Thousands rally to support "Jena 6"

[ruksak]

Quote by: Mia I don't know about that, but I know who started off with the terroristic threats. Whites. With the nooses. And the 'law' backing them up by not doing anything about it. PS the rally was entirely peaceful. Nothing remotely violent or terroristic from all of the thousands of people that came to protest and show solidarity.

Given what recent history has shown us, do you think things will remain peaceful if the black thugs get shipped off to prison?

The event is a masquerade.

The white kids that hung that noose should have been charged with menacing, or something. Two wrongs don't make a right.

[Mia]

I don't know. If there's an LA riot type response, I'm going to flip the script and have some different comments.

I'm speaking to what's actually happened thus far.

[ruksak]

Quote by: Mia I don't know. If there's an LA riot type response, I'm going to flip the script and have some different comments. I'm speaking to what's actually happened thus far.

I'm just citing precedent. The atmosphere preceding the LA riots wasn't overtly hostile. What happened next we all know.

I'm also having trouble extrapolating from this, exactly what is it the could-be mob wants?

[Mia]

Quote by: ruksak I'm just citing precedent. The atmosphere preceding the LA riots wasn't overtly hostile. What happened next we all know. I'm also having trouble extrapolating from this, exactly what is it the could-be mob wants?

I hear ya, it's the first thing I thought of when I heard civil rights groups were 'descending' on the town. I already started the script-flipping elsewhere.

In here, I'm trying to start from the beginning and talk about one aspect.

The Response, is a whole separate topic to my mind.

Before the riots, there were threats about what would happen if the trial didn't go their way. I have paid attention to the Jena situation, and so far I don't see anything to indicate the same.

[Mia]

Quote by: tivodan1116 Ever hear the phrase "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me"? What ever happened to that? If there was a legitimate "threat" to hang these students, that is a criminal offense - they could go to the police, no money needed. Fortunately for us, it is not illegal merely to be a racist jerk. You cannot "strike back". It is not acceptable to take the law into your own hands and certainly not to escalate a verbal battle into a physical beating. Get a thicker skin.

While I don't agree with hate crime legislation, we do have it , and it's based on the premise that words can hurt, cause intimidation, help bring about violence......noose hanging is a hate crime by all the criteria....

[Mia]

Quote by: Chaossaber314 Hold up a minute. Is there ANY evidence that the victim was related to the noose being hanged? ANY at all? OR is this just being brought up solely to make this a racial issue? Also, what ever happened to simply beating someone up? Why'd they have to cross the line and fucking hospitalize him?

The black boy was hospitalized too, but the white assailant received a simple battery charge, and probation.

Also, what happened to charging assault for a fight instead of attempted murder?

I'm the last person to make anything racial that isn't. The very last. Are you saying nothing racial ever does actually happen? This is a case that screams it, nobody's 'turning it into' one.

[Chaossaber314]

Quote by: Mia The black boy was hospitalized too, but the white assailant received a simple battery charge, and probation.

Do you have a link to that information because I'm not reading that anywhere.

[ruksak]

Heres where I'm getting lost. The media keeps saying that the crowd is protesting the harsh treatment/sentences of the "Jena 6". Yet when I watch and listen to the crowd, I see proclamations of "Free the Jena 6".

Theres a difference between lessoning the sentences, and complete exoneration. I take from all this that they feel its OK for blacks to beat white men unconscious as long as they feel sufficiently insulted by them.

[Mia]

Quote by: ruksak Heres where I'm getting lost. The media keeps saying that the crowd is protesting the harsh treatment/sentences of the "Jena 6". Yet when I watch and listen to the crowd, I see proclamations of "Free the Jena 6". Theres a difference between lessoning the sentences, and complete exoneration. I take from all this that they feel its OK for blacks to beat white men unconscious as long as they feel sufficiently insulted by them.

I don't think protesters should have an effect on even the sentencing, much less free them.

If I went to Jena and joined the rally, my point would be to say 'OK, Jena, we see you. Your backward ways aren't hidden from the nation's eye anymore'.

Michael Bell's case needs to be decided on it's own merits, it's the pattern of racial injustice I would want to draw attention to, and effect change on.

