The Jena 6

Parent Cafe
81

<p>^^^exactly what teriwtt said. This is not about whether a case where there is a black vs. a white victim gets more or less media coverage. </p>

<p>The issue in this case is blatant racism. There are assaults and murders all the time where racism is not the issue. In this case, not only is racism the issue but injustice in the systems involved is also an issue…the school and the legal system both. </p>

<p>Some are taking the assault at face value in isolation. Of course an assault like this is NOT OK and is against the law. It is not being condoned by anyone. I wouldn’t see it as attempted murder, however. </p>

<p>This incident was part of a larger whole, even though it was still NOT OK for these boys to assault anyone. The fact is that this was an ongoing situation that escalated with no intervention from school officials or the courts or police. A Black boy was assaulted by White students…no cases were brought against them…inequal treatment right there. The Black student was tried by an all White jury in a very racially motivated case. Totally unjust. The Black students at the school were operating under the hate crime taunt of the nooses. The Black student was tried as an adult for a situation that in my other instances would land in juvenile court. And so on and so forth. This was not just a fight and an assault with a sneaker. It was part of an entire case where only one “side” was treated one way and the other side treated another. </p>

<p>These boys should not have taken it into their own hands and should not have solved it with violence but one must look at how little assistance they got with this major problem that was escalating in that community and without adequate intervention and where one side is not charged and the other is. That is what is outrageous. It is not about whether or not you believe the Black students truly assaulted someone and that itself is wrong. It’s about way more than that. The National attention is not due to a crime against a white person or similar to crimes against a Black person which happen all the time. It is about the racism and injustice going on in that case and in that community. That is a big problem as I see it. Hard to even fathom in this day and age that a system would work this way.</p>

82

<p>Soozievt - ditto. Frankly, it makes me so sad that these kinds of events still occur today (the segregation and fear of retaliation if challenged), much less that our legal system condones it by looking the other way.</p>

<p>I remember growing up in Texas during desegregation; thankfully I was still young enough to be naive to racism. But I began to ask questions about the signs I’d see up around town that protested desegregation, and just didn’t get it… why people felt the need to minimize blacks. It made absolutely no sense to me. However, I led a sheltered life, attending parochial schools, then an all girls high school, so I never saw directly the prejudices minorities had to deal with. While I haven’t lived in the South for almost 25 years, it pains me to see that an element of our society still condones racism. I can accept that there will always be racist individuals (against all races, whites included), but to see this blatant institutional racism breaks my heart.</p>

83

<p>“This case is about more than the crime of one black kid…and no one here has suggested he go unpunished. But many here refuse, I mean REFUSE, to address the unfair treatment he rec’d by the system in that town. And when we have topics like this, I can always predict who those ‘many’ will be.”</p>

<p>Amazing, isn’t it? I’m still waiting for one of the “many” to take their fingers out of their ears, stop humming, and address the broader issues of the Jena 6 case as well. I guess, if you refuse to acknowledge a problem, it doesn’t exist.:rolleyes:</p>

<p>Doubleplay, please stop humming for a moment so I can address the only thing that seems to matter to you in this case: Justin Barker’s CONCUSSION (see, I even printed it in big letters out of respect for the enormity of your concern). Having lived the mother’s heartache of only being able to stand by while your child suffered the lasting effects of a seemingly minor concussion, I understand some of your indignation. I’ll admit, I didn’t know that what physicians themselves call a “minor concussion”, can involve so many lingering medical and cognitive consequences. Oh, and yes, EYES ARE IMPORTANT, TOO (See? More big letters). No doubt about it, the boy was seriously beaten. The ratio of 6 to 1 was enormously unfair (further note my liberal use of superlative adjectives). But just as you believe the seriousness of his injuries have been downplayed by some of us here, don’t you think the insistence that he was “in a coma”, and “darn near lost his life” involve the use of hyperbole, if not out and out lies? Assault and battery? YES! Attempted murder? NO! If the six had MEANT to kill Justin Barker, I have no doubt that he’d have been dead, not walking about at a dance that evening, nor functioning normally (or nearly so) today. This is especially so, given the fact that that dangerous “thug”, Mychal Bell (whom so many here seem to think should be <em>under</em> the jail, not just in it—as he has been for nine months), was among Barkers many assailants. I wouldn’t nominate Mychal Bell as a candidate for sainthood, nor would I call him a “hero”, but I don’t believe justice calls for him to spend the next 20 years in prison for “Attempted Murder” in this case. </p>

