Last fall in Jena,
>Louisiana, the day after two Black high school students sat beneath the
>"white tree" on their campus, nooses were hung from the tree. When the
>superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more Black students sat
>under the tree in protest. The District Attorney then came to the school
>accompanied by the town's police and demanded that the students end their
>protest, telling them, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy... I
>can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen."1
>
>A series of white-on-black incidents of violence followed, and the DA did
>nothing. But when a white student was beaten up in a schoolyard fight, the
>DA responded by charging six black students with attempted murder and
>conspiracy to commit murder. It's a story that reads like one from the
>Jim Crow era, when judges, lawyers and all-white juries used the justice
>system to keep blacks in "their place"--but it's happening today. The
>families of these young men are fighting back, but the odds are stacked
>against them. Together, we can make sure their story is told, that this
>becomes an issue for the Governor of Louisiana, and that justice is
>provided for the Jena 6. It starts now. Please add your voice:
>http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=2258-172319 The noose-hanging
>incident and the DA's visit to the school set the stage for everything that
>followed. Racial tension escalated over the next couple of months, and on
>November 30, the main academic building of Jena High
> School was burned down in an unsolved fire. Later the same weekend, a
>black student was beaten up by white students at a party. The next day,
>black students at a convenience store were threatened by a young white man
>with a shotgun. They wrestled the gun from him and ran away. While no
>charges were filed against the white man, the students were arrested for
>the theft of the gun.2 That Monday at school, a white student, who had
>been a vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses, taunted the
>black student who was beaten up at the off-campus party and allegedly
>called several black students "******." After lunch, he was knocked down,
>punched and kicked by black students. He was taken to the hospital but was
>released and was well enough to go to a social event that evening.3 Six
>Black Jena High students, Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones
>(18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor, were
>expelled from school, arrested and
> charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high --
>between $70,000 and $138,000 -- that the boys were left in prison for
>months as families went deep into debt to release them.4 The first trial
>ended last month, and Mychal Bell, who has been in prison since December,
>was convicted of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated
>battery (both felonies) by an all-white jury in a trial where his public
>defender called no witnesses. During his trial, Mychal's parents were
>ordered not to speak to the media and the court prohibited protests from
>taking place near the courtroom or where the judge could see them. Mychal
>is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31st, and could go to jail for 22
>years.5 Theo Shaw's trial is next. He will finally make bail this week.
>The Jena Six are lucky to have parents and loved ones who are fighting
>tooth and nail to free them. They have been threatened but they are
>standing strong. We know that if the families have
> to go it alone, their sons will be a long time coming home. They will
>lose precious years to Jena's outrageous attempt to maintain a racist
>status quo. But if we act now, we can make a difference. Please add your
>voice to the voices of these families in Jena, and help bring Mychal, Theo,
>Robert, Carwin, and Bryant home. By clicking below, you can demand that
>Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco get involved to make sure that justice
>is served for Mychal Bell, and that DA Reed Walters drop the charges
>against the 5 boys who have not yet gone to trial.
>http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=2258-172319 Thank You and Peace,
>-- James, Van, Gabriel, Clarissa, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org
>team
> July 17th, 2007 References: 1. "Injustice in Jena as Nooses Hang
>From the ‘White Tree,'" truthout, July 3, 2007
>http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/070307B.shtml 2. "Racial demons rear
>heads," Chicago Tribune, May 20, 2007
>http://tinyurl.com/yvh7t5 3. See reference #1. 4. See reference #1. 5.
>"'Jena Six' defendant convicted," Town Talk, June 29, 2007
>http://tinyurl.com/ysxtgg Other resources: NPR: Searching for Justice in
>Jena 6 Case (streaming audio)
>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=11756302 Democracy
>Now! - The case of the Jena Six ...
>http://www.democracynow.org/article..../07/10/1413220 Too Sense:
>Free The Jena Six Now
>http://halfricanrevolution.blogspot....a-six-now.html
>While Seated: Jena Six
>http://www.whileseated.org/photo/003244.shtml Nooses, attacks and jail for
>black students in Jena Louisiana
>http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/28/144445/384 Justice In Jena, by
>Jordan Flaherty
>http://www.zmag.org/content/print_ar...m?itemID=12783§ionID=30 The
>Perpetrator becomes the Prosecutor (and other related entries)
>http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/blog/ 'Stealth racism' stalks deep
>South
>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...ld/6685441.stm

