Jena 6....what the crap?

[Loppfessor]

Now I usually don't post much in the political forum but I found this story to be interesting and actually quite sad for many reasons

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070920/ap_on_re_us/school_fight

First off I have had the misfortune of living in the South in Louisiana and let me say that racism is alive and well there. It's out in the open and no one tries to hide it. Let me also say that it's a two way street. The black people are every bit as racist as the white ones. I can tell you this first hand, being a light skinned Mexican I get it from both sides there.

Anyway as far as this particular story I'm not exactly sure what the black people are protesting. Are they saying it's alright to commit assault as long as you were provoked? It is not illegal to commit a crime as long as it's against a racist?? For that matter was the kid who was beaten even one of the idiots who put the nooses on the tree, or was he just a random kid who happened to be the wrong color when these guys decided to get their revenge? Bottom line, it's not okay for 6 individuals or any color to brutally beat another human being regardless of their motive and it is also not LEGAL.

Having said that it is also not right to hang a noose from a tree, but is it ILLEGAL?? If being ignorant was a crime our prisons would be even more overpopulated than they already are. At best I think those boys could've been charged with vandalism but even making that stick might be a stretch. What they did was stupid, ignorant, wrong but not exactly illegal from what I read. So why the protests then? Attempted murder was a stretch but I definitely think if 6 guys beat my child I would want them to face the consequences of their actions. I dunno that's my two cents, what do you think?

[abcdefz]

I think that part of the story that's missing is that white kids beat a black guy and basically got scolded, so when black kids beat somebody,
they got jail or something.

Basically, the school and city authorities aren't doing anything to try to temper the racism, and there's perceived inequity in how punishment
is meted out. It's fairly blatant, from what I understand.

[abcdefz]

From Newsweek:

The fight at the school followed highly charged racial incidents that started last September when white students placed three
hangman's nooses in what was known as "the white tree" at Jena High School. Black parents wanted the white students expelled,
but Superintendent Roy Breithaupt, who also is white, suspended them for three days, calling the nooses a prank.

Racial disturbances followed, starting in late November. White partygoers attacked a black student in one clash but were not
charged, according to police statements. The next day, the same black student and some friends spotted one of his attackers
and, they said, chased him. The students told police that the white student pulled an unloaded shotgun but they wrested
it away. The student who pulled the weapon was not charged. But police arrested the students who took it on theft charges.

[King PSYZ]

Yeah for the most part (there's always some clueless sheep in protests) the people there are there because of the complete lopsidedness of the entire situation.

White kids beat black kids to a pulp and get a talking to, black kids beat up white kids and get attempted murder charges. White kids pull a shotgun and nothing happens, black kids wrestle said weapon away in self defense mode and get charged with theft.

It's pretty straight forward, Jena is an ass backwards town, and because of this have placed themselves under the large watchfull eye of the entire world.

[abcdefz]

^
Succinct (y)

Yeah, you said it much better than I did.

The charges have been dropped, actually -- the kid should have gone to court as a minor, I guess -- but they decided to have the protest anyway.

[Loppfessor]

Thanks for all the additional info a-z.....sheds a whole new light on the situation. It's sad that shit like this is still going on in America today. Louisiana is a shithole and I would suggest never visiting it if you can avoid it

[King PSYZ]

I get the feeling that the charges would have stood if nobody outside of Jena learned of the case.

The protest continuing on only helped to solidify what should have happened from day one. The only reason they remain now breaks down into a handful of catergories:

1) Attention Whores looking for every ounce of self promotion and ego flaggellation they can muster.

2) Sheep who don't know what to do next.

3) Those who understood that while the kids involved did something wrong, they don't want to see them slighted in the courts or lynched on release.

[abcdefz]

Now they've arrested an intoxicated 18 year old and his 16 year old passenger for driving in front of a protest with two nooses (one, an
extension cord) tied to the back of their pickup truck. Supposedly the driver is from a KKK family, he says.

[Loppfessor]

I get the feeling that the charges would have stood if nobody outside of Jena learned of the case.

The protest continuing on only helped to solidify what should have happened from day one. The only reason they remain now breaks down into a handful of catergories:

1) Attention Whores looking for every ounce of self promotion and ego flaggellation they can muster.



Bingo....I"m sorry but anything Al Sharpton gets involved with loses credibility immediately with me

[abcdefz]

Bingo....I"m sorry but anything Al Sharpton gets involved with loses credibility immediately with me



How about Jesse Jackson? :D

[silence7]

We had a lot of racial stuff go down back when I was in high school, and having friends on both sides kept me out of trouble. Meanwhile it seemed everyone around me was either beating people up or getting beat up. They called in the riot cops on more than one occasion.

I really have no tolerance for people who can hate an entire race for the few of that race who are stupid. I hate at least one person from every race, but I can't let that taint my feelings for that entire race..

And then there are the leeches who come out of the woodwork and go on all the talk shows (You know who they are) speaking as if they are the chosen spokespeople for an entire race. Self appointed spokespeople, These people are the ones I really cannot stand, they only seem to stir the fire. I have absolutely no proof, but it seems like they're only on T.V. to further their careers and keep the story in the news for as long as they can, until the next big story breaks, then they seem to forget all about the previous one..

It's obvious from the little coverage I've seen and heard on this story that something is lopsided in this town and now the whole town seems to be playing a giant game of tit-for-tat....

I really hope they get this sorted out soon, and those who did wrong get punished, black, white, brown, or otherwise.

S7

[Loppfessor]

I really have no tolerance for people who can hate an entire race for the few of that race who are stupid. I hate at least one person from every race, but I can't let that taint my feelings for that entire race..




That's probably the most honest intelligent thing I"ve read on here in a very very long time. I agree 100%

[JobDDT]

Jena 6 is an absolute joke. They're protesting for a bunch of thugs who assaulted an innocent man. Didn't Martin Luther King Jr. stand for non-violence? Their motto, "Free the Jena 6," pretty much says they don't want any of the boys to face any penalties whatsoever.

Look at this:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OAZQlgPO8qc

Robert Bailey Jr., one of the attackers, is seen here posing with $100 bills, putting them in his mouth and rolling around in them. All donations by people who are fighting for the wrong misguided men.

But that is making NO NEWS. They refuse to print it because it doesn't go along with their angle, or they might be accused of racism. I'm in the industry, I know how it works.

Too bad every white person on the planet can't gather at Duke University and picket for the rape case victims.

[Jasonik]

MODERN CIVIL RIGHTS: Which one is worth marching for? (http://www.gocomics.com/rallcom/2007/09/27/)
Ted Rall 9-27-07

[JohnnyChavello]

Robert Bailey Jr., one of the attackers, is seen here posing with $100 bills, putting them in his mouth and rolling around in them. All donations by people who are fighting for the wrong misguided men.

But that is making NO NEWS. They refuse to print it because it doesn't go along with their angle, or they might be accused of racism. I'm in the industry, I know how it works.

Do you really think any of that money was taken from his legal defense fund? If so, what evidence do you have to back that up? People aren't depositing donations into his personal checking account.

OK, some young black men like to pose with wads of cash. Is it dumb and kind of crass? Yes. Is it any different than young white kids taking pictures of themselves on the vacation they took in St. Bart's on their daddy's dime and posting them on Facebook, or posing in pictures with their brand new e-friendly Lexus SUV hybrid, or flashing their new iPhones at every possible moment? It's a cultural thing. Those pictures aren't making news because they aren't relevant to the issue.