Crime statistics, the whole “thug life” attitude projected by black youth, the street ‘poetry’ of rap music that espouses hate/rage/anger, and, sadly now, even the Sunday sermonizing that is supposed to spiritually equip an individual for overcoming all these “lusts of the flesh”—all of this tells, not the typical “white” person, but the typical person, walk on the other side of the street, avoid that mall after 8pm, don’t make eye-contact, etc.
Obama, in talking about racism, conveniently skips over this little item. His grandmother didn’t fear that black man because of her racist attitudes. Her race-conscious antennae were up and working because of the reaction of too, too many blacks to the issue of racism. Her purse-clutching may have been a wrong response to that particular individual (would like to know the context—was it any time around the mid 60’s when some of America’s cities were on fire as a result of riots?), but, given today’s climate to not take certain “precautions” would be akin to a soldier patrolling the streets of Iraq expecting calm and peace. It might happen, but you don’t count on it.
Obama is saying that the "typical white person" is fearful. History is full of this--the Athenians at Marathon, the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, Columbus, Magellan, Drake, the defenders of the Alamao, Pickett's men, the invaders of Normandy in 1944...the list could go on and on. So many fearful white people.