while watching David Mamet’s “Race” at the Goodman Theatre.

The play gives the audience a surprisingly hilarious look at the ways race can catch us off guard and expose biases that most of us would swear we do not have.

Outside of his goofy hat, the white guy who needed my pen looked harmless.

But how would I have reacted had the young man been black? Would I have rolled down the car window, or would I have pretended not to notice him at all?

This is the premise of Mamet’s play: that we are all confounded by race, even when we think we are not.

The play centers on accusations that a wealthy white man raped a black woman. Two veteran attorneys — one white, one black — along with their black female associate, debate the merits of taking the explosive case.

Mamet plants the kind of land mines that will stimulate animated conversation long after theatergoers have collected their coats and cars.

But in real life, race remains a volatile subject.

For instance, consider the videotaped beating of a 17-year-old boy attacked in a Bridgeport alley.

Seven teens have been charged —
one as an adult — with the beating and robbery. The 17-year-old alleged attacker, Raymond Palomino, is being held in lieu of $100,000 bond. The juveniles, including a 15-year-old girl, are in the custody of their parents.

The video posted on YouTube showed the teens yelling the N-word two dozen times as they punched and kicked the victim.

According to police, the attackers robbed the victim of his shoes, wallet and $180 cash.

Five of the youths charged, and the victim, are of Chinese descent.

Amazingly, the phrases “gang-related” or “drug-related” have not crept into the reporting of this story as it usually does when crimes like this happen in black neighborhoods.

In fact, despite the extreme violence, this incident has not been labeled a “mob action” like the violent incident that killed Derrion Albert.

In 2009, Derrion, a 16-year-old honor student, was killed when he was caught up in a brawl involving groups of teens.

Four teens were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, and a juvenile was sent to prison until he turns 21.

I understand that there is a big difference between punching and kicking someone, and hitting someone over the head with a railroad tie, as was done to Derrion.

But the mentality is the same. The criminal behavior is the same. And but for the grace of God, the result could have been the same.

Yet the teens involved in this latest incident aren’t likely to be stigmatized as gang-bangers. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the charges against the juveniles aren’t greatly reduced once the media spotlight moves on.

Is that a matter of race? I believe so.

When lawyers and judges and prosecutors look at the Bridgeport teens, they are likely to see an anomaly instead of a mob.

They won’t see any racial bias in coming to that conclusion. Indeed, most of us would never admit our racial biases, even when it is clear that we all have them.

Mamet’s “Race” explores the guilt and oppression associated with our views about race in the context of the criminal justice system.

Because many of us are afraid to talk about race for fear of offending someone, this production offers us the opportunity to examine our own beliefs about race.

You might be surprised by what you find.

The play runs through Feb. 19 at the Goodman.