Many of us have been discussing this issue on various blogs for a few days now, and I believe it's time for me to join the group and start talking about this as well. I realize that I am in the minority, but it seems that I have been unable to get my position across accurately. In no way am I claiming there isn't a significant problem with racism in Jena. That is truly sad in today's America that racism still exists and even thrives in so many small towns across our nation.
But keeping the focus on Jena, the entire issue boiled over last year when two black high school students sat under the "whites only" tree on the Jena High School campus. White students responded by hanging nooses from the tree. When black students held a silent "sit in" protest, the District Attorney was called in to directly address black students at the school and told them all he could "end their life with a stroke of the pen." This resulted in several cases of racial violence and threats against black students. In the days that followed, when a white student was beaten unconcious for allegedly calling several black students racial slurs, the six black students were charged with attempted murder.
And there it is in a nutshell. People from all over the country have filled the streets of Jena in Louisiana demanding "justice" for the Jena 6 and that they be released. And this is what I have a problem with. Was what happened in Jena a racist issue? Yes, of course it was. Hanging the nooses from that tree was a horrible racist prank that went overboard. Yet that blatant display of racism does not excuse the actions of these six students who beat this other student unconscious.
I simply do not buy into the claims that these black students are saying that the noose meant “We’re going to kill you, you're going to die.” Instead, I believe the white students intended to send the racist message “This is not the place for you to sit. This is not your damn tree. Do not sit here."
Getting back to my point, these protests and rallys calling for justice for the "Jena 6" are misguided. Justice for the Jena 6 would land these kids in jail for assault, battery, and possibly attempted murder. There is no debate on whether they beat this kid or not. On the other hand, if these protesters wanted real justice they would instead be demanding an investigation into whether or not the white students also committed any crimes, and for their prosecution if they had. There is a story circulating that in the days before the beating that a white student pulled a gun on a group of black students at a gas station. The black students wrestled the gun away and reported the incident to police. Yet they were charged with assault and robbery of the gun. If that is true, then this white student should be prosecuted just as fiercely as the Jena 6 and the charges against these particular black kids dropped. But in court documents in the pre-trial hearings for one of the Jena 6 the testimony of this event reads like this "I drove up to the Gotta Go and started to walk in the store and saw three black males and one hollered 'we've got action'. I saw them running after me so I turned and sprinted to my truck and then got my gun out. RB, RS, and TS were wrestling for the gun. After wrestling the gun away, hitting me in the face, they ran behind the store. AC & the Gotta Go owners saw." It would be interesting if security cameras would support one side or the other.
In conclusion, does Jena have a problem with racism? Of course it does. A bad one. But the best way to fight racism is to prosecute all crimes fairly and evenly. Justice should be blind to all color and ethnicity. However in this case with the evidence I have seen, so far I believe it has been. The prosecutor said Wednesday that race had nothing to do with the charges. He said he didn’t charge the white students accused of hanging the nooses because he could find no Louisiana law under which they could be charged. (If there was a law then by all means prosecute those kids.) Yet in the beating case, he said, four of the defendants were of adult age under Louisiana law and the only juvenile charged as an adult, Mychal Bell, had a prior criminal record.
“It is not and never has been about race,” the prosecutor said. “It is about finding justice for an innocent victim and holding people accountable for their actions.”
The sad truth is the white students broke no law that they could be prosecuted for when they hung the nooses from that tree in their school colors. It was clearly wrong to do so - but it wasn't criminal. On the other hand, what the Jena 6 did was. They should be punished for their crimes with no regard to race or ethnicity. And I'm not the only one who believes so. Martin Luther King III, son of the slain civil rights leader said punishment of some sort may be in order for the six defendants. He, like his father, is a great man and a leader of civil rights. And he realizes that the likes of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, while fighting the good fight on racism are choosing losing battles. A perfect example of this is how Jesse Jackson paid the college tuition of the false accuser in the Duke Lacrosse scandal.
The bottom line is that racism remains a serious issue in this country. One that many of us are afraid to talk about or face. And we need to do something about it. But granting amnesty for brutal crimes isn't the answer. We need to learn tolerance. At the same time we need to fix the laws if they are broken while shying away from labeling them "hate crimes" laws. We need to prosecute crimes fairly, but we must prosecute. Assault is assault. Battery is battery. And that doesn't change no matter the skin color.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
I am not familiar with the laws in Jena, LA. BUT in IL, it IS a criminal to paint swastikas, or similar threatening "hate speech/symbols." Joe, if someone were to paint a swastika on your garage would you feel threatened? Yes. Perhaps not enough to go beat up someone NOW, but maybe if you were of the maturity level of a teenager you might. But in IL, it is more likely that the tables would be turned - and such cases have happened. For example, the law here (often using federal resources/agencies) vigorously tracks and pursues the goings-on of white-supremacist groups.Leaders associated with white supremacist groups end up in prison(like Matthew Hale.) In LA, they elect such guys to office! (David Duke.)
But I do understand your point, and yet, it is naive to think that those in the legal/justice system in Jena pursued "justice"; they pursued power and status quo.