[Mia]

Quote by: Chaossaber314 Do you have a link to that information because I'm not reading that anywhere.

... 16-year-old Robert Bailey and a few black friends tried to enter a party attended mostly by whites. When Bailey got inside, he was attacked and beaten. The next day, tensions escalated at a local convenience store. Bailey exchanged words with a white student who had been at the party. The white boy ran back to his truck and pulled out a pistol grip shotgun. Bailey ran after him and wrestled him for the gun. After some scuffling, Bailey and his friends took the gun away and brought it home. Bailey was eventually charged with theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery and disturbing the peace. The white student who pulled the weapon was not charged at all. The following Monday, Dec.4, a white student named Justin Barker was loudly bragging to friends in the school hallway that Robert Bailey had been whipped by a white man on Friday night. When Barker walked into the courtyard, he was attacked by a group of black students. The first punch knocked Barker out and he was kicked several times in the head. But the injuries turned out to be superficial. Barker was examined by doctors and released; he went out to a social function later that evening. Six black students were arrested and charged with aggravated assault. But District Attorney Reed Walters increased the charges to attempted second-degree murder.

NPR : Beating Charges Split La. Town Along Racial Lines

Right before the trial, the charges of attempted second-degree murder were lowered to aggravated battery, which under Louisiana law requires a dangerous weapon. The weapon? Tennis shoes.

It's still about race in Jena, La.

....while Bailey's white assailant at the party got off with battery charges and probation, the Jena Six were hit with attempted-murder charges. Barker "didn't even stay in the hospital overnight," says Jones, Bell's father. "The D.A. is a racist. There's just no other way to explain it."

Racial Tensions Rip Apart Tiny Jena, La. - Newsweek Society - MSNBC.com

[Chaossaber314]

So, like I said, none of the Jena 6 were injured in the crime they were alleged to have committed that is currently being prosecuted. Barker didn't end up hospitalizing anyone.

[ruksak]

I really hadn't heard of the "Jena 6" until just yesterday, as I have been avoiding the cable news due to OJ bullshit.
The more I hear about it, the more I'm leaning toward this being an obvious case of racial prejudice. Somethings not right there.

[tivodan1116]

Quote by: Mia They did. The response was the school suspended the noose-hangers for three days, and the DA told the blacks to settle down or he'd 'end their lives' with a stroke of his pen.

What else was the school supposed to do? The students did something with racial overtones. It is not illegal to be racist.

Quote by: Mia I don't know about that, but I know who started off with the terroristic threats. Whites. With the nooses. And the 'law' backing them up by not doing anything about it.

As the DA said, there is no statute that covers what they did. We live in a nation of laws. You cannot prosecute someone for a crime unless they meet the elements of a specific written crime.

These are the closest ones in the Louisiana Criminal Code:

Quote by: TERRORIZING Terrorizing is the intentional communication of information that the commission of a crime of violence is imminent or in progress or that a circumstance dangerous to human life exists or is about to exist, with the intent of causing members of the general public to be in sustained fear for their safety; or causing evacuation of a building, a public structure, or a facility of transportation; or causing other serious disruption to the general public. LSA-R.S. 14:40.1

Quote by: STALKING Stalking is the intentional and repeated following or harassing of another person that would cause a reasonable person to feel alarmed or to suffer emotional distress. Stalking shall include but not be limited to the intentional and repeated uninvited presence of the perpetrator at another person's home, workplace, school, or any place which would cause a reasonable person to be alarmed, or to suffer emotional distress as a result of verbal or behaviorally implied threats of death, bodily injury, sexual assault, kidnaping, or any other statutory criminal act to himself or any member of his family or any person with whom he is acquainted. LSA-R.S. 14:40.2

Hanging nooses from a tree doesn't even come close to that. Terrorizing is not related, and stalking would be an extreme stretch, since to fit the definition it needs to be directed against a particular person, which it was not. There simply is not a criminal statute in Louisiana that would allow for a crime here. Louisiana does not have statutes for harassment or menacing.

Quote by: Chaossaber314 Hold up a minute. Is there ANY evidence that the victim was related to the noose being hanged? ANY at all? OR is this just being brought up solely to make this a racial issue?

