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Jack
Joined: Dec 29, 2006
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The Jena Six
September 21, 2007 - 02:12 AM
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Six black students were charged with attempted second degree murder and conspiracy for knocking a white student unconscious during a fight in Jena, Louisiana. The fight was sparked after racial tensions peaked when three white students hung nooses in a tree that they claim as their territory in the schoolyard. Apparently, some black students had started to congregate in that area, and the white students decided to send a harsh message. The black students staged a sit-in, where the district attorney alledgedly threatened the students, pronouncing, "I can sign your life away with this pen." The first student to be tried was convicted by an all white jury of aggravated battery and conspiracy charges and now faces up to 22 years in prison.
Thoughts?
This post was edited on: 2007-09-21 at 02:14 AM by: Jack
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Luke Lieberman
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Re: The Jena Six
September 21, 2007 - 03:50 AM
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My thoughts - yeah, why weren't the kids who hung the nooses brought up on hate crimes - that would have headed off alot of the issues afterward.
The black students that assaulted the white kid did enough damage that they deserve some punishment, whatever the motivations -
but a stern punishment for the intolerant nonesense that started all this would have calmed the tensions and we would not be dealing with this now.
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Becky
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Re: The Jena Six
September 24, 2007 - 08:58 PM
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I completely agree with Luke. But its interesting to note that (at least on the media reports I watched) all the caucasian interviewees repeatedly claimed that there was no racial inequality, that life was just dandy and harmonious. It doesn't take a genius to see that the situation isn't as they claim it to be. Clearly, there needs to be much community education and healing as well as a radically honest examination of the justice system. I hope community leaders take this opportunity to instigate some programs to open the eyes of the Jena residents to the prejudice that still exists and then invest in some "bridge building."
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Chika
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Re: The Jena Six
September 26, 2007 - 09:21 AM
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it's interesting how history repeats itself. hate crimes, racism, and white supremacy- ugh!
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Chika
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Re: The Jena Six
September 26, 2007 - 09:24 AM
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and the sad thing is that white people always say that blacks are not longer victims of hate crimes.
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Evan Gizzie
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Re: The Jena Six
September 26, 2007 - 11:14 PM
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I have to agree with everyone in the thread; its clear that racism does exist in the world still. Most politicians will say that Racism and White Supremacy is a thing of the past simply because they dont commonly deal directly with the far outposts of the nation in which horrible hatred like this still exists.
Racism will continue exist for as long as people allow it to. The values of entire regions, heritages, and subcultures will have to take the right step away from their backwards, narrow-minded philosophy in order to potentially create a generation of open and understanding youth to carry on a world full of equality.
This specific act of atrocity commited at Jena High School was performed by white teenagers, the representatives of the next generation of white culture in this area. These white boys have been raised to be this way. Only when they take the step forward, and teach their children the right way to treat each other, will society take a giant leap of progress.
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