A couple days ago, when Ryan asked that somebody blog about this huge controversy that is going on now about the Jena 6, Benji responded that "it's just racism, and it sucks." I agree with him on that. Although the incident was definitely a terrible occurrence-a group of students repeatedly kicking a defenseless kid- the facts clearly suggest that there was some deliberate oversight in the law's handling of the issue. It seems to me that whatever they say to the contrary, the police, judges, and prosecutors exhibited some pretty obvious signs of racism. Sure, the six students who beat up Justin Barker deserved punishment, because they did commit a crime, but what about the other incidents that led up to the beating? Why were the white children who hung up the nooses in the tree only punished with suspension when the FBI said that their actions had all the markings of a hate crime? Why weren't students petitions to the school board taken more seriously? Why wasn't the High School's arson a bigger deal? And why weren't the fights that broke out at the convenience store and the party more fairly dealt with?
I'm not saying that the Jena 6 should get off totally free, they did do something wrong, and should be punished accordingly. But then, so should everyone else. Although the Jena 6 did commit a crime in assaulting Barker, they weren't the only guilty ones. Yet they were the only ones severely punished. There are certainly signs of racism in the local official's judgments. If you want to punish someone for wrongdoing, fine, but at least be consistent.
I think one thing that we need to recognize in this issue is the extent to which racism is embedded in American culture. Yes, in all likelihood, the many of the unfair judgments in this case were rooted in racist values. The whole case itself was sparked by a dispute over which race of students sat where at lunch. And although i think that is good that so many people are speaking out against the racism against the Jena 6, I think it is important for us to recognize that racism doesn't just go in one direction. It affects everyone. It was a terrible thing for white students to hang nooses on a tree as a threat. It was likewise a terrible thing for others to respond violently. Racism started the conflict, but it also kept it going, as it still does.
Is it possible for any of us to be totally unbiased on the issue of race? Although history has shown some improvement, the tiny fact that we still recognize it as an issue shows that there is still a long way to go. We actually expect racism, we look for it. Stephen Colbert regularly claims that he's colorblind. It's satirical, but I wish we could all see things like that. Hopefully the public outcry against cases based on race will help us recognize our failings as a nation and come to the point where we no more even think to suspect a policemen of racial bias any more than we suspect him of prejudice against tall people. But that's pretty far off.
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8 comments:
Thanks for posting the blog. Don't get me wrong, I think the white students actions were horrible and racist. However, Mychal Bell had had prior offenses related to violence, this was his fifth time in breaking the law. The Jena DA was in his full ability to propose the charges for these reasons and did not feel that he went beyond his rightful duty to protect the public. I am not trying to say that Mychal or any of the other boys should be locked up for life sentences, but I am saying just because I ask someone to sock me in the face, they can not due it without still facing repercussions for their actions.
Now to the fact that our court rulings are being called racist, there is some room for argument. However, Bell's attorney had the right to use Peremptory challenges. Why he did not when one of the seated jurors was a family friend of the victim is something people should ask him. And in regards to an all white jury, there was not only white candidates in the jury selection. Seems to me that his lawyer might have just passed the Bar Exam, not calling any witnesses on behalf of Bell. Also, Bell's attorney allowing the jurors to consider a tennis shoe a lethal weapon? Do we all need to start wearing sandals to school because of the this lawyer's inability to reason?
There is no doubt that racism is present in this case. The fact that the white students put nooses on a tree and only got suspended when they should have been put in jail is evidence enough. I bet if things were the other way around, the black students would be charged for a hate crime and the whites would get off without punishment because they would probably use some excuse of "provocation by racism".
Like what Ellie said, I think that the black students should be subjected to a reasonable punishment for attacking the white student. Although they had an understandable reason to attack him, there is a difference between understandable and right. Beating up the white kid was understandable, but obviously not the right thing to do.
The question being asked in this situation is this: How close are we really to racial equality in America? If things like Jena 6 happen in modern day, one begins to question whether we have made any significant progress toward a equal and fair society since Martin Luther King Jr. Let's just hope that this event was just a fluke and that equal society that Americans pride themselves of really does exist
Although our American society has improved leaps and bounds in eliminating racism since the very harsh '60's, racism still exists today. As time goes by, our society as a whole will become more and more "colorblind." But there are always going to be a few individuals who can't see past the color of someone's skin. I agree with Ellie that the Jena 6 should get punished according to their crime, but so should anyone else involved. The law must be consistent, or else the law is useless.
I think we are a lot closer to racial equality than in Martin Luther King Jr.'s time. Look at the coverage. We live in California, and we're hearing about this. This is a case in the national news. 60 years ago, this would be no big deal to the people in power in Louisiana, and we wouldn't even know it was going on. Getting the racism out there, where we can see it, may be depressing, but it's the only way to get it to really stop, even if in the meantime it seems impossible to change.
Obviously, something went wrong multiple times in the events leading up to this case, from the education or environment of the white kids who hung the nooses, to the board of education in Louisiana deciding not to expel those kids, to the federal government deciding that it wasn't considered a hate crime, to the Jena 6 deciding violence was the best way to solve the situation, to the ridiculously overblown charges they got when they actually did something. It's complicated, but not too complicated. There's a lot of things wrong with this picture, though.
Over the past half century, our country has made a big leap from how race is treated. But in today's society it is still a major problem, especially in the south, where if you go out to the country you dont see people hanging american flags, but confederate flags.
I believe that all the people that were involved in this should be punished though. You cant go around getting into fights with people and you cant be hanging nooses which in my opinion is way worse.
Although you might also think that America has changed its views on this because of the news coverage that it is getting, back in the 60's these stories did come out too, but it would have to involve a white person getting injured or killed before it would make the main newspapers and not just the african american ones. such as when James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michaael Schwerner were killed by the KKK in Mississippi. So although stories were coming out during the civil rights movement, it seems to be much better on how people view these issues.
I disagree with the idea that the white kids should go to jail. There is a HUGE difference between such an act and severely injuring a kid in a 6 on 1 fight. Not to mention that I haven't really seen evidence that the two incidents were related (they were months apart).
And you can be sure that if 6 white kids assaulted and severely injured a black kid, Al Sharpton would be condemning the attackers and saying that they should go to jail.
Forgot to add:
While stricter punishment could have been imposed on the kids that hung the noose and whatever, the students who assaulted another student should definitely be punished severely.
I disagree with Benji's statement that "it's just racism, and it sucks". It's not just racism. It's maybe 15 years of one teen's life, and it's the family and welfare of the beaten kid, who by the way, was able to go out to his friend's party that very same night. Benji's statement implies that it's a no brainer fact, an everyday happening.
Although the act was definitly provoked, and he, along with the other 5 deserve to be punished, it should not be that badly. The subtle bias and preference towards whites of the Southern Government is not acceptable in today's time.
Upon reading this article in the Sf Chronicle, I was convinced that the local government in Louisiana did not do enough. The Chronicle reported that
"a white supremist website that purports to list the addresses of five of the six black teenagers accused of beating a white student in Jena and "essentially called for their lynching,""
Ridiculus.
However, on the other hand, has this gotten too far out of hand? Fights based on racism happen every day.. sometimes so that the beaten can't go out to a party that same night...
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