Jena Six: Justin Barker Testifies at Mychal Bell Trial
June 27, 2007 by Laura | Trackback URI
Please read the latest Jena Six post here.
Justin Barker is the white teenager whose beating resulted in the arrest of the “Jena 6″ - according to previous reports, he is friends with the three students who hung the nooses in the trees, and his beating occurred moments after he taunted the black student who had his “ass whipped” by a group of whites at the Fair Barn over the weekend. I guess sometimes being beaten by a group of people is okay, and sometimes it’s not, hmm?
Do any of those facts mean that he “deserved” a beating? No. They don’t. But I’m trying to put it in context. He wasn’t just leaped on out of the blue. The fight didn’t occur in a vacuum. This report of his testimony at the Mychal Bell trial is incomplete. Here’s Barker’s recollection, which excludes what reportedly happened moments before:
Justin Barker, 17, testified that he had just come out of his high school gym with his girlfriend walking ahead of him on Dec. 4 when they turned to avoid a group of black students.
“I turned my back and somebody hit me, that’s all I remember,” Barker said.
Well, Barker’s not required - unless a lawyer can ask him and get the judge to allow the question - to provide context. But it’s important. Here’s what led up to it -
Written statements from students closest to the scene (in space and time) suggest that the incident was sparked by an angry exchange in the gymnasium moments before in which the black student assaulted at the Fair Barn was taunted for having his “ass whipped”.
Emotions had been running high for months. Things kept escalating, and this was far from the first violence. So did Barker deserve a beating? No one deserves a beating. But high school students who let their emotions get out of hand don’t deserve to spend the rest of their lives in jail, either.
I don’t think the Jena 6 should go entirely without punishment. I just think these criminal charges are beyond ridiculous. Kids in school fight on a regular basis. I can’t even tell you how many fights I saw in my high school twenty years ago, and plenty of them were racially motivated. Expelling them from school is fair and appropriate. A misdemeanor might be appropriate. But if the D.A. honestly believes criminal charges of any kind are appropriate, he’d better look like pressing charges against the group of whites who beat the black student at the Fair Barn, and the white guy in the convenience store parking lot who threatened black students with a shotgun. What D.A. Walters did instead was charge the black students who took the shotgun from the white guy with theft and battery. I find that very telling.
I’d be even more interested to know just how many people before December, 2006 were criminally prosecuted with felony charges for a high school fight. I’m betting that number is zero. I’m also betting that any charges against Barker for having a rifle and bullets on school property are going to either go away, or he’ll get a fine and a suspended sentence. Was there a good reason for that rifle? According to comments on this story (since removed on the live version, this is a Google cache), he forgot it in his truck after cleaning out his father’s hunting camp. He was expelled for having a gun on campus; and if it is reasonable to believe he didn’t bring it to school to threaten or attack anyone, I think that’s fair.
That cached story also has more information about the beating -
Investigators from the LaSalle Parish Sheriff’s Office have gathered statements from more than 40 people — a number of them students — who told investigators they saw everything that happened. Many of these statements were included in court documents.
“When I heard a black boy say something to Justin, I turned my head and I saw somebody hit Justin,” one student wrote in a statement. “He fell in between the gym door and the concrete barricade. I saw Robert Bailey kneel down and punch Justin in the head. … Then Carwin Jones kicked him in the head. … Theo Shaw tried to kick him so I pushed Theo Shaw down. I also saw Mychal Bell standing over him.”
Phrases like “stomped him badly,” “stepped on his face,” “knocked out cold on the ground,” and “slammed his head on the concrete beam” were used by the students in their statements.
Robert Bailey said this past week that he and the other boys weren’t around when the fight happened and that the teachers and principal were making students say what they wrote in statements.
Repeated calls to Jena High School Principal Glen Joiner went unreturned.
“It was a rowdy day at school because of what had happened over the weekend,” Bailey said of earlier fights at the Fair Barn and Gotta Go convenience store. “The fight (with Justin) happened so quick. But those of us arrested weren’t even around. Once the fight broke out, we all ran to see what happened, but I wasn’t around when the fight happened.”
