Encounter

I was walking downtown yesterday from POINT A to POINT B and at one cross walk I was accosted by a man. This man said hello. Of course I was wary. I was a lone woman walking down the street, granted it was broad daylight, but that never stopped people from violence before. I regarded him with caution, I said a polite hello back to him. He replyed, that I didn't have to be afraid of him and that his name was Robert. It then occured to me that I may have hurt his feelings. See even though I treated him the same way I would have any man that would have said something to me at that point, but he didn't know that. I told him that I wasn't afraid of him, I had just had a long day that was not in fact even over yet by that point. He told me he had also had a rough day sitting in a office at the State House. I did not catch why he was stuck at the State House, I was off on my way. I waved goodbye as he walked off. That of course encouraged him. He asked me if I lived here, meaning in town, I of course replied, once again as I would to anyone, no I do not live on that particular street corner. He just said that I knew what he meant. I told him that I really had to go, because I really did. I had to finish work.
It just made me wonder, when a white man stops me on the street and I regard him the same way I did with this man, they aren't the least bit insulted. Not that a lot of white men accost me on the street in this manner. However, every time a black man does this, he gets insulted, automatically assuming that the reason I was cautious was that he was black, and I am white, when the real reason, pure and simple is, he was a man, and I was a woman and I have to protect myself. However, had he come up and tried to have a conversation at a coffee shop or a restaurant when I wasn't in a hurry to get somewhere, I may have reacted differently. Honestly, the fact that he was black never even crossed my mind at the beginning of the encounter.
I don't even know if I am allowed to talk about this being white. I hope this doesn't get me in trouble here.