[XD40coyote]

I think I was somewhere between yellow and orange almost all the time when I lived in Baltimore while at college, and that was with a big dog by my side. Every black male that dressed and walked a certain way would make me wary, statistically in that area of the city, this was the archetype for " criminal". For whatever reason I became territorial and being as these people were from the "other" neighborhoods, I would get mad at seeing them in "my" neighborhood, but only the ones that made me watch them by virtue of their dress and/or body language. Rarely were there suspicious behaving people of other races, and there were some black people who lived in the neighborhood, or who passed through, who did not give off the "vibe" of criminality.

All in all though, I was never a victim of any crime while living there. Between the dog, my dress and mannerisms, and my keeness, I kept safe. And it just came naturally to me, though I will accredit my parents for teaching me basic things such as looking both ways before crossing a street, not talking to strangers, etc, but most kids get taught that yet still lack common sense even as adults.

My only problem was the stress of being on constant alert, as the thugs were always in the neighborhood- and I had to walk the dog at night when the thugs really came out, plus the stress I had from living away from home, and my general distate for city living.