Exactly.
Taking sensible precautions does not mean you’re a bigot. It means you’re sensible.
I have a black friend who complained to me that people would walk to the other side of the street to avoid him. I told him I’d do the same thing if I didn’t recognize him. (He is a BIG man.) He did not like it, but I think after some explanation he was able to understand further. I asked him if he would avoid a bunch of teenagers with boomboxes who were acting rowdy vs. a quiet group behaving in a non-threatening manner. Or someone wearing low pants and a hoodie vs. someone in a business suit with a briefcase. It’s not the skin color, it’s the behavior and the potential for trouble.
Don’t go looking for trouble.
You are right. We ate dinner at a fast-food place last week on vacation, so an unfamiliar city and area to us. When we sat down, there were 4 teenagers or young men, appeared to be Hispanic, speaking to each other in Spanish. When we were done eating, I asked my husband to survey the parking lot before we went out the door. I didn’t want to be a statistic (”older couple on vacation robbed and beaten”). I guess I am deplorable.