Hey, I think I read the same websites as you. The ones with the yellow text on the beige backgrounds, the dubious findings backed up by unsupported claims. Yeah, those. I'd like to see a REAL statistical study backing up that number. Seeing as there are a LOT more white people to commit crimes against in this country than there are black people to commit crimes against, some kind of skew is indeed likely. I think that concluding that, therefore, black men are more dangerous than white men is ridiculous. The very large majority of criminals in this country is white, despite arrest statistics. After all, there are a lot more white people. Not a racist? Of course you're a racist, if you're part of a system that lets you believe that someone's skin color makes them inherently more threatening than someone else, that racial profiling is a reliable way to tell criminals from innocents, and a system that lets you honestly believe that you, the one with the power of the institution on your side, are being persecuted against when you are told that racial profiling is unacceptable and inaccurate. Maybe you don't think like a racist, but you (and anyone else here who is white in the United States, including me) are part of a racist system. The solution is to try and change your attitudes, not boast about them.

I think commuting safety is about your attitude as much as about what you carry. Thinking that you need to watch out for a bunch of black guys will blind to the many more dangerous white guys out there. Carrying pepper spray can make you feel more powerful and safe than it actually makes you. By all means, carry it - dogs can run FAST, and if they won't listen to a "STOP!" or other loud verbal command, then there isn't much else you can do. I myself have never had a problem with dogs, but I don't have extensive commuting experience yet.

Safety against people, however, has a lot more to do with your attitude and posture. Not looking like a target is the biggest thing. That doesn't mean not stopping at lights - not stopping at lights because you're worried about being a target is considerably more dangerous, in my opinion, than stopping. Fear makes you a target, not lack of speed.

And you know, if I were black and hanging out with my friends and I saw some white jerk on his bike give us a wide berth just because we were black - I think I would WANT to beat him up. Maybe it's better to think about unintended consequences of not giving people the respect (and the benefit of the doubt) that they deserve than to worry about the color of someone's skin versus your own.