The last last legislative session under the 'leadership' of lame duck Governor Kathleen Blanco is over (mercifully chose not to seek a second term), and a new governor will be elected in a few months. Mark my words on two things here:First, she will not get involved in the Jena thing, and second, the new governor will be Bobby Jindal, current US Representative-you might send email to Mr Jindal as he may get involved. And from what I heard, there was ample acrimony in both camps to go around-ugly indeed.

__________________

MichaelBenton.jpg

Who with any sense wants to be governor of Louisiana? A friend of mine whose husband was begged to run told me that basically he wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole!

__________________

Ugh. This makes me ill. Nothing raises my hackles more than hearing about stuff like this, and so sad that there are white children out there that are being raised by their ignorant parents to believe that they are better than others because of their skin color.

Sadly, it is these white kids that are raised in a bigoted way who will not be able to assimilate and be successful in a future which is becoming increasingly multi-cultural. I firmly believe that when our kids get out of college and go to work, it is the ones that were raised with compassion and without prejudice that will become successful, and the "backwards" kids will be left in the dust.

This truly is very sad. Racism in all forms is very sad to me. Just sad.

__________________
I know I don't get there often enough, but God knows I surely try, It's a magic kind of medicine that no doctor could prescribe!

As far as political jobs go, it is a peach...which is a good thing and a bad thing. Jindal is a really interesting guy, he is the middle fellow in sarafunn's picture-I am pretty sure he is second generation Indian and is not 40 yet. He probably would have won the job in 2003, but a bunch of rednecks in north Louisiana just couldn't see fit to vote for a 'black guy' and opted to vote for Blanco and she managed to edge him in the runoff. Her utter incompetence has set the state back on the order of years, and her attempt to build a legacy in the form of wild spending the last legislative session will limit progress for years to come. Very sad.

__________________

sarafunn...who are the kids in the pic you have posted? I am so proud of the person you are and the things that are important to you. Thanks for sharing this story, sad as it is.

__________________
The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

kudos to you as her mother.

__________________

Yes, kudos Kitty...you've raised a lovely daughter! (she will make fun of me for saying that though.

To answer your question, the boys in the picture are these boys (shameless plug )
I sent the picture to Sarafunn to show her my friend Michael, and it just worked out nicely that as a result she had a picture of the man who will be the next governor of La. when he was being discussed on here!

My exact thoughts. It is heart warming to know we have a younger generation that cares about this type of racism in our world today. You raised a good one kitty.

I just don't understand people behaving like that. It is so incredibly sad that people not only think like that, they raise their children and selectively enforce their laws to promote it.

__________________
The enemy is ignorance.

a pretty limp response from upper mgt...

Dear:



Your email to Governor Kathleen Blanco regarding the Jena Six case has been forwarded to me for a response.



Your input and concerns are vital as we make critical decisions to move this state forward. The Jena 6 case is a matter in the Judicial System and any defects must be addressed in that system with the appeals court. The State Constitution provides for three branches of state government - Legislative, Executive, and Judicial - and the Constitution prohibits anyone in one branch from exercising the powers of anyone in another branch. Certainly, the Governor hopes for and expects fairness.



Thank you for emailing and if this office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.



Sincerely,


Cheryl Shuffield, Director

Constituent Services

__________________
click >> Filter your water instead of using bottled water << click

Hate to say "see I told you so,", but see, I told you so.

__________________

My rant continues:

This political stuff in LA has been going for a very long time. People used to call it a "bannana republic". I hated that when I lived there. I got out. They were right.

See my post (RANT) at the Commander's Palace thread under dining. The state has had all sorts of resources and has done nothing in the past hundred years or so to bring itself up. With some level of apologies to my LA friends, LA is like their grandmother France:
About all they can do right is cook.