On Dec. 1, Bailey said he was jumped by six to seven white men at the Fair Barn and that only one was arrested and charged with simple battery.
Two days later, he and friends ran into one of the men involved in the fight at the Gotta Go and the man pulled out a shotgun, Bailey said. Bailey said he wrestled the gun away, but was charged with aggravated battery and theft.
That is injustice and racism, Bailey said.
Last week Jones said that when he went to school on Dec. 4, he could tell something was going to happen, it just felt that way, he said.
He was sitting in the boys gym after lunch, he said, and when everyone left to go back to class, he was in front of Justin and didn’t know what had happened until he “heard the first lick.”
“I wasn’t involved,” he said. “He got hit once, fell to the ground, and that was the end. Everyone just ran up when someone yelled fight, and it seemed like he was getting kicked.”
Both Jones and Bailey said they did not see who hit Justin Barker.
As to his injuries -
Justin Barker was taken by ambulance to LaSalle General Hospital’s emergency room, arriving at 12:25 p.m., according to court documents. A report from the ambulance company stated Barker “denies any pain other than his eye.”
Once in the emergency room, Barker told medical personnel that he had been “jumped by 15 guys” and was unsure of what he had been hit with, according to the emergency physician’s record in the court file. The record noted an injury to Barker’s right eye requiring follow-up medical attention and injuries to his face, ears and hand.
A Computed Tomography scan of Barker’s brain showed no abnormalities, but there were reports of him losing consciousness during the attack, according to hospital records.
Barker was discharged about 2½ hours after being admitted to the ER. Later that night, he attended a ring ceremony at the school, where he was presented his class ring by his parents, something Kelli Barker said her son really wanted to be a part of, even though he was still in pain.
“All that keeps being said is that he was just in the hospital for a little bit and not really hurt,” Kelli Barker said of Justin. “I thank God he wasn’t hurt more than he was. But we have medical bills to show that he really was hurt.”
According to court documents, the initial trip to the emergency room cost $5,467.
That’s about right for an ambulance ride and two and a half hours in the ER, a CT scan and other tests that were surely conducted. But as for “stomped on badly,” “stepped on face,” etc. I’m just not buying it, and it’s also not consistent with the injuries Barker described on the stand. The same students who used those phrases are the ones who said he was beaten unconscious during the fight and frankly I find that overall picture exaggerated. I know what it is to be beaten unconscious. I’ve experienced it. You don’t come out of that with this:
Barker said he had a badly swollen face and temporary blindness in one eye that lasted three weeks. He also said he still suffers recurring headaches since the beating but, under cross examination, acknowledged that medical tests have found no cause.
Those kind of injuries sound like a job for Morris Bart. Stomped on badly? Where are the broken ribs, bodywide contusions and abrasions, renal injuries? Stepped on face? Where’s the broken nose, loose and missing teeth?
Again, I’m not saying the beating was nothing, or that it was deserved. But I am saying that these criminal charges are outrageous, and that they are not at all consistent with the treatment white people received for the exact same offense and worse. The whites who conducted the Fair Barn beating basically got of scot free - one guy was charged with battery, and the rest got nothing at all. One of them pulled a shotgun on black kids the next day, and wasn’t charged at all for it. That’s racism.
Justin Barker’s parents want justice, but if they think justice means spending most of your adult life in prison for a high school fight, then maybe it also means having the full force of the law descend on you for bringing a rifle and bullets onto a school campus. If you ignore context in one, maybe you should in the other as well. It’s something to think about.
An Open Letter To The Jena Six
By Joseph Young
Dear Mychal,
I keep thinking about you. I also think about the other young men who have fallen prey to racial hatred. Its existence, more than a century after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, makes me fearful for your life, your safety. The freedom that it promised was tenuous.
