Forever Selma

Amen. Al Sharpton is the equivalent of an ambulance chaser. If he expressed one iota of regret for Tawana Brawley and the men whose reputations were smeared so badly, or could ever appear in public in a way that suggested it was not all about Al, I could begin to try taking him seriously.

On the other hand, I think I can understand why he is not getting called out by many of the people he purports to advocate for. As a gay man, I know that all too many times there have been people speaking up for me where, while I was uncomfortable with them and much of what they stood for, I was still glad to feel that *someone* was speaking up for me. This certainly was how I felt in the '80s and early '90s, when there just weren't a lot of voices out there. I'd like to feel I've changed a lot since then, but I view the change as resulting from (a) a bit of personal growth/self-confidence and (b) a less hostile environment with a greater plurality of voices speaking up.

"If Barack Obama could find a way of standing with the Jena guys while repudiating the vulturous Sharpton and Jackson, he'd do himself a world of good."

I agree. But I'd also like to see a GOP candidate have a Sister Souljah moment with James Dobson or Pat Robertson or Bill Donohue, but that's not going to happen either. Because Sharpton and Jackson, like Dobson/Robertson/Donohue, have their fringe constituencies that still matter in the electorate. What are the chances that Brownback or Huckabee are going to acknowledge the evilness of Dobson/Robertson/Donohue?

First of all I am a white middle-aged female, those young men should have never been arrested. Where were those in the community that new nooses were being hung up? ( they are the ones that need to be tried) What did they think would happen if white kids had been caught, if he had been mine, he would have been beaten by me as HIS MOTHER AND FATHER. I cannot for a minute think my boys would have been so stupid and think for one minute of the consequences. I guess it is too much for that community to take care of this incident by theirselves, but NO, now just deal with Al Shapton and Jesse Jackson and their minions, you got it coming.

I think much of what McWhorter has had to say in the past is interesting, but this column was repulsive. He writes:

"The Jena story, it must be said, does not show the school's black teens in their best light. In protest against the nooses, a large group staged a sit-in under the tree, and later a larger one tried to address the school board about the incident.

"The nooses, though, were a prank. Mean, but a prank. Humor and mischief are all about pushing the envelope: witness Kathy Griffin's comments about Jesus at the Emmy Awards last week.

"'I will go to pieces if you push certain buttons': a statement of weakness. Sweaty youths hang some strings in a tree to remind you of lynching. Would the sky really fall in if you just ignored it? Think how that would deflate the youths, for one thing."

Is he kidding? Does he really think that by ignoring the nooses the problem just goes away? No. The best way to deal with a weak-minded bully is smash him right in the nose. In other words, twist a pig's ear and watch him squeal. And all this media attention on Jena is doing just that. It would be interesting if any of these racists bother to stand before a camera and announce the courage of thier convictions, but they won't; they're cowards.

Sorry, Jena. The South lost. Deal with it.

Rod - I think you linked to the wrong page under the McWhorter hyperlink.

I share your disgust with Sharpton and Jackson. They're pathetic. And I don't like the idea of the six boys being portrayed as some modern day equivalent of Medgar Evers or something. They're bullies who beat up another kid and deserve some sort of punishment; certainly not the punishment they received though. The students who hung the nooses should also be punished. There definitely should be some sort of punishment for the DA too. It's ridiculous what he's done down there. The whole thing is pretty sad.

What I want to know is why do the school administrators who allowed a "whites only tree" to exist in their school for so long still have jobs?

McWhorter link fixed. Sorry.

Reagan and Nixon were not from the South. I know I'd like to forget the Reagan years, but I'm surprised you have.

This story is very sad. I thought that young people were doing better than previous generations accepting people of a different race.

Sharpton and Jackson would benefit the black community better if they'd drop the anger and focus on problem solving using adult communication skills that make the other person want to come to the table.My husband heard Jesse Jackson speak at a business meeting about a year ago. He said that it was weird being a white guy and sitting in the audience listening to Jackson talk about "the man."

It wouldn't be so bad if this were an isolated incident. Blacks have come a long way in terms of fighting discrimination, but the perception among blacks is that they always get the short end of the stick when dealing with the justice system. Penalties are harsher and false imprisonments are higher.

Whatthe...
You embarrass yourself by speaking when you don't know what you're talking about. The protest and outrage are about the racist application of law by the school district and, especially, parish officials.

Richard Nixon was from California (seldom described as north of anything)

Thanks, Anduril. Precisely.

Actually, Reagan was born in mid-west Mecca Illinois but moved to California where his various carreers Movies/Gov/Presidential elections....occurred.