Excellent question, and I haven't seen it.

Quote by: Mia While I don't agree with hate crime legislation, we do have it , and it's based on the premise that words can hurt, cause intimidation, help bring about violence......noose hanging is a hate crime by all the criteria....

Not in Louisiana it isn't. By none of the criteria in fact. In Louisiana, as in most other states, for this to be a hate crime, it first has to be a crime. Here is the Louisiana hate crimes statute in pertinent part:

Quote by: HATE CRIMES It shall be unlawful for any person to select the victim of the following offenses against person and property because of actual or perceived race, age, gender, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or ancestry of that person or the owner or occupant of that property or because of actual or perceived membership or service in, or employment with, an organization: first or second degree murder; manslaughter; battery; aggravated battery; second degree battery; aggravated assault with a firearm; terrorizing; mingling harmful substances; simple, forcible, or aggravated rape; sexual battery, second degree sexual battery; oral sexual battery; carnal knowledge of a juvenile; indecent behavior with juveniles; molestation of a juvenile; simple, second degree, or aggravated kidnapping; simple or aggravated arson; placing combustible materials; communicating of false information of planned arson; simple or aggravated criminal damage to property; contamination of water supplies; simple or aggravated burglary; criminal trespass; simple, first degree, or armed robbery; purse snatching; extortion; theft; desecration of graves; institutional vandalism; or assault by drive-by shooting. LSA-R.S. 14:107.2

In order to be guilty of a hate crime, you first need to be guilty of one of those underlying crimes, none of which applies to the noose hanging situation. Notice that stalking is not listed there - so even if by some drastic miscarriage of justice they could be convicted of stalking, it would not be subject to hate crime enhancements.

So, finally: The DA's lack of criminal prosecution against the students who hung nooses was not based on racism. He simply did not have anything to charge them with, period.

[Mia]

Quote by: Chaossaber314 So, like I said, none of the Jena 6 were injured in the crime they were alleged to have committed that is currently being prosecuted. Barker didn't end up hospitalizing anyone.

The point is there is a clear pattern of justice favoring one race over another.

[Mia]

Tivodan, I am not up on LA statutes, if you say the noose hanging can't fit into any, I'll take that as the case for the purposes of discussion here.

It's not the central point of the situation in Jena, however, that's just something I mentioned as an aside, to *me* personally that should fall under terroristic threat, or hate-crime, or SOMETHING, lol....

It doesn't change the whole situation, from the first incident to the present. There is still a pattern of racism going on, if you look at all the incidents in a row, and the resulting charges (or lack thereof).

[Chaossaber314]

Quote by: Mia The point is there is a clear pattern of justice favoring one race over another.

Because the listed situation is equivocal to 6 shitheads stomping 1 person? Is it supposed to excuse their behavior? Come on, Mia.

If there was a miscarriage of justice, the prosecuting attorney needs to be specifically punished, it doesn't mean that these guys should get away with their very serious crime.

[Mia]

Quote by: Chaossaber314 Because the listed situation is equivocal to 6 shitheads stomping 1 person? Is it supposed to excuse their behavior? Come on, Mia.

I didn't say that, and that's not what I mean.

Is it right, though, that they are tried as adults, and with attempted murder? The appeals court didn't think so - they said he should have been tried as a juvenile. Then the attempted murder was reduce to a charge that is still too much, because LA law requires a weapon to be involved, and a foot is not a weapon.

The point is that when white kids do something to black kids, it's a slap on the wrist, or ignored completely; when the tables are turned, they throw the book at the blacks.

[Mia]

On September 20th, we expect more than two thousand ColorOfChange members to come to Jena, LA to protest the sentencing of Mychal Bell, the first of the Jena 6 to be convicted. We're organizing a national Day of Action for that day, so you can help take the rally, and the issue, beyond Jena and into communities all across the country. The first step is to get a "Free the Jena 6" t-shirt to wear on the 20th.

