I know I'm a guy but I though I'd toss my $0.02 in. As a male who's been in some really bad neighborhoods, I always used profiling. There were bikers, hispanics, blacks, Vietnamese and a variety of other people who you could reasonably fear, IMO.
I think poverty and poor education causes crime. Karen, I understand what you mean about the cascade of events (I agree). But this, to me, is like worrying about a scraped knee when you have a patient with a hemorrhage. I doubt all the nice, trusting ladies in the world would change the life of a kid who was faced with the choice of being a victim or doing group victimization of others.
So while your openness is admirable, I consider the risk/reward ratio poor, IMO. My feeling is that by supporting mentoring programs you can make a real impact, but by offering kind body language you can at most make someone a little more guilty about attacking you.
I don't criticize the latter, but regard it as ineffective. I've lived in neighborhoods where you needed to watch yourself and others. I've done this all my life and don't consider myself a bigot, just realistic. When truck driver Reginald Perry was pulled from his truck because he came into an intersection controlled by rioting youth, all the good words in the world didn't or wouldn't save him from being savagely beaten. He was a symbol and no longer had person status.
I believe older people and affluent people of any kind represent these types of symbols in urban environments and are easy pickings for anyone looking for a victim. But the time you are in that dynamic it is too late. |