But yes, my point was that... for going on one quarter of this country's history..., no one from 'The North' has been elected president. And in the last 30 years, two were from the deep south (as in Confederate states) and two were either Texans by birth or choice.

Now let's get back to agreeing on what matters......... that the North is history and Al Sharpton is a loathesome tyrant and Jesse Jackson is Janet Jackson without breasts. Whatever THAT means.

White kids - don't be insensitive jerks; Black kids - don't be abusive thugs.

It isn't quite that simple. Here is a bit more detail, from Wade Goodwyn of NPR, via Huffington Post. (I will include the link in another post.) For those of you who will discount this information because it comes from a disfavored source, please find me a conservative-acceptable link with the same information, and I'll be happy to link to that instead.

The next night, 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.

Do go and read the whole post. There's a deep and ugly context to these events.

Oy. Apologies for the multiple posts, but I forgot that html has to be applied to each and every paragraph. Everything above, from "after some scuffling" to "second degree murder" is also a quote from Wade Goodwyn. Sorry.

were not for him, this issue wouldn't have gotten the national attention it deserved. Before this, NPR would do the occasional follow-up on the Jena incident; now I see CNN doing a special on the matter.

That's not really true, at least not for CNN. I have a TV on my desk that stays on CNN all day (MSNBC and Fox are on the B side of cable, which I can't get at my desk). They've been talking about Jena for a while now, before Jesse got involved.

I agree that this is a stopped-clock-right-twice-a-day situation. But I guarantee you that the presence of Sharpton and Jackson is hurting the cause.

"I guarantee you that the presence of Sharpton and Jackson is hurting the cause."

As far as bringing real reconciliation to Jena, you're probably right Rod. It might be what was needed, though, to get those kids out of jail.

Another perspective, from black conservative blogger Duane Brayboy:

For me, when I read about the Atlanta city council supporting the Jena students, students from both Howard and Atlanta making the trip to Jena, bloggers from coast to coast screaming about this and even the Alphas jumping into the frey, I just wish that there was this much noise over the daily murders of our young Black men and women starting with well over 100 or so murders in New Orleans.

Call me a broken record, but the contrasts are insulting.

The city of Atlanta alone has a close to 50% unsolved homicide rate yet their city council wants to speak out on Jena????

The rest at: http://blackinformant.com/2007/09/20/oh-jena/

The most telling quote I've heard about the whole Jena situation was a week or two ago and went along the lines of, "Jena is a town stuck in 1960 when the rest of America is in 2007."

Given Jena's geographic location, that's frightening.

I guess I'm with Rob Thomas -- what's wrong with you people?

Six thugs jump a single guy and beat and kick him into unconsciousness and we're supposed to feel sorry for the thugs?

Why in the world should they be given a pass? Because they're black?

You gotta be kidding me.

fbc and the guy who had that little somethin' somethin' with Tom Cruise should really read the link provided by forestwalker.

Cowards who would kick a man when he's down should be punished stiffly. But I would expect even a stiff punishment to be tens of days, not tens of decades. Although maybe for a thug like Bell quite a bit more time is warranted.

But the actions of the DA and the failure of the school board to make any meaningful conciliatory attempts towards the aggrieved black students, if true, are 1960s, sweaty fat boy, straw hat and overalls wearin', Bubba ugly.

Rather than marching to get thugs out of jail, Sharpton, et al., should be marching to get a few more thugs thrown in.

Larry -

So because there is a history of racism, the Jena Six should get -- what? -- commendations for not killing the kid? Does it matter if he called them "n*ggers"? It certainly shouldn't. Get over it.

Sheesh. You could cut the white guilt and paternalism here with a steak knife.

I've said before that I doubt this country will ever get completely over the scars left on our national psyche by slavery. And that may be true, but I we're damned sure never going to get there by promoting one system of justice for white criminals and another for black ones.

That's nothing more than soft racism itself.

fbc, I haven't seen anyone here suggesting any participants should "get a pass" or "commendations." Everyone seems to agree that yes, all participants should be punished--equally and appropriately. Perhaps you've overlooked the fact that Mychal Bell has already spent 9 months in jail, after being tried as an adult, which the courts have now ruled was improper. Would you consider it a mere slap on the wrist if your high-school age son had spent 9 months in jail on an improper conviction?

Let's see: fbc's (presumably white) son is taunted in a highly charged racial situation at school. A black kid tells him he's a racist cracker and should be killed. fbc's son loses his head, knocks the black kid down and kicks him. He is charged with attempted murder, tried as an adult, and spends 9 months in jail before it is determined that he should have been charged as a juvenile. But the black community isn't content with this--they want him to spend 30 years in prison. Would fbc consider this perfectly fair and tell his son "you're a thug, so you need to suck it up and take what's coming to you?" It's possible. I wonder.

