I've had exactly one negative experience on the Green line, as I was coming home to my apartment 62nd street - a group of young men surrounded me and tried to i

I've had exactly one negative experience on the Green line, as I was coming home to my apartment 62nd street - a group of young men surrounded me and tried to intimidate me, clearly a casual pastime for them. I stood my ground, acted like an adult, and they left me alone. Yes, I lived on the South Side, and yes, I am white. Chicago has a storied history with racism, with many ongoing issues. But there are people constantly, constantly working on those issues - wonderful people of all races who really, really care. And things are improving. Even the University has stopped its (abhorrent) previous practice of parachute research. They've started to realize that if they'd like to keep that shiny ranking of theirs, they need to really invest in uplifting their surrounding community. Van Dyke was convicted of murder - that would have never happened in Chicago of old! As for your most memorable attack, I have a counter, but from San Francisco. A (white) homeless man lunged from his spot on the sidewalk, got within a millimeter of my skull (I could feel his hot breath in my hair) and yelled "F*CK YOU!!" over and over again. It was a busy street and no one stepped in to this man towering over me. No one here cares. The homeless throw feces at tourists (I've seen it) and attempt to punch passerby (sometimes with success). No one cares. You want to talk about deplorable behavior bred out of poverty? Come to San Francisco and walk down Golden Gate and Market. I've never seen anything like this in Chicago.