re: Are you feeling a little uneasy out in public?

In general, no. In fact, I have found white and black people to be MORE friendly to one another in the times I have been out in public over the last few weeks.

The only instance of uneasiness I encountered was at the grocery store yesterday. As I was grabbing my cart, a black guy dressed in camo pants. military style boots, and a tight Under Armour shirt walked up at the same time and stared me down. It seemed a bit strange, but I didn't think much of it. I go into the store and am cruising around the produce section. I'm looking at the apples and notice that my cart might be too much in the way of other shoppers. I turn to move it and the same guy is still staring me down. Eventually I went on to other aisles. However, about 20 minutes later I look back at the produce section (from the other end of the store) and see that the same guy is still there, walking slowly and just kind of staring angrily at people. He had like 3 things in his cart, so it isn't as if he was loading up on fruits and veggies.

Ultimately nothing happened, but it was just an odd situation

quote:

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paying more attention to my surroundings watching each persons actions.




I always do this

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I can tell you the license plates of all six cars outside. I can tell you our waitress is left handed and that the guy sitting at the bar weighs 215 lbs and can handle himself. I know the best place to look for a gun is in the cab of the grey truck outside. And at this altitude, I can run flat out for half a mile before my hands start shaking.

I'm not uneasy. Tragedies like yesterday's shootings are still rare in this country, thankfully. But I have been more coginzant of people around me. I'm trying to make a point of smiling and saying hello, perhaps having a conversation with a stranger. Who knows, maybe if we all try to make a connection, no matter how small, we can prevent the next tragedy.