It was not entirely without strength. In the proclamation, issued three years into the Civil War, Lincoln declared, at the urging of Frederick Douglass, that the former slaves would be accepted into the Union Army and navy, making the liberated the liberator. By the war’s end, almost 200,000 black servicemen had fought for freedom and saved the Union.
Your generation, like mine, is being denied this freedom our ancestors risked life and limb, so that we may live as free men and women. You can call them heroes, but they were not thinking of themselves when they displayed courage and self-sacrifice on the battlefields of America.
Today, then, to guard against the impending doom of American civilization, is not only opposition to racism, but also the determination to secure the civil rights for which many Americans have paid a heavy toll. Of all the civil rights, the right to learn is the surest prevention from ignorance. If at any time, children are instructed with anti-black bias; and they are made to learn what is not true and what the dominate forces in their lives want them to think is true; there’re guilty of impeding the march toward American civilization.
Astonishing as it is that those students would hang three nooses from the tree at Jena High School as a racial taunt, including calling the black students ‘niggers’; you would think that America would never again want to see a black person hang from a tree, or behind bars. The nooses show that we, Americans, have not come that far from the cruelties and barbarity of slavery as we think. (Between 1882 and 1968, an estimated 5,000 people, mostly blacks, met their deaths at the hands of lynch mobs.) And this also is an unfortunate comment upon the belief that our schools are the great path to progress, the great equalizer. If our schools are the great path to progress, they must be the freest of our institutions, opposed bitterly to the attempt to indoctrinate our children with racial hatred.
Well, Mychal, as you and the others wait behind bars because of a racially biased and an over zealous prosecutor, it is for us on the outside to continue the unfinished work of our fathers, to set you free. All of you were willing to fight racial hatred, and you know people of goodwill are beside you. If the Confederacy couldn’t stop us, the opposition we now face will fail. When history is written your detractors will get little note, but you will be remembered for standing up for what’s best of the American creed. You are part of a legacy in which our slave forebears fought to birth a new nation. You, Mychal, are a child of America’s destiny.
It was Martin Luther King who said if a man doesn’t have something worth dying for he is not fit to live. Freedom is worth dying for. Justice is worth dying for. Equality is worth dying for. A child is worth dying for, because our job as parents is to protect children.
Mychal, when you feel complete frustration and your narrow jail cell is closing in on your spirit and mind; remember the message of the old slave preacher to his flock whose resistance to oppression might have been completely in vain:
“You are created in God’s image. You are not slaves, you are not ‘niggers’; you are God’s children.”
Godspeed Mychal,
Your brother in the struggle, Joseph
OK lots of things got said here maybe this isn’t an appropriate post maybe it is who knows….. there where things left out though maybe like the DA gave the boys a plea bargin of 5 months instead they say no and know they are looking at 25-30 years. No one will ever truely know what got said what happen or anything else maybe its wrong maybe its right, but everyone knows with every story there are two sides and niether will ever be all true. Yes there has been school yard fights everywhere but how many send people to the ER how many leave a student blind in one eye. Most leave black eyes and bruises and maybe a swoll eye or knots on ya head but I don’t think its as big of a racial deal as everyone is making it out to be just my opion but there it is.
La Chick, Justin Barker was certainly NOT left blind in one eye - where on earth did you get that? His eye was swollen shut for a few days or a week, that’s all. He was in the ER for a couple of hours and attended his ring ceremony later that night. And would YOU take 5 months in jail and a felony that will stick with you for the rest of your life for a high school fight? I doubt it.
Ok shooting a gun at someone is attempted murder if you hit them or not. Kicking and stomping on someones head is aggrivated battery or even attempted murder even if there is no broken nose, blinding in the eye, loose teeth, or broken ribs. Statements from 40 different people isn’t enough proof of what happened. Damn what would be enough? 100? Another thing I have noticed people complain about is an all white jury. That would seem unfair to me. However a computer in that Parish randomly sends out the jury duty cards. Out of all the african americans who were sent one not one of them showed up for jury duty. All I can say to that is, wow.
