Spur of the moment decisions can yield the best experience of your life or the absolute worst.

It tends to work in my favor, however, with the most recent being my trip to Baton Rogue, La., in 2014.

The final Alabama-LSU game of undergrad came and the decision was tossed and blended in my mind the week leading to it. So much so, that I developed the courage to make the trip that Thursday and left the next day.

Upon arriving at a friend’s house, we changed clothes and prepared ourselves for a night on the town at City Bar. While out, there was peaceful excitement in the air for the game and the energy in the city was positive.

Waking up on Saturday refreshed and donned in a crimson pullover, I went to the mall where everything felt normal compared to the overtly ice-cold glances received in Tuscaloosa.

Even the tailgating scene was incredible with general hospitality among strangers and rivals. What was truly amazing was to see LSU’s chapters of historically black Greek letter organizations integrate races peacefully, without making national headlines, as did Alabama’s Greek system the year prior.

I struck up a conversation with an LSU student and simply explained the racial differences between the schools as: Alabama is simply desegregated, while LSU is integrated.

I carried this memory of Baton Rouge, as the event that sparked last week’s protests became a quick and easy way to dispel a larger issue.

Over the weekend, images of the protests in Baton Rogue surfaced on Twitter and Instagram to reveal the war zone the city has become as citizens exercise their right to peaceful assembly.

In my experience with police, the Vicksburg Police Department has been fair, understanding and straightforward. I don’t fear injustice or unnecessary brute force during a routine traffic stop.

The department is easy to talk to and chief Walter Armstrong is always willing to provide a firm handshake and a smile when greeted in public.

The country is in a state of unrest unmatched in magnitude since the Civil Rights Movement. It’s too easy to generalize all policemen or blacks with a broad brush due to outdated southern ideologies, but right now is the time for understanding.

Dialogue must be had with those who look different than you to fully gain a respect and appreciation for people who are misrepresented by images on the Internet and the cold hard facts about race in America.

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Alexander Swatson is a sports writer for The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at alex.swatson@vicksburgpost.com