Free the Jena 6! - Page 2

Sadly enough, Cow Puncher speaks the truth. For most of my life, I lived in a county in far East Texas where a lot of people prided themselves on the county having the highest concentration of KKK members. A lot of people like to say that they'd parade right in the face of these racist fucks and show them how it's done, but it's hard to spit in the face of hateful redneck assholes when they've got lots and lots of guns, lots of political cachet within the counties/parishes, and so few brains. Our football team would have games in towns where some of our black players would flat-out refuse to show up, and understandably so. Hell, as a white guy I was creeped out by the places. One of the towns boasted of a bridge that was built over railroad tracks - where they would hang blacks back in the day right before the train passed under so that the train would strike them right after they were hanged.

Segregation is still fairly prevalent in a lot of these towns, with black "communities" - usually a shitty tract of land left to sharecroppers by their masters that had been passed down from generation to generation. Families bought, shared, and eventually formed communities in these places as a welcome retreat from the white Southern Baptist majority. Integration wasn't really an option in many of these towns, in fact the only black family that lived away from the community was a State Trooper and his family, and many white asses were chapped over how he "didn't know his place".

Let me take a wild guess, this either was or was near Vidor? If not it sounds just like the place. Anytime we played them in football even the refs were calling us "nigger-lovers" and our black players much worse.

And people wonder why the south has this reputation. It's not that everybody thinks the entire south is racist, it's that these racist communities, by and large, tend to be in the south. Yes, backwards, ignorant backwaters exist all over, but the south seems to have a significantly higher concentration of them.

The level of nastiness described in these communities also seems well beyond anything that you find in Northern rural communities.

Near Vidor. I hated that town with a passion. If Al-Qaida nukes any backwater town like many small-towners seem to think they will, I hope they hit that one first.

In total agreement. And to the other posters, I understand why people think of the south they way they do. It bothers me however that it becomes acceptable to think that ALL southerners are like that. Not that you guys have particularly alluded to that, others seem to do it on a regular basis.

Yeah, but it seems like an uphill battle at times, especially when nasty shit like this happens.

I understand why people have the ideas about the South they do. How can you not, especially when it's validated by news like this? It's just that I think a lot of people think that it's just an epidemic where every Saturday night we pile into trucks and go cross burning when the reality is that most places are completely functional (if a little on the poor and dumb side) and not all that evil.

The reason for that is, I'm guessing, because most Northern rural communities have well over a 99% white population. Unlike in the South, where generations of African Americans have lived in these small towns since the Civil War, in the North most of the people who live in small town probably haven't even seen a black person except on television. It's not that those communities aren't as racist or as nasty as their Southern counterparts, it's just that for the most part they don't have a black population in town, so it never gets directed at anybody in particular.

I had a job some years back that took me all over central Illinois and Indiana, and not counting Indianapolis, Peoria, Bloomington/Normal, Champaign/Urbana, and Springfield, I can probably count the number of minorites I saw on one hand in the two years I did that job.

Absolutely, every man, woman, and child spawned from the Vidore abbatoir deserves death upon the nuclear pyre.

Any Chewers proximate to Jena going to the rally Thursday morning? I'll probably be lame and not go, so many reasons I can't, but to participate in something like that is so tempting.

Actually, it generally gets directed at the gays. Hatred of blacks just isn't much of a going concern in the north, but they sure do hate them homosexuals.

I'm certainly tempted as I'm only about 5 and a half hours away, but I don't think it'll happen. But this shit fucking kills me, so I'll probably consider it some more before I decide.

I'd say that makes them both less racist and less nasty. Just my opinion, but I really don't think that a lack of black people is the only thing holding back nationwide lynchings.

I know the tree itself is innocent and all that, but would it be too much trouble for someone to just cut the fucker down?

Maybe that should be the end of the march. Of course, then Earth First would be on their asses.

I think burning the tree down would be a more appropriate gesture, but only if it can pruned so that it is in the form of a cross.

How about a nice piece of redneck topiary?

