The reality of vigilantism.

I have to say something extremely uncomfortable.

I fully support the arrest and prosecution of the killers of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. The video we saw contradicts a key detail of their statement and shows an unlaw attempt to kidnap a person.

That said, I have to report that most people on my side of the issue are getting key details wrong and unknowingly changing the story.

Nuance is a crime in online discussions, so I confess to believing that this was an attempt at vigilantism directed at someone who the killers had good reason to believe is a suspect in a crime. However, they did not have a standard of belief high enough to perform a citizens arrest, and they certainly didn't have enough reason to bring weapons into it. This was merely someone jogging in their neighborhood, and framing it that way isn't useful.

With self defense rights in mind, Arbery was justified in assaulting the vigilantes, for the record.

The lesson I'd like people to take away here is that this is what vigilantism looks like in the real world. It's not noble Spiderman tying up bad guys; its a lynch mob.

The last few years have seen so many public statements supporting street violence for people suspected of crimes. Well, the fair comparison is to American lynch mobs in the 20th century. About a third of lynching victims were accused of rape, and many had been tried and found not guilty.