Sidewalks

It has come to my attention that I've been avoiding 'street, gangsta' -type black people (subconsciously or not) on the sidewalks. It's difficult to disassociate them from my attackers, who definitely used AAVE (African American Vernacular English) - when I was down on the ground picking up my papers, one of them was saying to another, "Shoot da' nigger, Shoot da' nigger!" Walking along Shattuck Avenue today, I know I heard someone say "nigga." It only connects me back to the hold up. On the way to Tako Sushi Jeffrey and I avoided peculiar people, be they black or white and in groups or alone. I suppose this supra-awareness for the every-day people on the sidewalks is going to be with me for a while.