Y'know, people who want to steal for a living usually learn very quickly how to tell if you're gonna fight back. They don't want a fight, they want your money.
If you look like you'll bolt the moment you're threatened, that's a better outcome. Better than being stabbed or shot, at least.
Sure on an intellectual level, everyone is a human being, deserves to be heard, not feared, etc, etc.
At night, in a neighborhood ridden with crime, seeing a bunch of teenagers zoom on your from across the street and starting to cross the street toward you, it is easy to re-assess some priorities.