Turn the whole thing around, switch races in each situation, and then see if it feels the same. It's an interesting exercise in how perception can make it seem as if people live in different worlds.

M_David,
That statement is correct. No white students attacked any black students *on school property*. Those assaults happend at a local gas station and at a student party off campus.

The implication is incorrect. There is obvious prosecutorial misconduct here. When one kid wrestles away a shotgun from another, and the one charged is the kid who did the wrestling, there's a problem.

Sometimes, scary racism exists. Even if you don't want it to.

What are you talking about Susan?

Who was charged for "wrestling away a shotgun'?

But Larry no white kids did similar things in this situation.

Dig?

mdavid-support for the statement that the six blacks involved in the beating had extensive juvenile records? Believe I have read exactly the opposite.

Believe I have read exactly the opposite.

Connie, I'm not suprised with our wonderful MSM. The reason I don't put links in the post because it takes forever to load. But here is the site:

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=17296&id=32967

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Elizabeth,

Sometimes, scary racism exists. Even if you don't want it to.

You seem to be implying I don't want racism to exist and am willing to ignore evidence that says it is present. Are you are providing the shotgun story as evidence of racism?

Even if your story is true (I don't know anything about it), misconduct is not always motivated by racism. Why do you automatically assume so? It isn't always racism, you know. For example, in the Duke case, he was white prosecuting whites for political gain. I don't think the prosecutor was "racist". I've seen dozens of white-on-white prosecutor misconduct situations, done for political gain, or for personal agendas. It's not uncommon. I don't assume "RACE!" every time I see evil out there. And I don't think racism is any more evil than other evil. I'd rather live next to somebody who hates me for my race than an abortion supporter any day.

But this doesn't mean I don't think racism exists. It does. However, I follow the evidence wherever it takes me and don't jump to conclusions, and accept that people are more than the color of their skin and have many motives. Methinks you, and the MSM, have racism on the brain.

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On a different note: I think this strong desire for the MSM to find scapegoats for racism tells us a lot about the typical media editor and the readers who love to read these trumped-up stories.

It makes sense that closet racists themselves would have a strong desire to find scapegoats - they have deep guilt and wish to reflect it on the public at large, and assume the rest of the world is racist like them.

I've noticed the younger generation seems to be more relaxed on the racism trip, and generally more colorblind than not. This makes sense, as there is a lot of intermixing of families nowadays, and most reasonably intelligent people are not racist unless they are brainwashed to be so. It seems to me a lot of this scapegoating comes from guilty boomers who grew up in the era of racism and harbor a lot of mixed feelings and guilt about race. Most X'ers I know yawn.

I don't look at one case and jump to the 'racism' conclusion. What I am saying is that there is, indeed, a visible pattern here of misconduct on the part of the prosecutor, probably motivated by racism. I say I think you *don't* want to see racism because you seem to be ignoring the fact that previous to the incident that got all the attention there were *several* assaults on black students by white students, off campus, that got absolutely bizarre prosecutorial response.

And I'm post gen-X, just for the record. *grin*

Nicely done, folks. "Mitigating circumstnaces", "history", "environment", blah blah blah. Black kids beat the crap out of a white kid and they were caught, and are now being punished. What is wrong with that? Paying for a crime is now racist as well? If this whole thing is about the white kids beating up black kids at a party store or whatever and "getting away with it", why isn;t that what Jesse and Al, and the whole protesting crowd chanting about that? Why isn't THAT bigger news? Huffington Post? Why not on CNN or MSNBC or any other big news outlet? Might there be a little "bending" the truth here? Might the black kids have reacted improperly to a non-physical act done by someone ELSE when they beat up this one white kid?

I've had gang symbols (I live in a predominantly black neighborhood)painted on my property before. Do I now have the right to claim "mitigating circumstances" and beat the crap out of a black kid as he walks down the street? After all, the gang symbol is claiming my space as the gang's space. My kids can;t play in the front yard due to shootings and cars driving across peoples' lawns as they chase after one another. So, am I fair and balanced in applying the same line of thinking being granted to the Jena Six if I were to beat until unconscious the next black kid who looks at me as I clean the marks off the wall, says something to his buddy and then has a laugh? Please let me know if this is OK. if it isn't then all of this is hypocritical bull-crap laid out by politically correct guilty-feeling whites who are flailing themselves for things from the past. Want to "move forward" and "get beyond the past"? Then stop bringing it up at EVERY POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY.