Jena

[altadawg]

A friend sent me this link....First Ive heard of it up here, sorry if this is in another thread... and for all I know this didnt/isnt happening. At least I hope not.

May I say, can we keep this civil? I just want to know if these claims are valid...

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/

"Last fall, when two Black high school students sat under the "white" tree on their campus, white students responded by hanging nooses from the tree. When Black students protested the light punishment for the students who hung the nooses, District Attorney Reed Walters came to the school and told the students he could "take [their] lives away with a stroke of [his] pen.""


Racial tension continued to mount in Jena, and the District Attorney did nothing in response to several egregious cases of violence and threats against black students. But when a white student--who had been a vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses--taunted a black student, allegedly called several black students "nigger", and was beaten up by black students, six black students were charged with second-degree attempted murder. Last month, the first young man to be tried, Mychal Bell, was convicted. Later this month, he will be sentenced to up to 22 years in prison for a school fight. "

[Guisslapp]

Reminds me of junior high. Makes me feel a little misty.

[randerizer]

A friend sent me this link....First Ive heard of it up here, sorry if this is in another thread... and for all I know this didnt/isnt happening. At least I hope not.

May I say, can we keep this civil? I just want to know if these claims are valid...

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/

"Last fall, when two Black high school students sat under the "white" tree on their campus, white students responded by hanging nooses from the tree. When Black students protested the light punishment for the students who hung the nooses, District Attorney Reed Walters came to the school and told the students he could "take [their] lives away with a stroke of [his] pen.""


Racial tension continued to mount in Jena, and the District Attorney did nothing in response to several egregious cases of violence and threats against black students. But when a white student--who had been a vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses--taunted a black student, allegedly called several black students "nigger", and was beaten up by black students, six black students were charged with second-degree attempted murder. Last month, the first young man to be tried, Mychal Bell, was convicted. Later this month, he will be sentenced to up to 22 years in prison for a school fight. "

Mostly true. Read more here: http://www.latechbbb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43146

Also of note - a few nights before the incident from the 6 black students, there was a party mostly attended by whites. A black student showed up and was beaten with broken beer bottles, no real charges. The next day, the black guy that was jumped walks into a convenience store and happens across one of his assailants, who runs to his car to retrieve a sawed-off shotgun to defend himself from some sort of retribution. The black boy fights the gun away from the original attacker and runs home, only to be charged with assault and robbery for the incident. After the "Jena 6" attack (which they deny, but whatever), the attacked white kid shows up at a party the same evening, so I'm not sure that the school fight was very brutal. To prompt the fight, the white boy and his friends (who had originally hung the nooses), were making fun of the black boy for getting jumped at the party.

[Dirtydawg]

This sort of reminds me of the dead black man they found in rural Mississippi several years ago. He had 47 stab wounds. They said it was the worst case of suicide they'd ever seen.

Seriously, though. This is a bad case if what they say is true. I saw some parts of it, but never really read all sides. I'm sure each side is going to make their stories sound like they are the most persecuted and have been done wrong the most. It would be sad to think that there is a DA that would have that type of mentality to tell someone that, and you would think it is a fabrication until you reflect back on the actions of the DA in the Duke lacrosse case and realize that there are some very sick and unscrupulous people out there. It's cases like this that, if true, makes one realize that we still have a very long way to go in this country.

[nadB]

A friend sent me this link....First Ive heard of it up here, sorry if this is in another thread... and for all I know this didnt/isnt happening. At least I hope not.

May I say, can we keep this civil? I just want to know if these claims are valid...

http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/

Much more to this than the propaganda your friend sent you. Your friend has no clue.

http://www.thejenatimes.net/home_pag...hics/home.html

[daybreaker2]

nad- If the acts he committed while on probation were so serious, why was he not already in jail? Considering the headline of the article is "Bell's Violent Past Exposed" yet we dont actually get any details beyond listing a few charges, I have a feeling that the fact these charges fall under "Crimes of violence" is probably a technicality, and considering that particular court's willingness to be harsher on african-americans, I dont fully believe that he is some kind of violent monster or whatever the headline of that article is trying to make you think.

Do I think he is a perfect angel? No, of course not. But I think there are plenty of white people in that area trying to paint the black people involved as being worse than they really are to make themselves feel better. Because white people would never ever be racist towards black people without a really really good reason, right?

[altadawg]

Much more to this than the propaganda your friend sent you. Your friend has no clue.

http://www.thejenatimes.net/home_pag...hics/home.html

I didnt say he had a clue. I said he sent me a link.

[Dirtydawg]

I'm going to have to agree with daybreaker on this one. If the kid had already broken his probation, why was he still on the loose? I think these kids were antagonized and although their actions might have been excessive, I don't think they acted without provocation. This article comes after the fact. I'd be interested to see if this judge's record and see if he's applied those 3 rules consistently.

[nadB]

nad- If the acts he committed while on probation were so serious, why was he not already in jail?

Very Good Q.

According to the article, Bell was charged with 2nd degree battery on Christmas day, 2005. The charge was later reduced to simple battery, and he was found guilty in juvenile court in June, 2006, and put on probation. I suspect that he was warned to change his behavior and clean up his act ??

Then, while on probation, he gets arrested for criminal damage to property; then, for simple battery; and, then again for criminal damage to property. And, the authorities apparently just let him slide -- three times ?? Does this appear to you to be a bunch of bigots picking on the kid ??

I have no idea why he was not already in jail, but I wonder if the fact that he was the star player on the Jena High football team (he was already being scouted by a number of major universities) might have been a factor ?? Mychal Bell potentially could have been one of the best (if not the best ever) football players to come out of Jena High, and gone on to much bigger and better things. Enough strikes, though, and anyone gets called "out". A shame.

[altadawg]

Yup, Roddney King wasnt exactly up for California citizen of the year, but everyone has rights. The LAPD will testify to that to this day.

Im just amazed at everything leading up to the fight. To be fair, I dont know $%^&, but from what Ive read so far...... either jobs/careers will be ending, or that area of the state might as well be called the Sandpoint of the South....

[nadB]

...... either jobs/careers will be ending

Not likely; not likely at all.

or that area of the state might as well be called the Sandpoint of the South....

I take it you are referring to Sandpoint, Idaho ?? No Way. This has nothing to do with the Aryan Nations or any other white supremacist Neo-Nazi groups. That being said, Jena has been castigated to the nth degree by the national and international press. Hard to believe you only just found out about this. Where you been, altadawg, mars ?? :icon_wink:

[Guisslapp]

Alta gets all his news from this site:

http://www.buzzflash.com/

[altadawg]

Hard to believe you only just found out about this. Where you been, altadawg, mars ?? :icon_wink:

Boise Idaho felt like Mars this summer. Im craving rain, thunderstorms, humidity, clouds, anything!!!!