Jena 6

[Urn]

I am not too partial on doing new topics as I tend to like to respond to what is posted at the Community Forum, but I have noticed that a topic hasn't been made about this and I believe it deserves some attention.

If you are not familiar about this topic, here is a link you can visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six

There was a rally today on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. regarding the trial of the 6 young men involved. I was hoping to elicit some feelings and responses to this subject and to have an educated discussion about the reality that rascism is still very prevalent in the United States,as well as the world as a whole.
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[Leb]

There was a rally in DC, too? I was only aware of the one in Jena.

Completely blown out of proportion. You plot and proceed to fucking curb stomp someone, you better get charged with assault and conspiracy to commit. If something must be changed in how these kids were punished to make it equal, it should be the white kids being expelled for putting up the nooses (which I agree with). Not the charges being dropped for the Jena Six.

[Buff]

ah so not i know what your referring to when you made that one post in kooluk. i heard a little bit about it on the news but don't know to much on it. seems like that school has had plenty of problems before. surprised the school board doesn't take more drastic measurments with how that school is run with all the problems they have had.
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[Ujitsuna]

Reading that story makes me think what a strange, backwards and warped place that school must've been.

[Buff]

strange and backwards is an under word. i would say it's more of a fucked up school.
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[RedCydranth]

The fact that the school had a "White Tree" in the first place is severely messed up.

I remember in my high school, white kids and black kids segregated themselves from each other, but that is more due to similar hobbies, likes and dislikes. Its natural for kids of different races to find each other and group up. My friend who attends Fredonia college noticed this on her first day there. Freshmen black kids who come from anywhere in the state, and even out of state, all end up sitting together in the cafeteria or next to each other in classes. And I live in the not at all southern state of New York.

The noose incident is crazy. While I see both sides, it is NOT a criminal offense other than vandalism. It was not directed at a single person, therefor it isn't a hate crime by law. Of course we all know that it was directed at blacks and the history the south has had with the KKK and lynch mobs. But a noose can also hang a white man and an Asian. I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here. I really think its wrong to hang nooses anywhere.

As for the actual Jena Six, The six boys who beat up Justin were more than malicious. There was definite intent to do more than just rough him up and teach him a lesson. This isn't a run of the mill high school fight wither. This was a 6 on 1 massacre. They wanted to see him go through major pain and maybe mental damages. I don't think their aim was death per say, but that doesn't mean that attempted homicide can't be given to them.

But this thing does go deeper. There IS a bunch of nonsense being said here. Mychel Bell, one of the Jena Six, was charged with battery in the second degree or otherwise known as assault with a deadly weapon. The prosecutor tried to get people to believe that his tennis shoes were deadly weapons. The jury agreed with the prosecutor. I'm sorry, but no. Tennis shoes are NOT a deadly weapon. Nobody backs off from a fight because the other guy is wearing a pair of Reeboks. A wrench, a bat, a gun, a knife, a bottle, a rock. Those are deadly weapons. Its like saying boxing gloves are a deadly weapon. That is absurd. If he was wearing football or baseball spikes, he'd have himself a case. But plain old tennis shoes aren't weapons.

This whole thing is more than Black and White. Or Black versus White. Its now how far can these prosecutors twist the stories and get these kids into jail the longest. If I went to school in Jena, I'd ask to be transferred or home schooled. Its just ridiculous.
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[Archy]

i read the story earlier today, must say I'm quite shocked.

[Ujitsuna]

If he was wearing the tennis shoes then I have to say that they shouldn't count as a deadly weapon, I mean, the shoes are legal to wear. If he was holding the shoe in his hand and beating someone with it, then it would make sense, but it just doesn't.

[Sierra Mikain]

"Assault with a deadly weapon" does not mean that the kid was beating the other kid with his shoes as that would consitute battery. Assault with a deadly weapon means that the kid threatened to beat him up with his shoes. A very intimidating and balsy move I must say.

It's relatively impossible to beat someone to death with a tennis shoe regardless of where the shoe is wielded. Random Task, however, proved that dress shoes are very deadly. If it were dress shoes, I'd convict the attacker if the lawyer introduced the first Austin Powers movie as evidence.
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[Filipe]

While I completely agree that the whole shoes thing is absolutely rediculous argument to make and I would have completely ignored it had I been on the jury. There is no doubt at all that what these 6 students who just so happened to be black were justly charged with assault and conspiracy attempted murder(something like that). I want to know what could possibly be there to complain about with this whole situation, and people protesting they 6 students being charged with this. Like all of a sudden because of supposed racism in the school, that justifies 6 not one 6 students to attack a single student. I have even heard someone say they shouldnt be charged because it was just a schoolyard fight. Im sorry, maybe im a little old fashioned but last time I checked a fight was between two people not 6 on 1. That falls more into the category of gang violence than a fight if you ask me.
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[TruePerception]

I don't really have much to add that hasn't already been said, but I read the article in my local paper about this and was absolutely shocked. Racial things aside, the whole six on one being just a schoolyard fight was utterly amazing. My highschool was known for fights (although, while I was there, the reputation was no longer rightly deserved, since all the other schools in the district were worse) and we only had one incident where it got really out of hand while I was there. It was a two on two fight (all girls) where one girl got her jaw busted. That was taking it a bit too far, all of the other fights had ended without anything close to that kind of harm, but this is six high school teens specificly attacking one kid. That is not a fight, that's a lynching. I also found it very appauling that since it was six black kids they were playing it as an anti-black thing that they were being punished by that severity, but if it had been six white guys and one black guy, it would have gone the other way and there would have been cries of outrage if the punishment was not that severe. And the fact that there was a country wide outpouring to the defense of the six attackers was just insane. Sure, why not teach our nations children that it is right to severely hurt people and get no repercussions from it! What is this nation coming to when we are defending the very people we should be prosecuting?
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[Sage]

According to what I heard on the news last night, the district attorney could not find any law with which to charge the noose hangers with breaking. Therefore, although in incredibly bad taste and very much inappropriate, it was not criminal. However, a six on one fight is entirely criminal and the only thing that went their way in the end was that the guy didn't die.

As far as I'm concerned, they committed a crime and should be punished. No amount of rallies and protests is going to stop that. I don't care what they're charged with or how long they have to stay in prison as long as they get something significant for it.
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[Calvin]

The Noose hangers may not have broken a crime per se, but it was obviously done with malicious intent, and I think the principal's reccomendation of expulsion should have stood. Obviously the 6 people who assaulted the one should be punished accordingly. The assault and battery charges sound about right.

There's just a lot of racism in this case, which is the underlying issue. There are probably things that could have been done by leadership (the school board, the sheriff, etc) to prevent such things, but they didn't. Either they were racist too or they just had a "boys will be boys" mentality. Crap like this is going to happen unless serious change starts going on in that school.
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[TruePerception]

I do agree that, even though it is not technically illegal, the students responsible for the noose hanging (I did not hear who did this, just a passing mention of it) should be suspened for racism, though expulsion may be a little heavy, and may not solve anything anyway. If the students switch schools, they will likely just do it again. If they have to go back to the school and face their fellow students and the faculty after being suspended, they will probably have to face the reality of what they have done, whether through their own guilt or that pushed upon them by upset students and faculty! And, though I do not need to see a heavy punishment for the Jena 6, a mere slap on the wrist (figuritively speaking, of course) would not sit well with me as a fitting decision.
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