tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28353717.post903907129215755571..comments2023-10-30T04:09:45.910-04:00Comments on Letters and Surveys: The Jena 6 and the Little Rock 9brdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09999205528107936871noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28353717.post-32120144854912222302007-09-25T20:25:00.000-04:002007-09-25T20:25:00.000-04:00I started out thinking, "Just this one quick comme...I started out thinking, "Just this one quick comment." It has since turned into 3 lines of thought, each different, and together showing the mixed feelings I have regarding this situation.<BR/><BR/>1) The facts as the media have portrayed them, not only vary differently, but are often wrong. How can we judge a situation based on hearsay rather than facts?<BR/>An AP article regarding 6 myths surrounding the Jena 6:<BR/>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070922/ap_on_re_us/a_place_called_jena_3;_ylt=ApvcexcbjCKgxnvxcvoZglwkeedF<BR/><BR/>2) You are right--we have not come far enough. If nooses being hung (whether 2 or 3) is not a hate crime, what is?<BR/><BR/>3) I think I know why the public makes no big notice of this event. We have been desensitized to non-fatal violence because of the guns, shootings, and 'Columbine-style' rampages in the past several years. As a result, a single boy who was injured in a schoolyard fight gets little, if any attention, even though the racial motivations are present. Sadly, race is yesterday's news, and we want the next, biggest, worst thing to get our attention.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Sigh...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28353717.post-33132676023163240912007-09-25T13:01:00.000-04:002007-09-25T13:01:00.000-04:00It is my opinion that there should be immediate fe...It is my opinion that there should be immediate federal intervention. There should be no dilly-dallying any longer. In the 1957 case of the Little Rock 9, the action of Dwight Eisenhower was decisive and deterred violence.<BR/><BR/>In this case, much water has already flowed under the damn. The federal government needs to send a strong signal that local southern officials cannot start playing fast and loose, again, with racism. I definitely agree with Al Sharpton's call for intervention<BR/><BR/>The noose incident could certainly be considered a <A HREF="http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/intro.asp" REL="nofollow">hate crime</A>. The boys responsible for that should be sent a strong message that such actions are more unacceptable than fist-a-cuffs.<BR/><BR/>I'm working in my mind on a second installment of this post, so I will stop with that. (Dilly-dallying? Fist-a-cuffs? Where did those words come from? 1957 I guess.)brdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09999205528107936871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28353717.post-484010242212689262007-09-25T12:27:00.000-04:002007-09-25T12:27:00.000-04:00Wow, you've written a lot since I was here last. ...Wow, you've written a lot since I was here last. I've been having a vigorous discussion with my online friends about the Jena 6. The media accounts seem to differ so broadly from one source to the other that it is difficult to reconstruct a fully accurate picture of what happened -- but a few things are clear. First, the authorities involved treated white threats against blacks as "pranks" and black threats against whites as murderous conspiracies. Secondly, the Jena 6 cannot possibly receive fair trials in the local legal system.<BR/><BR/>I guess I don't think 6 kids who beat up one kid, leaving him unconscious and injured (one version of the story) should go free without consequence. Certainly not under normal circumstances. But on the other hand, a system that doesn't acknowledge the dire symbolic threat presented to black Americans by the hanging of a noose can't possibly be trusted to get the facts right, let alone administer justice to six kids who retaliated against the white community after being threatened repeatedly by students and teachers and government officials alike. <BR/><BR/>In addition to freeing the students, what do you think would be the best course of action?The Crabby Hikerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999098106027408394noreply@blogger.com