Well ,the tree is probably considered "tainted" now, from having blacks relaxing under it.

With their hippin' anda hoppin'...

...and a bippin and a boppin. They don't know what the jazzzzzz, is all about (what a nerd).

Yes. Homosexuals, abortionists, and "terrorists" all descending on small town Wisconsin to molest their precious children.

Traveling north in Wisconsin to get to Minneapolis/Appleton/Green Bay is a fascinating experience. The billboards slowly shift from advertising restaurants and stores to decrying abortion/homosexuals who are destroying all marriages ever, making wackjob, misspelled political pronouncements, and selling brandy by displaying the product in bucolic settings with game animals. It gets even more bonkers during election years. There's one overpass between Madison and Minneapolis that's flanked with two giant anti-abortion signs. I remember ordering Dave to drive faster when we passed under that thing...

And nature learns another harsh lesson...

See, we've got it made down here. Most people in the rural communities of the South are too poor for billboards, so they just scrawl poorly spelled signs about how Jesus hates sinners and God hates fags and put them in their front yard.

There's one house not far from here that has, and I'm not embellishing this in the least, around 20 to 25 big, hand painted signs with bible verses and slogans about hating fags in the front yard.

There's been repeated attempts by people in town to vandalize them, but the owner does posess a lot of fire arms so it's a dangerous proposition.

I was exploring the Daily Show website when I noticed that the forums had been hijacked by some crazy guy demanding to appear on the show to talk about the Jena 6.

Weird.

David Bowie has donated to the cause:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070919/...ZSefYYJaqs0NUE

Bowie is awesome.

Jesse chimes in!

Hoo-boy. That's not gonna play well.

You know, I hate to judge a book by its cover (not really) but the honky who got stomped really does look like a redneck piece of shit.

Hanging nooses from a tree is a childish prank? Someone actually allowed those words to pass their lips? And this person is in a position of authority ... over anything ... anywhere in the world? I don't see anything in the article linking that prank to the kid that got beat up. Was he one of the three suspended racists/playful miscreats?

Then again, regardless of what was said by the beat up white student, students cannot be allowed to beat other students in school. Period. Second degree murder, however, sounds ridiculous unless this kid was beaten within an inch of his life (which doesn't appear to be the case).

This entire problem started because the apparently white school board didn't take the "white tree" and "noose" situation seriously enough. Fire them and find some people who are interested in doing their jobs and preventing racial tensions from escalating into full blown violence.

**despite this thread's title, it appears only one of the Jena six has been jailed since the assault; he of the conviction that has been overturned due to his incorrectly being tried as an adult.

Who's going to do it?

Certainley nobody in LaSalle parish. The authorities in Jena are more than happy with how this has played so far.

That's what I keep trying to say. Barring some intervention from the state (unlikely, until it goes to the state supreme court) or the federal (won't happen) level, nothing is going to happen to these people. In the eyes of Jena and LaSalle parish, they didn't do anything wrong.

It's probably the school officials I am most upset with for the way they've handled things. I don't expect much from 15 year old racists, but I expect a school board and principal to be able to intelligently deal with all-white gathering areas in which nooses are festooned with glee!

While I agree in principle, what you have to understand is that the board members and principal in question more than likely gathered around that same tree and engaged in the same kind of behavior during their high school years. Nobody goes to Jena to start a career. You live in Jena because you were born in Jena. And if you were born in Jena you were probably raised to hate anything that isn't white.

I say we evacuate the town of all normal folk, take off, and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

I am in no way opposed to this, although I would briefly mourn the loss of the Dairy Queen.

It's not just Jena. One of the most fundamental issues blocking our growth as a people is hatred of "the other" and self-hatred, which is the cancerous seed from which all other hatred grows.

I love how public figures "don't recall" stupid things they did or said.

Does the y stand for yoda?

So I take it no one is going? I am officially not because of work/family shit. Very lame of me; it's less than 5 hours round trip. I wish I coulda been part, but I hope they do get close to the 10k. The news around here is covering it quite a bit. Not surprisingly 63% polled in my area are against Bell being released.