So there. Soap box into closet.

Rant on. It is certainly called for.

__________________
The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

URNUTZ...good football, too

__________________

TIGERS!!!

I understand being a bad looser, but they are bad winners. That makes be hate 'em/love 'em.

Gotta say, nothing is exciting as the smell of bourbon, the ear shattering noise and the excitment of Death Valley!

Gracious in defeat as we are in victory. No finer reception for visiting fans than in red stick.

__________________

News: Appeals Court Tosses Conviction In Jena 6 Case

A Louisiana appeals court has tossed out the battery conviction of Mychal,

__________________
"I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten" Eckhart Tolle

steeleing4 is talking about joining a bus load from Atl going to protest.

__________________
Wala!

If I were still in Louisiana I'd be going to Jena for the protest tomorrow. For all of you who have lived in south Louisiana and think you know backwards racism, try the north part of the state. Shreveport, Alexandria, Natchitoches -- they make New Orleans seem enlightened by comparison. I actually had the mayor of a town about 20 miles from Jena call and demand that we contract with a white doctor no matter what the rate because the city employees didn't want to go to the sand [n word]. Apparently he'd been to Goa and thought all of India was covered in sandy beaches. It felt like the twilight zone.

I hope the protest tomorrow is peaceful and successful. Perhaps it will open a few eyes in that town, and things will begin to change, because JDarg is right -- none of those kids have a chance of getting out of that economically depressed hellhole if they go on indoctrinating their kids to hate.

__________________
"I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten" Eckhart Tolle

I am so happy that people are standing up and wanting a change but...I am having a hard time with Jesse Jackson. When he speaks I think of this.

__________________
"I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten" Eckhart Tolle

Jesse et al are having a wonderful time sacking the tackling dummy that is stereotyped southern white on black racism. Going all out decrying a few idiots who hung a noose in a tree and pointing out what are obviously trumped-up charges isn't terribly courageous. It really makes me sick that they are comparing the protest in Jena to that in Selma. Selma? Excuse me, Revs. Jackson and Sharpton, are you anticipating being shot, beaten, watercannoned or bitten by German Shepherds? Those were the very real risks run by Selma marchers;the biggest hazard you face today is getting tongue tied and shin splints running after cameras and getting your soundbites in.

If the Revs. really wanted to address shocking civil rights abuse in Louisiana, they should get on the busses and head south to New Orleans. There they will find the wholesale and seemingly daily slaughter of young black men. Is there any worse violation of civil rights than to take somebody's life? I think not; and not a peep out of Jesse or Al. Of course they will not touch NOLA with a 10 foot pole since the social pathology that fuels the murders is not as neatly packaged nor confrontable as are a bunch of rednecks in the rural south who we all know are racists anyway(or at least that is what CNN implies, with their slick lynching tree logo running during promos for Jena coverage).

I hope the outcome in Jena is fair for all involved, and I am really looking forward to the 'activists' going back to their penthouses until the next profitable outrage occurs.

__________________

I hope it turns out fair for all involved too. I've never lived in LA but as a Mississippian I know how everybody thinks our commodes are in the yard and we don't wear shoes until frost and hate all Blacks,Indians,and Latinos .Oh, and that we still have miles and miles of cotton.picked by hand .Well, sorry but that is not true.
I personally don't look at a persons skin color.Actions and attitudes are what I look at. I taught in a 98% Black school for a number of years and overall it was a very good experience. And yes it was by choice.
I think the Rev.Jxn and Rev. Al make things worse for everybody. But thats what their job is. . I've never seen them do any thing else.
Believe me I know there are some real red necks around, but rednecks are all over not just in the "deep south". I really don't like it when people assume things about others based on where they live. In fact the people I know in N LA are hard working,honest people.They aren't racist or backward.
I heard someone say the other day that Washington State is "heathern country". I let them have it. YOu can't just sterotype regions of the country like that.
I hope I didn't come on too strong. But its just wrong to say N.La is so backward and a terrible hailhole.
It's really funny when I used to go teacher conferences around the south.
MS teachers though our schools were better than AR,Al though they were better than MS, GA though they were better than Al. S Car. though they had an edge on GA and on and on. When we all had the same darn problems..I expect if I'd gone to NY or Minn. the schools and people would have been about the same.
Every part of this nation has its good and bad.It's just wrong to sterotype people.

