Posted on 09/27/2007 4:01:28 PM PDT by forty_years
Six black teens beat up a white kid in Jena, Louisiana, and Al Sharpton hails it as "the start of the 21st century civil rights movement." The white teen who was assaulted had nothing to do with the hoo-ha. Some 18,000 "protesters" swarmed Jena demanding that the black teens, the so-called "Jena 6," be released from custody -- for beating up an innocent bystander. This is not justice. This is no civil rights movement. This is the culture of victimization, avoiding its own problems and projecting them on others. How did it all get started?
...The "Jena 6" story began in August 2006 when a black student sat beneath a tree where white students usually sit outside Jena, Louisiana's high school. The next day, nooses were hung from the tree. Some of the white students called it a prank. Then in December, six black students beat up a white student during a schoolyard brawl. That led to criminal charges against the six. ...
I can certainly understand why nooses would upset people. They are a very ugly symbol of what happened to black people during part of our nation's history. But many of us have worked to change that history and build a present and future of freedom and equality.
Martin Luther King Jr. did not teach vigilantism. Do these "protesters" even know what MLK stood for? To compare the Jena 6 to heroes like Rosa Parks verges on blasphemy.
The protesters demand that criminals who beat up a bystander be set free without punishment. This is a demand for preferential treatment -- a playing of the race card, nothing more. I don't trust the rabble-rousing of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, but I do trust Donald Washington, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana:
...There is no link between the nooses hung by white students outside a Louisiana high school and the alleged beating of a white student by black teens ...The events occurred three months apart last year in Jena, Louisiana.
"A lot of things happened between the noose hanging and the fight occurring, and we have arrived at the conclusion that the fight itself had no connection," he said. ...
Here's what has happened on the legal front regarding the white and black students in Jena:
...Many said they are angry the six black students, dubbed the "Jena 6," are being treated more harshly than the white students who hung the nooses. The white students were suspended from school but did not face criminal charges. The protesters argue they should have been charged with a hate crime. The black students face charges of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy in the schoolyard beating. ...
Whether we like it or not, hanging nooses seems to fall into the category of free speech. After all, Columbia University just courteously welcomed Iranian President Ahmadinejad, even though he's called the Holocaust a "myth" and advocated that Israel be "wiped off the map." Ahmadinejad's government sponsors terrorism and routinely tortures and executes its own people. How would these "protesters" react if some high-profile politician demanded that Africa be wiped off the map, or that the Rwanda genocide be censored from history books?
If the white kids with nooses did violate a hate crime, then they should be prosecuted. I won't protest. If the Jena 6 criminals are released because of special interest pressure, then that would be a miscarriage of justice. It would be a slap in the face to all who worked so hard in America's true civil rights movement.
The energies of African Americans would be better spent in addressing their own problems: rampant internecine violence, a popularized "gangsta" culture, and too much uninformed political correctness. Black America -- all of America -- should be listening to the voices of people like Oprah, Bill Cosby, and Juan Williams:
...Williams is the author of a number of books, the most recent of which is "Enough: The Phony Leader, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America--and What We Can Do About It." In the book, Williams makes the case that while there is still racism, it is way past time for black Americans to open their eyes to the "culture of failure" that exists within their community. ...
See related:
Reading those eyewitness statements makes you realize how vicious and evil this attack really was.
I don’t remember it being that bad growing up. Sure we all had accents but my classmates could write well. It’s scary thinking those kids and their equally illiterate peers across the land are the future leaders.
I didn’t know that one stood on his head while the others kicked him. This was an ambush and the DA was right to charge them with the attempted murder because it was premeditated. The only reason he wasn’t injured worse was because some of the other students getting involved.
Frankly, it's extreme historical ignorance combined with outright stupidity. The community of the Culture of Victimization is loaded with both.
In public or in private?
Mychael Bell struck him from behind, and then the other 5 students joined in.
The District Attorney of Jena wrote an opinion column on this for the New York Times.
From what I have read, all of what happened surrounds the black student Robert Bailey, Jr.
TimelineNovember 30, 2006 - a fire is put at the Jena High School. It is found to be arson (deliberately set).
December 1, 2006 - there is a party at a private house where Robert Bailey, Jr. tries to enter. There are blacks inside at the party, but Bailey is a personna non grata.
December 2, 2006 - three blacks are involved in an altercation with a white at the Gotta-Go Grocery store. The white person tries to get a shotgun from his truck, but that is taken away from him. The blacks are charged with stealing the gun. Robert Bailey, Jr. is one of the three.
Sunday, December 3, 2006 - nothing of consequence in the town.
Monday, December 4, 2006 - this is the first day of school after the arson - the first day of classes after the fire at the school. Just after the lunch period, Mychael Bell attacks a white student along with the others that comprise the Jena 6. One of the Jena 6 is Robert Bailey, Jr.
The incident with the nooses occurred in September. There are no incidents during the football season, where the football team has both white and black players...
One of the factors in the charging of the Jena 6 is that Mychael Bell had some prior arrests...
I was aware of it from other sources, but I wasn't sure how reputable those sources were. Information like this needs to get out to the public. Problem is, by now, most people have made up their minds that this kid deserved it...thanks to the scumbag media.
This was an ambush and the DA was right to charge them with the attempted murder because it was premeditated. The only reason he wasn’t injured worse was because some of the other students getting involved.
I agree with both of your points.
If this had been white kids who attacked a black student in this manner, I would have no sympathy for them whatsoever. In fact, people like this should be removed from society for good. That may sound a little harsh, but unconscionable brutality such as this can not be tolerated. Period.
I think it's absolutely disgusting that people are profiting from this heinous crime. I think it's even more disgusting that people are turning a blind eye.
Excerpt:
"Black students were assaulted at white parties. A white man drew a loaded rifle on three black teens at a local convenience store. (They wrestled it from him and ran away.) Someone tried to burn down the school, and on December 4th, a fight broke out that led to six black students being charged with attempted murder."
Another:
"Keep in mind that when one of Mychal Bell's friends (one of the Jena Six still facing trial) had his head cracked open with a beer bottle at an all-white party a few nights before the school fight on Dec. 4th, his assailant received a "simple battery" charge."
Prior to September 2006, this tree was only available to white Jena high schoolers. But after a black student named Kenneth Purvis questioned the policy, the school board issued a statement indicating the spot was available to all students, regardless of race.
I agree. This is about behavior not skin color period. I’m an equal opportunity lock up and throw away the key for violent criminals. If all violent criminals were locked up for a long time a lot of society’s ills would be solved.
Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton need to get real jobs, This guy who punch this kid and knocked him out has a rap sheet as long as your arm.
Yes he does and it’s not for petty crimes either.
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