I just read a short little article about the protests in Jena, LA. I readily admit I know very little about this situation, and the poorly written AP article (surprise surprise) didn’t help much. I could put in a bit of effort to find out the facts of the case as they are known, but that takes out all the fun, doesn’t it?
Here’s what I garner: some black kids beat up a white kid. Some white kids hung up nooses in a tree at their high school. I’m not sure which came first.
Either way, I certainly don’t think that 6 kids beating up 1 person is equal in any way to nooses in a tree. And violence should not be condoned, even if it is to make a point about racism in America, or to stir up controversy, or make headlines. “Free the Jena Six”? Come on. They’re a bunch of angry teenagers acting like angry teenagers. Let’s not martyrize them. They are hardly poster boy material for our inadequate justice system.
An attempted murder charge against the boys who beat up the white kid does seem ever so slightly ridiculous, especially considering the victim was able to attend a school function later that evening, as the article thoughtfully points out. I’ve never had a group of people attack me, but I can imagine that if I had kids beating me up in an attempt to murder me, I wouldn’t feel much like going to a school function later on. Maybe I’m just a wuss, but still. I’d probably, I don’t know, stay at home, or maybe in my hospital bed, nursing my wounds, possibly even clinging to dear life. I’ve seen CSI. I watched that crazy group of teenagers kick the stink out of Greg, and he wasn’t attending any school function that night, no sir.
Was the original charge of attempted murder because they were black? Probably. If a bunch of white kids had beaten up a black kid would they have been charged with attempted murder? Yeah I think so. Racism is racism. If Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are on top of this now, you can sure as hell bet they’d be all over the reverse like…well like white on rice. ha.
But you shouldn’t be beating up anyone, regardless of your skin color. Maybe they’ll learn a lesson. You want to fight? one on one. That’s the way to do it. Not this 6 against 1 bullshit. Fucking pussies is what they are.
Yes, it sounds to me like it’s very much about race, from all angles, black and white, up and down, all around, over the bridge, to grandma’s house we go.
Even more so than race, though, I think this story is about the town of Jena and its very special citizens. Those white kids who hung the nooses are idiots. Those black kids who beat up the white kid are morons. And we all know that dumb is colorblind. Instead of Free the Jena Six, how about “Get Jena Some Decent Books!”
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