I was taught by my mother and aunt and grandmother to never tell my business, never discuss religion, or politics. But they totally didn't live to see message boards!

Here is what I learned growing up. If you are going to make fun of people, or taunt them, you better be ready to get your butt kicked hard, because that is how people deal with such things. Were the nooses hanging from the "White Tree" a threat? I think they were a symbolic jesture of hatred. Had a noose been on a particular car or on a particular persons locker, then it would be a threat. Symbolic or not, it is like a dog marking his tree, and he has to expect that there are bigger dogs in the neighborhood who are going to come by and pee higher on the tree. I don't know how severely the white guy was beaten, but I think all of the people involved in hanging the nooses deserved a good street beating.

__________________

It is unbelievable that in this day and age, some parents are raising their children to think they are better than others because their skin is white. Sadly, the "ignorance cycle" is alive and well, and it will produce nothing but a bunch of backwards young adults. Such mentality only produces losers.

My children have never heard the "N" word in this house, and it would never occur to them that other than outward physical appearances, they are different from other kids. I am glad that Will understands that "bigot" actually means "ignorant coward".

I want "Jena 6" t-shirt. Maybe Punz can do a little shopping research for us.

Oh yeah- the white guy that was beaten? He went to a school function that night. Took a licking and kept on ticking, so I don't see that he got his butt kicked hard enough.

jdarg, we live in a school district where the African-American/Caucasian ratio is very close to 50/50. It's unusual in that our part of the city has some of the most expensive homes in the area but is bordered by one of the most economically depressed cities. A house one street over from me sold recently, and one of the first things the new residents did after moving in was hang Confederate flags in their front windows. The first day I drove by the house, I literally stopped the car in disbelief. My oldest son's best friend lives within sight of that house, and he is African-American. I am absolutely sickened that this boy has to literally see this every day. I never cease to be amazed by how alive and well bigotry is.

__________________

Wow. They sound super classy. Maybe you should take them some cookies and welcome them to the neighborhood. (Don't forget to put Ex-Lax in the cookies )

Where's Kitty? Can we consider this the Gem of the Day?

__________________

...the Gem of the Day can be picked by anyone with good taste!

pea...remember the 60 Minutes expose on Belleville?

Someone in my neighborhood (which seems full of otherwise reasonable and nice people) has a confederate flag out front and a pineapple -- the universal symbol for "welcome" -- embossed on their front gate. I guess only certain people are welcome.

I listened to a wonderful speech this morning about fatherhood by Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. Even though he addressed racial demographics, his message was so universal I almost forgot he was black. Then during the Q&A session he started talking about what it's like to grow up as a black boy in America, and how when black parents teach their kids to drive, it is smart to give them a lesson in exactly how to act when pulled over by the cops. (It is safe to say most white parents would not think of this.) He described being black as "all the stuff you have to deal with growing up, and then there's this other stuff on top of it." I think for the first time, I really got it. There are enough people out there still prejudiced that being black (and I would say Hispanic too) means automatically "having to deal with other stuff." Things like this Jena 6 incident serve as a reminder of this.

Of course, if you are a young rich white good looking male you are also a potential victim of persecution (think Duke lacrosse players), because as Americans we love to tear people down. Judge judge judge, it's human nature, we all do it, but it stinks.