If they break the law....well, yeah.

Unfortunately, embrace of "the us" and hatred/fear of "the not-us" is one of the more basic instincts of human nature.

People get in fights in high school, usually they just get suspended. Unless the circumstances are completely egregious criminal charges are excessive. If I was in the same fucked up situation, I would have been one of the Jena 6. If that makes me a criminal, so be it, but I do not think that is the case.

I don't think anyone is arguing that the punishment isn't HIGHLY disproportionate - but then again, this was a 6-on-1 beatdown (though apparently a pretty weak one if the guy was up and about that evening; maybe more of a girly slap-down) - but I think in this instance SOME punishment is certainly appropriate.

I'd hope it goes without saying that the kid dropping n-bombs deserves a smack in the mouth by an authority figure, since we're talking punishment here.

Bull. Shit. The recent trend in schools across the country to overreact to kids fighting is idiotic. Kids need to fight, its part of their nature, and it's the only way to properly take care of one's self when you're a kid, it's either that or consistently run crying to your parents/authority figures and never learn to stand up for yourself.

Case in point about the stupidity of this: When my older brother was in early elementary school he'd be constantly picked on by the biggest smartass in his grade. For years this one kid would insult him and encourage his friends to do the same. My brother wasn't a wuss or a nerd, he was great at sports, etc, but he'd go so far as to get the rest of the team in whatever sport to ignore him during games, not pass, etc. And my brother wouldn't lay a finger on him for fear of getting in serious trouble, getting sued, etc. So he couldn't do a thing to stop the kid for years, until sometime around 3rd or 4th grade he just beat the living shit out of the kid. Just wiped the floor with him. He was fortunately not caught, the kid couldn't get him in trouble because he did it outside of school grounds, and after that nobody would make fun of him anymore at all. Case closed.

I've encountered a lot of bullies in my day and have been one myself, and I know the only way to deal with those kids is to cut them down to size and show them that you aren't scared, and nobody does that by telling the teacher or some shit. My generation's been raised as such and we're turning for the most part into a nation of pussies and then people wonder why we don't have any more Robert Mitchums or Steve McQueens while Australia, Ireland and the UK are exporting tough guys in droves. It's because they actually let kids grow up and toughen up there instead of babying them.

The problem then becomes one of escalation. If someone loses a fight one day, could they perhaps bring weapon the next day, that could get people killed? School today isn't like what it was when we were young, a tussle in the grounds can easily end up a lot worse than scuffed knees and a bloody nose.

I guess if they need to fight then they should enroll in the local boxing gym and settle it there.

Fuck that, fights to the death. It's the only way kids will learn. Plus it gets rid of the potential tattle tail.

I imagine kids are more likely to use weapons if they are afraid to fight.

We're not talking about two kids going mano a mano without weapons (which I would support), we're talking about a six on one smackdown. Do you really not understand why that can't be tolerated?

The school facilitated racial tension and the white student provoked the black students in the worst way possible. I don't see how you can ignore the context of the situation. You make it sound like this situation should be judged in the same way as, for example, six black kids beating up a black kid with no provocation. It is ridiculous.

Hanging nooses should be considered a Federal hate crime, yet what were the consequences of that? Nothing. So, in fact, we are looking at two forms of justice according to the Jena school board - one for whites and one for blacks. You can't expect people to not act on their frustrations, least of all teenagers, when this is so painfully obvious. So, no consequences for hanging nooses to scare, humiliate and intimidate black kids; felony charges for beating up a white kid.

It's also barbaric to try minors as adults. Period. I hate this trend, and it seems to be leveraged most against African Americans.

Finally, for Bailey: Hate leads to SUFFering!

And Chavez, that's true but we embrace "the us" because it makes us feel like there can't be anything wrong with us or anything that threatens our notion of ourselves, however tenuous; whereas the existence of "the other" gnaws at our doubts and insecurities about ourselves and must therefore be demeaned or destroyed. It is human nature, but it's pure caveman.