Yesterday morning I was out for a walk with my sister. We were moving slowly, chatting and enjoying the warm sun and the soft quiet of the countryside. A lady in a red car turned into the driveway of a house while a black cat was sneaking out. Then, the cat pivoted abruptly and rushed back through the automatic gate while it was closing.
It all happened instantly; the cat got trapped between the gate and a pilar; the lady blocked the gate midway with the cat screaming.
I immediately bolted to the scene to help the cat.
I just wanted to do something to unstuck him, but I probably was just another danger for him, trapped, scared and in pain. So, he hissed, trying to scratch and bite me when I went close. Luckily, I manage to get him out with only a few scratches on my arm.
In the afternoon, I was driving towards a nearby town. I was late and with an annoying headache. I was trying to move as fast as possible while staying just above the limits. While coming out of a roundabout, a big black SUV cut me off and sprinted away, only to get stuck behind a truck at the following roundabout. In my head, I made some witty remarks about the driver. A few hundred metres later, the car entered the hospital car park. And I felt a bit ashamed. Maybe, it was an emergency or maybe not. I don't know.
How quickly we make assumptions about others' behaviours based on our emotional state and biases.