The sound of car door locks activating.
A black man crosses the street at a city intersection.
There are experiences I’ve never had and find hard to understand.
Like being stopped and searched on your way home in your own middle class neighborhood.
Like having a neighbor woman call the police because she saw a black man in the neighborhood. Oh, he lives here?
Like being in fear for your life during a traffic stop. (Another white policeman acquitted last week for killing a black man running away from him with the excuse that he felt threatened.)
Many live in a state of fear and judgement that infuse their experience of a situation.
Like the woman in Justice Sotomayor’s story from yesterday, false assumptions corrupt our mind.
Yes, it pays to be observant in public. But constant fear is debilitating for both people.
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