__________________
Proud to practice indoctrination
at least when it comes to the GATOR NATION

Yes, absolutely. A lousy way to get the proverbial 15 minutes.
Oh, TFT, that is amazing that you said this. I have a good friend (Caucasian) who adopted an African-American boy. When the movie "Crash" came out, she saw it and then put together a group of friends (all Caucasian women) to go see it and go out afterwards to discuss. She used that very example--she said she couldn't raise her black son the same way she raised her white daughters because different rules would apply to him; for example, she would have to instruct him how to act if ever pulled over by a white cop. It was interesting, almost all the women were aghast at and offended by what she said; their feeling was that lessons like this would continue to perpetuate racism in America. She said, as a mother, she was merely teaching her son lessons that would keep him safe. She has a great sense of humor and said, "The fact of the matter is, a white person in this area could ride down Main St. shooting a rifle out his window and possibly get pulled over. A black man obeying all the traffic laws could drive down the same street and risk getting pulled over. That's reality." I would love to hear Pitts' speech, and I know she would, too.

__________________

Or better yet, suit them for lowering your property values.

__________________

Since the State Flags for FL, AL, MS, and up until recently, GA, all have variations of the Confederate Flag incorporated into them, I guess we cannot say much about some people hanging flags in their own homes. We hang variations of the same flag on our capital building, all while thinking that racism isn't alive and present in the good 'ole US of A. I will add that all of these variations, along with the Confederate Flag, stem from the Cross of Saint Andrew, who was the patron Saint of Scotland. The Cross is supposed to be the represent the freedom from tyranny. I find it interesting reading about how symbols change with time. The KKK quickly sided with Christianity to win people into their organization. Hitler stole the Swastika from the Hindus and totally changed the meaning for anyone knowing about Hitler. The KKK picked it up as well.

It is a crazy world out there.

__________________

al sharpton referred to jena as the "beginning of the 21st century civil rights movement". thoughts?

you can read about the rally here: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/20...six/index.html

and the color of change campaign here:
http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/main.html


glad to see this thread (?) is still alive and kicking....

I did the color of change campaign and will send this to all my friends. Thank you Sarafunn.

__________________
"I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten" Eckhart Tolle

Sarafunn makes her Mama Kitty proud!!

Yes, my thoughts are that Al SharpTONGUE and Jesse JackSOME are crooks and enjoy stirring the pudding, though I liked SharpTONGUE's humor during the last Presidential election.

__________________

In theory, the civil rights are in place. We're just in the long, slow process of changing our culture. (Or waiting for the ignorant folk to either quit breeding or Darwin themselves out of society in their "Hey, watch this!" moments.)

__________________

For those interested, there are about 400 photos of the event at this website. Look down the page at 'Jena pics' and click. Enjoy http://www.thenew995fm.com/main.html

__________________

sarafunn...what are your thoughts of Al Sharpton?

I am constantly amazed at some of the things that come out of people's mouths! I'd love to think it is confined to older folks who predate the civil rights movement or downright ignorant people in the shallow end of the gene pool, but sadly that is not the case.

I just don't understand racism (and many other isms) - the best explanation people have come up with is that because of my age/where I was raised I was never really exposed to it/aware of it/looking for it.

__________________
The enemy is ignorance.

Racism is a lot like judging. We all have judged someone or something. I hope what comes out of this is more understanding.

__________________
"I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten" Eckhart Tolle

'Jena 6' teen's case to be heard in juvenile court,

Click here: 'Jena 6' teen's case to be heard in juvenile court, governor says - CNN.com

__________________
"I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten" Eckhart Tolle

National Walkout Day. Monday, October 1st. 12:00 pm.

__________________
"I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten" Eckhart Tolle

factfinder, I am counting at least five attributed sources--including the venerable Chicago Tribune--in the original post. So, I'm a bit confused about what you are labeling "misinformation."
The link you provide as support for your point of view has no relevance to the Jena 6 case. One of the people involved in the incident has been jailed for probation violation relating to prior juvenile convictions. And...? Non sequiturs only weaken your arguments.

__________________

Night of the Living 2BFabian

__________________

factfinder, how many negroes have you discussed your point of view with?

__________________
click >> Filter your water instead of using bottled water << click

You are a glutton for punishment

__________________

So true, so true.
Thank goodness I finished my coffee! This needed an attached spew alert.