<p>If (though of course, God knows your dear angel of a boy would never do such a thing, and neither, might I add, would mine—I’m just asking hypothetically here) your son had participated in the beating of another boy (who walked out of the hospital a couple of hours later, and attended a dance that evening) was arrested, and charged with ATTEMPTED MURDER, would you not think the charges extreme for the circumstances? If you believed the only reason why the charges were increased, from Assault and Battery to Attempted Murder, was because of his race (given the myriad other things you know about the circumstances which culminated to that point), wouldn’t you be a mite upset over the seeming injustice? </p>

<p>It’s entirely disingenuous of the “usual suspects” on this forum, to fixate upon the beating of Justin Barker, and the prior record of Mychal Bell, to the detriment of the overriding issues at Jena High—those of racism and judicial double standards.</p>

84

<p>I’m not going to respond to the questions (accusations) about my attitude toward the case. The insinuations about me and my son, the yelling, the argumentativeness against me- when I have only posted once on this thread and it was only to address the seriousness of a concussion (many people do not understand how serious it is, and that while you can walk around looking totally normal afterward, the effects can be debilitating in unseen ways). </p>

<p>Done with this thread; sorry, won’t post here anymore.</p>

85

<p>Ok. Bye-bye!</p>

86

<p>Oh, and btw, there were no “insinuations” made about either you or your son. I asked you a hypothetical question. You might benefit from going back and re-reading my post with a tad less indignation. If you refuse to acknowledge that the only topic worthy of your outrage in this discussion seemed to be the “seriousness of concussion”, that’s your prerogative. But there were no “accusations” leveled against you, only an observation concerning the things you apparently found to be “outrageous” in this discussion, and the things you chose to ignore. Oh, and there was no “yelling” or “argumentativeness” against you. I acknowledged that I had not been aware of how serious a minor concussion could be, did I not? I sympathized with your feelings as a mother of a child who had suffered a concussion, and I still do. I have a son (whom I placed in the angel category along with your own). I’ve experienced the anxiety of being concerned for his health in the wake of an injury, the feelings of helplessness. Where was the “insinuation”? I also explained my use of capital letters in the thread. If you choose to believe I was yelling when I stated otherwise, that’s your prerogative, too. Btw, the above questions were rhetorical. I know you’re “done with this thread”. More’s the pity.:rolleyes:</p>

87

<p>Maybe when paople stop defending the violent actions of people in terms of violence being justifiable, then some of the violence that occurs in this world will stop. </p>

<p>How about taking the high road and peaching nonviolence? Isn’t that what Martin Luther King was preaching when he was shot?</p>

<p>Many groups in this world get away with violence, because there are always people to justify it for them. How about that it is wrong, and that these nooses were NOT AN EXCUSE FOR 6 PEOPLE KICKING SOMEONE’S HEAD?</p>

<p>I bet if you watch this Bell character over the next few years, he’ll be back again in the prison system. He should not have been in a regular school anymore, and really should have been schooled in a special facility for repeat offenders. Was he on probation?</p>

88

<p>Okay…if we can stop talking about Bell for a second. What about the other 5 who were charged with attempted murder?</p>

<p>And…btw…the beating of a white kid was not the only act of violence…it was the culmination of months of trash talking and violent acts both by and against blacks and whites in that community. </p>

<p>Can I get a comment on whether a black kid trying to enter a party justifies his beating by white adults? Can I can a comment on whether a black kid sitting in the shade under a tree at his school justifies nooses? What about a parish attorney who outright threatens black kids saying ‘with a stroke of a pen’ he could ruin their lives? Come on…just one little statement from any of you who are so fixated on the poor white kid who took a beating.</p>

