>The hypothesis is that white New Yorkers may have more in common
>with white Middle Americans than with Black New Yorkers
So? I'm not even sure how true it is, since many of us white New Yorkers live here precisely because we don't have a lot in common with "white Middle Americans." (And there are many kinds of white Middle Americans - they're not all bellicose racists. Maybe you've met a few.) But it's not really relevant to the discussion anyway, which is about how people react when they're under physical attack.
Doug