__________________

You can take umbrage all you want, but calling someone a racist who is defending hanging nooses from a tree to keep blacks away and repeatedly using the "n" word to taunt his black classmates is just calling a spade a spade.

I agree that in our hyper-sensitive culture people can be mistakenly labeled racist for saying/doing things that had no intent of being derogatory or racist, but that is most definitely not the case here.

__________________
The enemy is ignorance.

Again your facts are not correct. But if you wish me to supply you with the information, I will. Furthermore what did this kid have to do with the nooses? It is easy to say he called me a name after the fact that you are being charged with attempted murder.

Your comments about the state attorney is just plain wrong and it is easy to take a rummer and run with it as a fact.

What would you be saying today if the boy who was hit in the back of the head with brass knuckles and knocked unconscious would have come back to the school with a gun and killed the six thugs that could have killed him?

This is why we are a nation of laws and you don't try to kill someone and then expect to go home.

Fact, this boy had nothing to do with the nooses and furthermore the nooses were hung in the tree because the football team that Friday was playing the cowboys.

The nooses had the school colors on them and they had been hung from that tree often.

If you want to start a petition about a miscarriage of justice, you may want to find out about the Fairmount six.

Houston, we have a problem.

__________________
The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

How do you eradicate a system that judges everyone in order to market goods and services. This is the essence of success in capitalism. There are strangers out there that know more about you than many of your relatives. It involves likes, dislikes, tendencies, and yes, stereotypes all in the name of the almighty greenback. Pre-judge for profit son, but check your opinions at the door on a personal level. Who is that perfect?

Bob...My Dad told me he was perfect and would quote the bible verse to prove it. It makes my Mom mad every time he says it.

__________________
"I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten" Eckhart Tolle

Did it involve bringing you into this world?

http://www.wavy.com/global/story.asp?s=7117439

Do you believe this story?


http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/...16/not-guilty/


All I am saying is white people are not responsible for black people choosing to act this way.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/14252407/detail.html

Did you ever hear of the fairmount six?



i cannot believe that nobody is being held accountable for what happend to my little cousin. we went from six kids who were all involved one way or another to nothing,nobody.the man quinzell mcCall, has a year in jail allready and will be out in just a couple months. i am dissappointed in every person who handled this case. from the police and detectives to the DA ,today is a sad day for philadelphia’s judicial system. they failed the peirson family the rounds family and everyone who ever knew robert. whats next.who is gonna be the next (body caught). should i take my jewlrey off. start wearing dirty cloths so im not a target,or do i fit the criteria.i am at a loss for words.i would love to know what went wrong WHO ISNT DOING THIER JOB!!!! i was the kid in a near tussle with the sheriff. that was caused by Quinzell’s cousin who rode the elevator down with me and some of my family, there was a reporter on the elevator too she was a tiny asian woman. the cousin said to us with a smile that her cousin will walk the streets again. and i was pissed and i lost it. can you blame me.. as she left cjc she did a dance and ran her mouth the whole time. none of them sheriff’s told her to shut up well i was louder but emotions were high. i would like to know why this wasnt a hate crime they crossed girard ave looking for white people. they picked a fight with white kids . a white kid was shot and killed .what is going on. i wish i knew.some one should ask philadelphia what they think can you get transcipts from the trial so everybody can hear how they picked thier (bodies). i wish i diddnt feel so helpless but i am. something needs to be done…………. sicerely,,, Freddy Rounds


I guess John never got around to making a song for these white kids.

'Cuz it's always the non-racist folks who end up on skinhead web sites .

Let the person/personality that uses punctuation and grammar back on the computer. They presented some decent arguments that your other person/personality completely undermined with unrelated postings whose sole purpose was to show the "violent nature" of the black race (seriously, a woman killing puppies is evidence that the Jena 6 were guilty?).

__________________
The enemy is ignorance.

How about some duct tape?!!



Oh -- that's just mHo ...

.

__________________

"Peace .... starts with the person who attempts to diffuse the tension and backs away from the inflammatory rhetoric."

Hooked on Phonics worked for me!

__________________

I'm thinking 2bfabian was missing us.

