Ahmaud Arbery and America’s Acceptance of Suffering
A matter of life and death
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This week, Americans across the country were justifiably outraged at a newly-emerged video showing two white men murdering a young black man; Ahmaud Arbery. Even at a time where the COVID-19 pandemic can seem to crowd out all other news story, the brutality of this crime was able to capture nationwide attention.
Moreover, equally as shocking as the crime was, is the fact that the culprits had been able to walk free for over two months after committing the atrocity. In fact, if the video hadn’t emerged, the two murderers would, in all likelihood, have walked free for the rest of their adult lives, and anyone who has seen the video can attest to how sure the two criminals were that they’d never get caught. Watching the two of them is like watching white privilege personified; the confidence with which they walk, the complete lack of any visible remorse they show, the leisurely pace at which they approach the dying man. In every second of the video you can sense their acute awareness of their own privilege.
Arbery’s killing should have been a turning point in US race relations, but so should a lot of things. The killing of Trayvon Martin should have been a turning point. The killing of Tamir Rice should have been a turning point. The killing of Michael Brown should have been a turning point. A lot of things that should have been turning points weren’t. From failing to tackle police brutality, to failing to protect children against school shootings, all the way to failing to give over 20 million people healthcare, America has a rich history of allowing widespread suffering to go ignored. In spite of the inspiring activism of black activists and allies over the years, those in positions of power have long held an ambivalent view towards suffering, as long as such suffering only impacts oppressed, marginalised communities.
It is ironic that the same people who tell us there’s nothing we can do about widespread suffering are the same people who proudly boast of America’s exceptionalism
Indeed, while Arbery’s family may be about to experience some sort of justice, thousands of black families won’t; their suffering will go widely ignored — just as Arbery’s did for over two months (and would have forever if not for the emergence of the video). For every Ahmaud Arbery, whose brutal end is video-taped before going viral, there are thousands of other unfortunate black men and women who experience a very different fate. Indeed, it’s worth reflecting on what would have happened (or, more precisely, what wouldn’t have happened) if this tape hadn’t emerged. Then it’s worth thinking about how many cases there are like Arbery’s that aren’t recorded; where black families never get to experience justice.
However — as Arbery’s case shows — sympathy for black victims is never universal. Right-wing social media personality, Andy Ngo, saw the immediate aftermath of the video’s release as the perfect time to publicise the seven-year-old indictment of Mr Arbery (a move that will be unsurprising to anyone well-versed with Ngo’s work). This reflexive rush to justify a brutal act of racism will be all too familiar to anyone who followed the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and it’s aftermath. Still, it seems that America is unwilling and unready to address it’s original sin of racism.
As someone who has followed the milestone cultural battles of the last few years, the down-playing and justifying of suffering is a depressingly familiar reality. I remember after ‘Black Lives Matter’ when people denied that there was a problem with police brutality against black people — even when the evidence against this claim couldn’t be stronger. I also remember after countless school shootings when we were told that such violence was just ‘the price of freedom’ (even though plenty of other free countries have prevented such shootings).
With the benefit of hindsight, it seems as though America’s slow, insidious acceptance of suffering directly led to the current predicament; where the leader of the free world race-baits and brags about sexual assault, while separating mothers and their babies at the border. Why should we be shocked that a country which accepts cruelty as a part of life, is willing to elect such a cruel, uncaring leader?
But, the unavoidable truth of this matter is that widespread cruelty and suffering — whether demonstrated through the heartless killings of black people or the brutal murders of children at school — is not inevitable or acceptable. In fact, it is ironic that the same people who tell us that there’s nothing we can do about widespread suffering are the same people who proudly boast of America’s exceptionalism. Surely, if America is the greatest country in the world, it can do what nearly every other first world country has done, and make sure that police brutality, gun violence and, medical bankruptcies are never a ‘fact of life’ ever again.
