Brief thread on Ahmaud Arbery:

Given the facts known, I think it is appropriate that the McMichael father and son pair were arrested.

My reasoning is simple: Private citizens (especially ex-cops) should be held to a high standard when taking the law into their own hands.

Go ahead and assume the worst about Arbery - assume he had just stolen a bunch of stuff from that house and was running to get away.

The McMichaels chose to escalate the situation into an armed encounter. When you introduce firearms into a situation, you own the outcome.

The McMichaels are not police. Arbery had no obligation to obey their orders. From his POV it may just be two random dudes chasing him with guns. At that point fight or flight kicks in and he chose fight. In hindsight this was the wrong choice but one can't know that at the time.

Two people who are NOT cops, - who don't identify themselves as cops - roll up on you with guns. What do you do? Stop and put your hands up? You might get shot. Run? You might get shot. Fight back? You might get shot.

This is why citizens arrests are thorny and dangerous. This isn't a game. If you decide to load up, hop in a truck and play hero you better be prepared to take responsibility for how it ends. Greater accountability lies with those who introduce firearms into a situation.

The races of the people involved is not relevant to me. Is it appropriate for private citizens to chase each other around with guns based on suspected crimes? Perhaps if we are talking about a VIOLENT crime. However Arbery was not an imminent threat to anyone in this case.

So at worst a burglary, a nonviolent situation, was needlessly escalated into a confrontation with firearms by private citizens Arbery had no obligation to obey. Escalated by people who were in no imminent danger themselves. Those people must take responsibility for the outcome.

I am endeavoring to analyze this dispassionately because there is a lot of noise in this situation. Lots of baggage. No, this isn't two clan members lynching an honors student. No, it isn't some murderous black thug stopped by hero private citizens. This is a nuanced case.

I am not going to engage in whataboutism by bringing up black crime rates or the media's obsession with these sorts of cases. Valid issues, sure, but not relevant to this case.

The question is: Was this a properly executed attempt at a citizens' arrest? I say no.

There is enough wiggle room in Georgia law to allow for an acquittal if they get a friendly jury. I am not sure a murder charge was warranted. Perhaps manslaughter would be better. I don't think the McMichaels wanted to kill Arbery. They just wanted to play hero with their guns.

In another universe it could have worked out fine. Arbery would have stopped, the police would talk to him, and everyone would go on living.

Unfortunately that's not how it went. The message to folks who want to go out and play vigilante with their guns is simple: Be careful!