__________________
I know I don't get there often enough, but God knows I surely try, It's a magic kind of medicine that no doctor could prescribe!

Stir the pot!!!


Anybody want to hazard a guess as to when and why racial animosities started in the first place?

Homecoming elections or local political race?

__________________
The enemy is ignorance.

holee sheet. 2bfactfinder, thanks for straightening us out.

__________________
click >> Filter your water instead of using bottled water << click

This is a good time to be alive. I know bad things happen all the time, but so do good things. So many people seem to be so worried about tomorrow they forget about today.
One of my favorite quotes ... "In my world things would be different." I can hear 6th Gen now making fun of Lightworker world.

__________________
"I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten" Eckhart Tolle

The Jena-6
Cameron , 9/20/2007 1:57:28 PM

Thousands march to Jena, LA to support the accused NOT the victim...

Anytime adolescent idiocy is fueled by anger and bravado you typically expect the worst of all possible outcomes. If you couple that scenario with a dash of ‘revenge’ you have the recipe for disaster.

Such in the case in Jena, Louisiana, where the now infamous ‘Jena-6’ stand trial for a merciless beat down of a young man who they claim was responsible for a despicable ‘prank’ which stirred up generations of racial tension.

Thousands of protesters have swarmed the small town of Jena to make their voices known. The facts in this case may be straight forward, but that does not make the situation any less turbulent. Before I lay out the ‘undeniables’ I would first like to draw your attention to a few select comments from the gallery.

"This is a march for justice. This is not a march against whites or against Jena," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the protest organizers. "[The Rev. Martin Luther] King went to Selma. That wasn't the only place you couldn't vote. That was the point of action. They went to Birmingham. That wasn't the only place we didn't have public accommodations. It was the point of action. Jena is a point of action for the Jenas everywhere." (I still have NO idea what he means).

"There's a Jena in every state," the Rev. Jesse Jackson told the crowd in Jena on Thursday morning.

JoAnn Scales, who brought her three teenage children on a two-day journey from Los Angeles, had this to say. "The reason I brought my children is because it could have been one of them…if this can happen to them [the Jena 6], it can happen to anyone,"

"It breaks our heart to see him (one of the defendants) handcuffed and in leg shackles," Sharpton later added. "But his spirit is high. He has said that he is very encouraged to know that thousands are coming to this town to stand up for him and his five friends."

Based on the commentary, one might suggest the Jena-6 were victims of some kind. That somehow the prosecution, trying them for the vicious assault and battery of one man is not a hard fact. Sadly the facts speak for themselves, but anytime race enters the equation facts often fail before public opinion.

The Jena-6 are all young black men whereas the victim is white. In a town with a storied and racist past that is still 85/12 percent white to black, anything is but certain in this case. When you consider the bi-lines, that this ‘assault’ was in retaliation for a series of nooses that were hung from a tree three months prior….expect to enter all the race peddlers and their standard bag of inflammatory tricks.

Do these six young men deserve to be tried for ‘hate crimes’? Probably not. But when the likes of Sharpton, Jackson and co. argue fervently that hate crimes should be charged against the the young men suspended from school because of the aforementioned prank? Well then my sympathies to the Jena-6’s dire predicament start to fade.

Sadly this case should not be about race, but about the crimes committed. It should be about teens doing what teens typically do–namely make stupid decisions that often times result in grave situations that spiral out of control. But unfortunately when the likes of Al Sharpton and his ilk enter the equation–bottom feeders that have jockeyed racial tension into fame and fortune–then you create a circus like atmosphere that stokes the hateful sentiments of an era long past.

Society may never be colorblind, and perhaps it shouldn’t be. There exists a grave inequality amongst races when it pertains to crime. According to the Department of Justice, each year ~1.2 million violent crimes involving blacks and whites occur nationwide. In 90 percent of those cases the perpetrators are black and the victims are white. This includes the following astonishing statistic...black men rape white women by a ratio of ~200 to 1 (when compared to white men raping black women).

What am I trying to say?….I am sure you can figure that out all by yourself.