When Tom Robinson talks about why he ran away from home from the Ewells, he says, "Mr. Finch, if you were a **** like me, you'd be scared too" (261) Atticus and many other white people in the audience wondered why he was so scared if he hadn't committed a crime, Tom's description literally meant that if he had stayed and Mayella had told her father what had happened, Tom would not have no chance of winning the argument and could have gotten hurt or killed before the trial even took place. The mindset that is placed can lead people to want to punish others without any kind of justice