I periodically explain to people that most (almost all) of the shootings in Chicago are gang-related, and involve factions of criminals competing for turf.
Mostly they kill each other. But sometimes they kill innocent people who they mistakenly think are competitors. And sometimes they don't shoot so well, and a stray bullet kills... a 2 year old girl, for example.
I may then mention that it's relatively safe for me in those neighborhoods, because I will not be mistaken for a member of a competing gang. Why? Well, I don't fit the profile. Sixty year old white men are not generally involved in these affairs. The greatest gang-warfare-threat to someone like me is the stray bullet problem, also known as the poor aim problem.
And then today it occurred to me, I am benefiting from profiling.
Because I don't look like I'm in a gang,
they're far less likely to go bang-bang.
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