Thereal tragedy is that racist assumptions are self-perpetuating andself-reinforcing. If young black men are treated unfairly by the justicesystem, they are indeed more likely to have arrest records — and, perhaps, toharbor resentment against police authority. They may indeed feel they havenothing to lose by exhibiting defiance. In some circumstances — and these mayinclude the streets of Ferguson — they may feel that standing up to the policeis a matter of self-respect.