Ahmaud Arbery's death proves one thing: Race is complicated

The race issue is a complicated one, even in 2020. Ahmaud Arbery brings this truth to the forefront, reminding me that most things, excuse the pun, are not black and white -- but that's not a prerequisite for justice.

When a black man is shot by a white man, immediately, allegations of racism are hurled. Unlike some, I'm hesitant to label every tragic incident involving a black person "racism," much to the chagrin of those who never cease leveling that charge. Truth is you can try a man's deeds, but you can't try his heart, and that's where racism resides.

This is the complicated part, on which the Arbery situation shines a light.

Unless the N-word is thrown or derogatory racial comments are lobbed, how does one prove someone's isolated incident is an act of racism? Can we emphatically say every time a white person kills a black person, the white person is racist? How does one prove it? One may prove an act was reckless or criminal, and one may judge that those things necessitate justice, but how do those building a racism case, even if just for the general public, know it?

This is where people will say, "Get real! Ahmaud was a black man jogging down the street, and that was the only reason he was harassed and shot by white men." That may be true, but that still doesn't answer my question. How does one know it? Was the N-word used during the altercation? Were other derogatory race-related statements made? If not, there's no way to prove that charge. All the community accusers have is their "common sense" that race was at the center of the tragedy.

And this is exactly why I call race complicated. Even a person motivated by race may not realize he's harboring ill feelings. Do people think that Gregory and Travis McMichael, for example, believe they were out to kill a random black man? I don't know them, but my guess is that it's likely they did not. It's likely they thought they were only doing the right thing. But when it comes to race, again, it's complicated -- so complicated, in fact, that some don't even realize what's behind their own actions.

I know I'll take heat from people who don't agree with what I'm about to say and who want to put me in their box (and I refuse to be in anyone's box), but I do believe this: There are dead black people because trigger-happy white people caved to fears, insecurities and stereotypes that triggered a deadly response. They responded in a way they would not have if a white man were involved -- because that white man didn't incite that same reaction.

Arbery was a 25-year-old man jogging down a street in Georgia. No crime there. No threat. But in Gregory's and Travis McMichael's minds, Arbery was suspicious -- a burglary suspect. They felt justified in arming themselves, following him, attempting to detain him and soon killing him. Arbery was described in 911 calls as a "black guy" and a "black man running," but, again, calling someone black is not necessarily racist; it's a description. However, history does beg the question: If the man running down the street were white, would the men have found it necessary to act as they did?

People have differing opinions about "white privilege," and I don't want to debate that topic now, but I will say that even if "white privilege" does not exist, something called "black dis-privilege" may -- especially for black men. I would define that as not receiving the benefit of the doubt when someone is uncomfortable with them. And while being uncomfortable is not a crime, it sometimes leads people to react in criminal ways -- for which "I'm sorry" will never suffice; there are some things "sorry" just can't fix. As I write this, it's Mother's Day, and several times today, I've thought about and prayed for Ahmaud's mom. Man ... what she must be thinking, how she must be feeling. Her son. Jogging. Minding his business. People uncomfortable with his actions step into his space under the ridiculous notion that it's their civic duty to play superhero to stop him from what? Even the 911 dispatcher reportedly said, "I just need to know what he was doing wrong." The short answer: "nothing." Nonetheless, he's dead, and had he been white, as much as some won't see it and others won't admit it, he likely would not be.

But, again, does that prove that the McMichaels are racists? Some would insist it does. Others would say it doesn't. I declare we don't know -- because it's complicated, but I do believe their assessment of the "danger" Ahmaud posed was likely driven by their perspective about black men. So as far as I'm concerned, because we can never truly know what drives some people to do what they do -- considering it may be that they don't even know why they do what they do -- that uncertainty, that complication, cannot cloud the reality that in this case, a man was targeted, stopped, harassed, and killed -- for doing nothing wrong. You can get caught up in calling the men who did this "racist" if you want; I don't know. But what I do know is whether they are racist or were just influenced by race, they must be held responsible, and that is not complicated to figure out at all.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member.