I was going to write on this myself but Maclolm has it down over at his blog. Read it here. I may also point out that Malcolm is an African American. I am still in shock over this story. If you have not been following it just let me ask you this one question:
Which of these two things disturbs you more:
1) Three white college guys putting nooses on the limb of a tree at the college campus to indicate that its a "Whites only" tree to sit under
or
2) A black college guy beating up one of the above guys for doing it. (5 other black guys joined in and stomped on the white guy, but that's after the fact). The white guy was taken to the hospital, released and went out that night.
This happened recently not in the 1950s.
Here's the kicker: One of the men, Mychal Bell, is being tried as an adult in this case (2nd degree battery) and even though the case has been dismissed he is still in jail.
David Bowie donated $10,000 to his legal defense fund.
I know there are more "facts" to this case but its appalling that someone would do such a thing as hang nooses on a tree limb and not be PUNISHED severely for it. That is a hate crime if I ever saw one.
I guess I live a sheltered life here in CA because I don't see racism very often, apparently it's alive and well in the South.
7 comments:
the world is definitely tilted. as far as i'm concerned, they all should be charged, whether black or white. both did wrong. end of story. yeah, this is disturbing.
#2 is definitely the worst. I hope the kid gets locked away ... his 5 trash buddies better see some time in the slammer too.
Don't be mistaken, it's not just in the South; it's alive and "well" all over this country; the South is just more famous for it, for the lack of a better term. As far as the "Jena 6" are concerned, there is nothing surprising about this whole situation, but unfortunately, no matter how many people protest and rail against the court system in Louisiana, it won't change the outcome, IMO.
Well this has been an eye-opener for me. I know racism does exist everywhere, but honestly, I personally don't come in contact with it much here. I did when I was a child, my best friend was black and people would say the most horrible things to us (we were little girls under age 10!)
Obviously anon. has an issue with this subject.
I don't mean to sound naive. I know racism exists and it a prevailing problem in the US and other countries.
Barb... thanks for linking to my blog. When I first heard about this story last month, the cynic in me was only slightly surprised. As Coco said, all of the high schoolers involved were wrong. Although I am not condoning violence, I think I can understand the mentality of the Jena 6. They (along with other blacks who live in Jena) probably face racism on a regular basis. Although we don't know exactly what Justin Barker (the white victim) said to provoke the attack, it may have been the proverbial straw to break the camel's back.
The hanging of the nooses by the 3 white high schoolers was repulsive in and of itself. However, the school superintendent's dismissal of the act as an adolescent prank and the fact that the students weren't charged with a hate crime is inexcusable.
In one of his speeches, the man I was named after said that as long as you are South of the Canadian border, you are South. As a black man in the U.S., I have encountered racism on numerous occasions. As a result, I think it has made me able to sniff it out...even when it's subtle. My guess is that it's comparable to what women may experience in regards to sexism.
I would say number 1 is worse because if it weren't for number 1 number 2 would have never happened. It's disgusting that someone would actually go and do that, and it is so ridiculously disrespectful. In all honesty I think those kids had every right to beat the white kid up.
I agree with the sentiment that they are all out of line. I also believe that dismissing the noose thing as a "prank" was blatantly callous and disrespectful.
We humans love to hate each other, don't we? I have no patience or tolerance for this display of rampant ignorance. Makes me sick...
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