My point here is that in MANY jurisdictions in the country, the noose hanging would be considered a hate crime and would be pursued as such, especially with media outlets to support such prosecutions. I think the large problem protesters have is the vast inequities and inconsistencies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in this country that in certain circumstances maintain cultural forces that the rest of the country has largely abandoned years ago. At least, that's my take on it.
Brandy, I get what you are saying, but this was not the work of organized hate groups. This was a high school prank pulled off by a few kids.
As for your swastika analogy, of course I would be angry. But that wouldn't justify me beating up someone unrelated to that incident, would it?
To your next point, part of the is that instead of dealing with these issues directly, we fight them in the media. And once the media asks the question "Is race an issue?" then the answer must be "Well, I guess it is now."
Finally, let me toss the ball back in your court. Nobody here is denying what happened in Jena was racism, plain and simple. But I challenge you to prove what the District Attorney could have done if at the time no laws were broken by the white kids?
Again, I would absolutely agree that if a law was broken, then charge the other kids too. But unfortunately that wasn't the case.
You are right in that we do have deep rooted issues in the South that need to be healed. All I am saying is that I simply don't see THIS CASE doing anything but making things worse no matter how it plays out. Letting the black kids walk for their crimes is wrong. But so is charging the white ones when they didn't break a law. At the end of the day people are going to be more upset at the outcome than they are now.
It's called INTIMIDATION, Joe.
And using intimidation IS illegal.
I am really really irritated that you insist on calling the noose hangings a prank.
And it's thoughts like tht "oh kids will be kids" that alows this kind of BS to continue.
And I have to stop responding to this topic because I'm seeing a side of people I don't like.
RaeJane, you've missed my point entirely. Intimidation is NOT always illegal. It's used in sports, it's used at work, it's used in schools, and it's used at home. We can't make something illegal just because we really want it to be, or that it SHOULD be but isn't. We can pass new laws to make sure stuff doesn't happen again, but we cannot apply them retroactively.
I want you to know that I really do respect your opinion here, but I never once said "kids would be kids". From the very beginning I have called this a horrible case of racism. There is no denying that, and there is no sugar coating that. And don't get me wrong, I am in no way, shape, or form defending the actions of those hanging the noose. In fact I agree with you completely that this whole situation SUCKS.
All I am doing here is stating my opinion on how I think it is going to PLAY OUT, not how I feel about it personally. I hope you can see the difference.
I get your point Joe, and I don't disagree WITH the idea that if a crime is committed - no matter the reason or motivation - it should be prosecuted. I do agree.
My point is that people are so incensed about this because in certain parts of the country even a "prank" like the noose hanging IS ILLEGAL, in Jena apparently it is not OR if there are hate crime laws on the books, no one followed-through on it so that makes things even more obvious in their quasi-political motivation.
My analogy about the swastikas is unlike a grown-up such as you (or me or whoever...), kids do not have either the means/power/money/maturity to experience that type of affront and then follow-through with any action to defend themselves as an adult would, such as hire an attorney and sue, hire a detective, hire a security company/system. As adults, we are expected to, under MOST circumstances, not retaliate with physical force. I am not defending violence but I do understand how a child (even as old as a teen) would react without pause in such a way.
The problem was that the school principal wanted to expel the students who hung the noose. But the school board voted to overturn that expulsion. The kids then received a couple of days of in school suspension. Following the sit-in to protest the decision by the school board, the DA threatened the Black students. So, the points and counterpoints about the noose are moot.
At the convenience store, the black students wrestled the gun away from the white boy and then reported him to the police. The boy wasn't charged with having a loaded weapon in his vehicle, or aiming it at anyone, but the black youths were charged. How does that make sense?
In the days and weeks leading up to the fight, the black students were continuously harassed for the tree incident. They were harassed outside of school as well as in school. One boy was invited to a party at an establishment that was considered "whites only" and received a beat down as soon as he walked in the door. Why were no charges filed against the students who beat him up?
In the days that followed, when a white student was beaten unconcious for allegedly calling several black students racial slurs, the six black students were charged with attempted murder.
Justin Barker was beaten, yes. But he was not beaten so severely as to miss a school function that night. No bones were broken, he didn't receive a concussion, etc. In fact, he made it to that function.
They should indeed be tried as juveniles for fighting. But NOT for attempted murder as adults. Mycal Bell was facing 22 years in prison for that fight. Justin Barker got zero days suspension for bringing a loaded shotgun to school.
The Jena Six controversy isn't about the fact that Black kids are charged and punished. It's about the disparity of justice which seems to run down racial lines in Jena. One kid pulls a gun and receives no punishment while a young man would be sentenced to 22 years in prison because he participated in a fight. One kid gets beaten up and his assailants receive nothing while another kid gets beaten up and his assailant are tried for attempted murder.
It's the disparity that's the injustice here.
Brandy101 said just what I was thinking - Jena, LA should have a law that makes it illegal to hang nooses in the tree to intimidate blacks. That is a hate crime. But apparently not in Jena.
And Jennyjinx does a good job of explaining where the inequities are in the situation. I don't think it's as cut and dried as you made it sound; if it were, I would agree with you. But there is more to it than that.
Post a Comment