Hearing a Racial Slur

 Two days ago, I heard a racial slur that was not directed at me. I was a minute away from ben's house when I heard a scuffle behind me on the opposite side of the road. A teenage boy broke free and ran away, followed by two others who were his companions by the looks of it. The assailant, who may have been a shopkeeper said shouted something like, you have left your keys behind, and rounded it off with "Thieving black c*nt". I couldn't believe my ears. This was my first time witnessing a racial slur uttered in England, and it wasn't even directed at me. I was a little stunned as I stepped into Ben's house. I have no idea what to make of the incident. Who was the aggrieved party here: the racist man who was the victim of an attempted robbery or the black teenager who had been subject to a racial slur after his robbery attempt was thwarted. I do think robbery is more easy to justify than racism, especially when there are such large disparities of wealth between the races. All I know is I wouldn't like to live in an area with fraught relations between different races. I would rather live in a predominantly white area where people ignore me. Of course, there is also the privilege of being non-black. People ignore you, don't smile or say hi to you, but at least they don't see you as a threat.