I know, Lisa, based on several of your comments, that you “judge” more on appearance with regard to clothing, hairstyle, tattoos, etc. than race, and I think many people do. However, for many middle-aged Whites, the gangsta image of a young Black male seems more frightening to them than the same gangsta image of a young White male. That may, in part, be based on the lack of familiarity with Black male youth on the part of some Whites and, in part, on exaggerated media hype. (I’ve learned that when in doubt, it’s usually a safe bet to blame the media for everything.) There is also the reality that young Black males disproportionately commit more crimes, particularly in urban centers. I think one of the issues is not realizing that the “scary” appearance of some young Black males is often not a very good indicator regarding their behavior. If one lives in a city like New York and has more daily contact with people of many races, not just Black and White, one begins to learn that clothes don’t make the man (or woman). As a college teacher, I work with quite an assortment of students of every conceivable race and physical appearance, and I’ve learned that appearances can be very deceiving.