89

<p>collegialmom - Bell was 16 when he got into a fight with the white kid.</p>

90

<p>Collegialmom, I have seen several people, including myself, who have said that nothing justifies violence. NOBODY condoned violence as the answer that I can tell. It was NOT OK to assault anyone. But this case is not simply about an assault out of context. It is about racism at its ugliest and about unfair treatment. The white boys ALSO assaulted a Black student. Didn’t one brandish a gun too? One side gets put in jail and charged with attempted murder and the other nothing. One side enacts a hate crime…not much consequences…surely not legal ones. One Black student is tried by an all White jury in a racial case. The boy is charged as an adult for attempted murder when many would define it as assault…bad, yes. Murder? With a tennis sneaker and the kid has a concussion and swollen eye and is out at a function that same night? In many places, that would be an assault, or school fight…juvenile court case type level. </p>

<p>There was unequal treatment here along racial lines. THAT is the issue. NOBODY gave an EXCUSE for kicking someone’s head! The assault was wrong. The boys should get in trouble like any juvenile who beats a kid up. What about the white boys who assaulted the Black boy? What about the hate crime? What about trying him for murder in an adult court? What about an all White jury in a racially charged case? That is why there is media attention. NOT because it was one of many assaults that occur in this country daily. The color of their skin might not normally be relevant but in this case, the entire situation is enveloped in racism and injustice. THAT is why there is this level of attention and outrage. I don’t know a soul who would say it was OK to beat up someone. I wish there had been adult intervention through school, police, or the law before it got to this point. These boys should not have taken it into their own hands literarally. I wish they had other recourse. Yes, they should have consequences for assaulting someone. Attempted murder? I think not. A fair trial by a jury of their peers (racially) in a juvy court? Yes. The white boys who assaulted the Black boys should also be charged. Those responsible for the hate crime of the nooses…as well; it is the law. I’m glad there is attention when injustice reigns.</p>

91

<p>“Maybe when paople stop defending the violent actions of people in terms of violence being justifiable, then some of the violence that occurs in this world will stop.”</p>

<p>Is that what you think we’re doing here, Collegialmom? If so, you haven’t be reading very closely. Try again.</p>

<p>“How about taking the high road and peaching nonviolence? Isn’t that what Martin Luther King was preaching when he was shot?”</p>

<p>Who’s calling for violence? Did I (a black woman) not say, “it does not excuse what the 6 black boys did in response. Violence is rarely the answer.”? I guess I DID have to repeat myself after all, since old age dementia, concussion, or just selective memory have caused some people to forget:rolleyes:</p>

<p>“Many groups in this world get away with violence, because there are always people to justify it for them. How about that it is wrong, and that these nooses were NOT AN EXCUSE FOR 6 PEOPLE KICKING SOMEONE’S HEAD?”</p>

<p>Umm, Hello? Is there an ego in here?</p>

<p>“Can I get a comment on whether a black kid trying to enter a party justifies his beating by white adults? Can I can a comment on whether a black kid sitting in the shade under a tree at his school justifies nooses? What about a parish attorney who outright threatens black kids saying ‘with a stroke of a pen’ he could ruin their lives? Come on…just one little statement from any of you who are so fixated on the poor white kid who took a beating.”</p>

<p>Apparently not, Idmom. Doing so would be tantamount to admitting that there really IS more to this case than the white kid who took a beating. If they make it only about Justin Barker, and Mychal Bell, they don’t have to address the other issues. The turning of a blind eye of this sort is what made Jim Crow such an intractable foe for so long. But one thing black folks did learn eventually: Sometimes you’ve got to march in the streets, make some noise before people will take their fingers out of their ears and stop whistling dixie.</p>

92

<p>I just heard on TV that the incident with the noose was 3 months prior to Bell and his friends beating up this young man.</p>

<p>I have not heard enough about the circumstances at the party, but was it a parallel situation? Do you have more information about it?</p>

<p>I think that taking the high road would have been best for these young men, and that would have gone further than beating up another person who did not assault them.</p>

<p>Maybe instead of justifying this attack, by minimizing it, you should try to get charges pressed against everyone else who attacked someone to this degree, regardless of race or ethnic background. That would be justice, and separate out the charges.</p>

<p>At age 16, in some jurisdictions, people are considered adults if they commit certain crimes, at least where I reside.</p>

