Racism: 0, Demeanorism: 1

Racism just lost another point in the Great Internal Battle Created By A Life In America No Matter How Absurd I Know It Is Or PC The Community That Raised Me Considers Itself To Be.

There was a man sitting in a car on my corner.

There are frequently people sitting in cars on my corner, and thanks to the building across the street from me, these car sitters usually have something to do with the drug-dealing and generally terrible management of that building across the street from me. Some days I imagine the people are police or otherwise government-affiliated and watching the building for evidence. Some days I imagine they are involved in the dealing of drugs (how often does one family do its laundry? it's a big family and the kids come, but two days in a row seems more hassle than would make sense and they spend a lot of time in the car...). At least one registered sex offender (victim under the age of 10) lives in the building. I want to kidnap all the children living there.

And tonight, as I walked my dog, there was a man sitting in a car on the corner. My first instinct was that he was waiting for someone in my building. I thought about asking him if he wanted me to buzz somebody for him. Then I stopped and thought, ack! I can't do that! What if he's waiting for the drug building!
Moments later my neighbor from my building walked out and got into the man's car as my dog and I went back through our gate. I felt infinitely smart and instinctual.

Punchline, ladies and gentlemen: the man in the car tonight was (and probably still is) black. But he looked like he was supposed to be there, no sketchiness attached. After 27 years of the United States of Quietly Cultivated Racism, it's at least one point for Good that I could see a black man doing something usually associated with sketchiness and follow his demeanor instead of his skin tone when making my snap judgments.