To get your shirt by the 20th, you need to place your order by Thursday, September 6th at midnight (after the 6th, the t-shirt provider will send your order but can't guarantee that it will arrive by the 20th). Free the Jena 6 | GoodStorm.com

Over 130,000 ColorOfChange.org members have taken action on behalf of the Jena 6 so far. Tens of thousands of you wearing these shirts on the 20th will be an action in itself, but there will be more that you can do.

Closer to the 20th, we'll be providing flyers that you can download and hand out to people who ask about your shirt; you can also post them in local businesses, cafes, and other places. Building word-of-mouth awareness is critical; it's the reason so many of you have already taken action and why more people join this fight every day.

On the Day of Action, we'll also ask you to flood Louisiana state officials and agencies--particularly those who care about the state's reputation and who have influence on the Governor--with phone calls. And we will publicize not only the action happening in Jena, but the local actions you take, broadening the coverage, and making it clear that there's national support for these young men.

Again, thank you again for working to support the Jena 6. Together, we will make a difference.

Thanks and Peace,
-- James, Van, Gabriel, Clarissa, Mervyn, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
September 5th, 2007


P.S. With help from Goodstorm, we're able to offer the shirts at the low cost of $10 (plus shipping), and all proceeds will go directly towards the legal defense of the Jena 6. If you'd like to make an additional donation towards their legal defense, click here: https://secure.colorofchange.org/jena_fund/

[ruksak]

Quote by: Mia Tivodan, I am not up on LA statutes, if you say the noose hanging can't fit into any, I'll take that as the case for the purposes of discussion here.

If the prosecutors wanted to prosecute the white kids for hanging that noose, they most certainly could have. At the very least they could have charged them with vandalism or defacing public property.. The act of hanging a noose could well be defined as a death threat, but apparently it wasn't directed at an individual/individuals.

The honest truth is, the prosecutor probably found it amusing and just laughed it off. Racism does exist, ya know. In a county of only 3,000 people, only 13 percent are black. Over 1,500 of the residents of Jena are unemployed. This is a hot bed of white trashiness.

20 years for kicking a kids ass? Thats way too severe. I think a lot of folks are having the same problem I had when i first looked at this case, and thats the presence of Al Sharpton. Who defaced his own efforts by lynching white peoples careers over silly bullshit. Take this quote from the article in the OP of this thread as an example;

Sharpton called Jena the beginning of the 21st century civil rights movement. "The Rev. Martin Luther King went to Selma. That wasn't the only place you couldn't vote. That was the point of action," Sharpton said. "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," Sharpton said.

He compares himself to the greatest civil rights leader in American history? ? ?
Its the presence of crooked racists like Sharpton, that make a career out of lynching whites over misunderstandings, that's clouding the issue if you ask me.
I had to look beyond the foul black racist bastard Al Sharpton, in order to see the real story in Jena. If you're white, and you can't see that something stinks in Jena, than you need to look again.

[Praxius]

Quote by: Mia The point is there is a clear pattern of justice favoring one race over another.

Irrelevent in the eyes of the law here.... 6 guys jumped and beat one guy up unconsious and it apparently was considdered a risk to the guys life, therefore I feel attempted murder does apply, regardless of their race.

If it was one guy beating up one guy, then it'd just be a fight, but when you get 6 guys after one guy, that one guy doesn't stand much of a chance of defending himself, therefore the level of force used in this situation was pretty excessive, and I feel the charges were just.

I find the only racism here is these blacks who are trying to defend these guys for almost killing the guy due to being offended.... and complaining things are unfair.....

Come the frig off it..... to me it's more so trying to take away from their own actions of beating this guy, and trying to justify it.

If someone goes and does something that offends you, then deal with it the right way.... and there are a multitude of ways of dealing with it, besides loosing your cool and beating the guy up with your thug friends to the point of putting him in the hospital.

And I'm not calling them thugs for being black, but thugs based on their actions.

There have been way too many situations here in Canada where kids don't know when to stop in a fight and one ends up seriously injured or killed from a severe blow..... and regardless if they're ignorant on the force they are applying in their fight.... if it reaches a certain level of force, you do risk that person's life.

I think this whole protest is a load of BS. Maybe there is an in-equality in the laws between whites and blacks, but this is a piss poor situation to rally up for it.