<p>I would be the first to support a case that truly was worthy and representative of the civil rights struggles of the '60s but this just smells of disregard for the victim, and support of a criminal with a record. It will just lead to backlash. There are far worthier causes everyday in the US.</p>

93

<p>“Maybe instead of justifying this attack, by minimizing it, you should try to get charges pressed against everyone else who attacked someone to this degree, regardless of race or ethnic background. That would be justice, and separate out the charges.”</p>

<p>No one is minimizing anything. I don’t think anyone here agrees that the black boys should get away with what they did, but attempetd murder??? We are outrage about the level of racism in the entire community of Jena; where a DA can say " I can end your life with this pen" I think if a DA tells your kid that he can end his life with his pen you will also be outrage. This behavior shows a systematic oppression of the black people in Jena by a racist system. </p>

<p>This is what is wrong with our society, we never look for the source of the problem. We just pick and choose which ever side we want and throw the blame around. What about the black boy who was beaten at the party? Is is okay with you for a group of white boys to beat up a black boy? Why are they not being charged with attempted murder? I am sorry if you don’t see the injustice in this situation. </p>

<p>The civil right movement can choose whatever cause they choose to support, and in this case I totally agree with them. They are fighting a racist system that has a two justice systems for black and white people. This should not be happening in 21st century America.</p>

<p>I am very glad I don’t live in Jena.</p>

94

<p>I think you have to separate those who are wrongly trying to make this a honorable civil rights case reminiscent of passive disobedience of the '60s and those who acknowledge all parties, black and white, behaved badly but believe all deserved fair and equal treatment and yes, punishment, that is blind to race. </p>

<p>It’s your choice whether you will see the difference, or choose to lump these two groups together.</p>

<p>Frankly, I think it is disingenuous and even shameful to use Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton as a reason to turn a blind eye to a broken system rife with racism. What went on in Jena isn’t about them. And it isn’t just blacks who jump at the chance to MAKE it all about them.</p>

95

<p>“No one is minimizing anything. We are outrage about the level of racism in the entire community of Jena; where a DA can say " I can end your life with this pen” I think if some DA tells your kid that he can end his life with his pen you will also be outrage."</p>

<p>I think that he actually was speaking to both the blacks and the whites at the school. Maybe trying to “scare them straight”? Guess it didn’t work, anyhow.</p>

<p>“That is what is wrong with our society, we never look for the source of the problem. We just pick and choose which ever side we want and throw the blame around. I think it is probably okay with you if the black boys spend the rest of their lifes in Jail for assault, and the white guys get the free pass for the same crime.”</p>

<p>No, I am saying the opposite: that all parties that commit the same or equal crime should be treated equally.</p>

<p>“I think you have to separate those who are wrongly trying to make this a honorable civil rights case reminiscent of passive disobedience of the '60s and those who acknowledge all parties, black and white, behaved badly but believe all deserved fair and equal treatment and yes, punishment, that is blind to race.”</p>

<p>That’s exactly what I was trying to say, but you say it better!</p>

96

<p>Collegialmom, are you being obtuse as some sort of rhetorical strategy? If so, I have to tell you, it’s a pretty poor one. How many times, and in how many ways do people need to assert that nobody is “justifying” the beating of Justin Barker, or minimizing the seriousness of his assault? How many times must it be asserted that it is the DISPARITY in the application of justice throughout the history of this case THAT IS THE POINT (caps for emphasis—not yelling)? </p>

<p>I respectfully suggest that you go back and read the link to the NPR report on the goings on in Jena. I’m assuming that you’ve not actually read it yet, because otherwise, you wouldn’t need to ask why the assault against Justin Barker occurred more than 3 months after the hanging of the nooses. </p>

<p>Are you really not capable of any sort of honest analysis of the particulars of this case? </p>

<p>Btw, if you can’t see the legitimate and institutionalized entrenchment of racism in the town of Jena, in its high school and legal system, I don’t see much point in responding to further comments posted by you. What? No dogs, no fire hoses, no actual lynchings (just symbolic ones), No injustice? Okaaaay…:rolleyes:</p>

