oy to the vey

I have officially reached the level of "white guilt neurosis." Walking out of school this afternoon, I crossed the street in the middle of the block to get to my car, which was on the other side of the street and a little further down. As I started to cross I noticed, walking toward me, a young thugged-out black man, and even though I hadn't seen him before I started crossing the street, and even though I had to cross the street to get to my car, I seriously considered NOT walking across the street so he wouldn't take me for one of the stereotypical people affiliated with my university who cross the street to avoid contact with the neighborhood's residents. Sigh.