modriano says>After heading on, I ignorantly wondered what that was about as there was no legal basis for it, and my friend asked if I seriously didn't see that

modriano says>After heading on, I ignorantly wondered what that was about as there was no legal basis for it, and my friend asked if I seriously didn't see that the cop just thought it was strange and possibly a sign of trouble/distress that me, a bookish white young man was driving with a Black young man. I couldn't see that in the moment, but in retrospect it was obvious.< But it was not obvious! There are many alternative explanations for what happened. I suggest that you create a list of alternative explanations as an exercise; there are an infinite number of them. This will allow you to admit that you really do not know why the police officer stopped you! You accept your friend's explanation as if it were the only one that makes sense! Consequently everything that follows from your friend's explanation is likely flawed. I would ask that you reconsider and learn to leave final explanations indefinite. Part of life is not knowing. I see futile efforts by people trying to understand others all the time. They concoct explanations that shatter under the slightest scrutiny. Even the brightest people fall prey to the belief they can explain others' actions w/o at least asking that person (sometimes worthwhile, but also often misleading!). Wrong and/or unsupported explanations are assumptions and have an effect: they fix thinking along a path that is likely wrong. Learning to live with "I don't know." will allow you to think more clearly without incorrect assumptions and also more clearly reveal the limits of your knowledge, showing it to be far more limited than one might wish to admit. "When you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME!" - unknown