97

<p>collegialmom - I reference an article in Wikipedia a few days ago that does a good job outlining the incidents, people and dates involved. </p>

<p>There was quite a bit of time between the noose incident and party, then the beating; however, that has been attributed to the fact that Jena’s football team was doing unusually well, thanks to some of these black kids, and most people didn’t want to instigate anything that would put the team’s exceptional season in jeopardy. There were no major incidences during that time, but racial tensions continued and there were some fights between the whites and blacks. Hmmm… it wouldn’t be the first high school to ‘overlook’ some behavorial problems by athletes because they are needed so badly on the field. It was late November/early December when things got really hot again. Hmmm… right about the time football season is over with. So yes, there was a slight lull in between major incidences, but it was very calculated for what was seen as important reasons.</p>

98

<p>“At age 16, in some jurisdictions, people are considered adults if they commit certain crimes, at least where I reside.”</p>

<p>That’s also true in Jena. But not the crimes Bell was charged with. </p>

<p>“I think that he actually was speaking to both the blacks and the whites at the school.”</p>

<p>The black kids were all sitting on one side of the auditorium, as is the custom at Jena High. The DA made the remarks while facing them, according to many witnesses. And if you look at the full quote, he said that if the students continued to make a fuss over “an innocent prank” (the nooses) he would be their worst enemy and end their lives with the stroke of a pen. Who was making a fuss? Not the white kids.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, by making that statement, he took away any means the kids had to work within the system. When Justin was on the school yard calling them the “N word” they knew any complaints would fall on deaf ears or worse, get them punished.</p>

<p>What happened to Justin was horrible of course. But that brings up the next point. Some of you seem to have convicted each and every one of the Jena 6 of beating, stomping and kicking Justin, all without hearing any testimony. How likely is it that an unconscious person, unable to protect himself in any way, could be kicked and stomped by 6 people, yet not have any injuries anywhere other than one side of his face?</p>

<p>Justin was obviously beaten, stomped and kicked, but I doubt it was by 6 people. I think that’s why the DA is pressing conspiracy charges for an incident that obviously wasn’t pre-arranged: he’s hoping that a judge and jury will be willing to send one or two young men who didn’t do anything to Justin to jail for decades simply for the crime of being black and in the vicinity of the attack.</p>

99

<p>“I respectfully suggest that you go back and read the link to the NPR report on the goings on in Jena. I’m assuming that you’ve not actually read it yet, because otherwise, you wouldn’t need to ask why the assault against Justin Barker occurred more than 3 months after the hanging of the nooses.”</p>

<p>I read it several times and I think that charges should be equal for people who commit crimes. I think that the nature of the way it is being handled by many people (I will not include you in that), with these men being compared by some to some of the great civil rights heroes of the ‘60s, does a great injustice to these heroes’ memories.</p>

<p>I think that an impartial legal group should examine the charges and what was done. But to get Sharpton and Jackson down there to exult these men isn’t necessary in my mind. </p>

<p>I think that resolving things through discussion in the South and other places, utilizing organizations with experience, would go a lot further. In my opinion, whenever Sharpton and Jackson get involved, things get polarized and there is backlash.</p>

<p>“Are you really not capable of any sort of honest analysis of the particulars of this case?” </p>

<p>I assume that you will not respond to my comments, but those are them. </p>

<p>Just because I don’t have the same viewpoint as you on this does not make it any less honest.</p>

100

<p>Let’s try to be exact regarding the DA’s words regarding the pen. </p>

<p>After the nooses were hung in the ‘whites only’ tree, the school board overruled the principal who wanted to punish the three white students reponsible for the nooses. Upon hearing that the school board opposed punishment, black students organized an impromptu passive protest by gathering under the tree. The school authorities responded to the protest by calling the police and the parish DA. That very day, the DA immediately gathered students in the auditorium to chastise them for the protest and stated, according to teachers, “See this pen, I can end your life with a stroke of this pen.”</p>

<p>Now, seriously, do you think the DA was addressing white students who were bystanders that day… or the black students who conducted the passive protest? </p>

<p>Again, it must be exhausting to put so much effort into being deliberately disingenuous.</p>