The closest I can come to understanding is through empathy and knowing how it feels to be judged by some because of appearances. Even though I'm white, I have long hair and dress more like a "rocker" that a clean cut business man.
I've been followed around stores by security who think I'm there to steal. I've had people cross the street when seeing me coming towards them. I've been told "I wouldn't want to run into you in a dark alley." I'm a bit gruff looking, have a beard as well. I can understand the feelings that come with being judged, the sting of people being prejudiced, but again, I don't know what it's like to be black. I've not had to live in fear of my life on a daily basis that cops might shoot me. Or the feeling of being monitored in a crowd or on the street because of the color of my skin.
I've walked to and from the grocery store the last six years in the Monterey area. It's a nice walk and not too far. But I do walk on a main road and almost exclusively after the sun has gone down. The biggest worry I ever have is that drivers aren't paying attention to the road. I use flash lights and reflectors, as well as red blinking lights. So I feel pretty safe most the time.
It's crossed my mind on several occasions that any time I've seen people walking to the store, it's either a couple (Male and Female) or it's a random guy here or there. A couple things I've never seen. A female walking by herself after dark and a black person. It occurred to me that of course it's not really safe for females to walk to the store after dark by themselves. I don't blame them. I'm a nice guy but I wouldn't want to stroll across me or any other guy at night if I were a female. It's scary. It's unfortunate but it's a reality.
I also recall thinking to myself a few times "You know, if I were black, or even darker skinned, I probably wouldn't be walking to the store after dark." It's true, I wouldn't. That's about the closest I can get to understanding what it might be like to be black in today's social climate. I'd be afraid. I'd be pretty sure that I'd be stopped by a cop patrolling the area -- simply because of the color of my skin. How scary, and unfortunate.