Justin Barker was not kicked or stomped in the head. His injuries simply do not support that allegation. It never happened. I can prove it - meet me somewhere, and I, a middle aged non-athletic woman, will kick you in the head for 5 minutes, and believe me, I’ll be able to break your nose, your teeth, and quite likely fracture your skull. Seriously, let’s try it! I’ll do whatever it takes to convince you. It’s a sacrifice, mind you, but I’m willing to make it. And after you regain consciousness and undergo a great deal more medical treatment than can be accomplished in 2 or 3 hours, we can sit down and have a cup of coffee and speculate what 6 teenage athletes could accomplish by kicking your head.And the statements varied WILDLY, you should know that if you had studied this case at all.
After wathing all of this unfold. I am very disapointed in the media. I had always believed or at least figured most of their reporting was somewhat accurate. Boy was I wrong and so are all of you who believe any of the thiings said about the poor jena six. They aree thugs siple and true. There was a fight at the fair barn and it was one on one, four of the six attacted the white boy at the gotta go store then he got to his truck and got his gun which they took from him and punched his girlfriend in the face. Justin had blood coming out of his ears and was twitching on the ground while they kicked him. I know all of you backseat protesters dont want to hear the truth. I hope this doesnt get kicked off for telling the truth but you really need to know what happened. Yes there was racism there but it was black to white and being pissed off doesnt excuse almost killing someone. Futhermore Bell and Jones should have already been expelled from school and if they hadnt been such good fotball players they would have been. Are you aware Bell urinated in a class room during class, ran over a black child in a car he had stolen from his mother, beat his girlfrien d on a regular basis and has been arrested before. Jones was arrested for assault on another black 2 weeks before the district playoffs. Face if you do the crime you should be prepared to do the time.
James - I was willing to be open minded about your comment until you accused Bell of running over a child in a car he had stolen. Bull!! There is NO WAY that he would not have been charged for that. You’re full of ****. I also don’t buy the line that they have prior criminal records - Reed Walters would be shouting that from the housetops to justify these charges if they did. But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt - provide some evidence, and I’ll gladly post it here. Otherwise I call BS. Also, it looks like you’re in Monroe, not Jena, so where are you getting this info? Because if it’s from that white supremacists message board which had similar garbage, you’ll have to do a WHOLE lot better than that.
Laura, you are completly bias. You tell everyone to read up on it more but all you rinfo comes from is bias web sites liek this one and other media outlets that say thing like. “an all white jury” but dont say **** about no blacks showing up for jury duty. Or “white shade tree”. This is ****. arguing this is pointless. Here it is. ^ black kids made a bad decision and are now going to go to jail. Thats it, it’s over and I’m done. Have fun in jail “jena 6″ you deserve it.
As a matter of fact, I HAVE posted about the fact that no blacks showed up for jury duty. Repeatedly. Go back through the archives and see for yourself. And the tree WAS known as the “white tree” - this is not in dispute even by the newspapers. Do consider taking me up on my offer to kick you in the head repeatedly until you grasp the fact that this was a high school fight, not attempted murder. It may not improve your reading comprehension, but it might do you some good in any event. School discipline or the juvenile justice system would be appropriate punishment, not adult felony charges. And your refusal to acknowledge the fault of the whites provoking this fight is a disgrace. To say that the white kids provoked this is NOT an excuse for Barker’s beating, but it’s a mediating factor that should be taken into account. This was not an unprovoked attack on an innocent person.
laura what if it was your son, how would u feel if a bunch of guys jumped on him and kicked him in the face? we r in a crises young thugs r mean and out of control they need to be put away for attempted murder before they do murder someones son……or daughter……
Margaret, I’ll make the same offer to you that I did to another commenter: Justin Barker was not kicked or stomped in the head. His injuries simply do not support that allegation. It never happened. I can prove it - meet me somewhere, and I, a middle aged non-athletic woman, will kick you in the head for 5 minutes, and believe me, I’ll be able to break your nose, your teeth, and quite likely fracture your skull. Seriously, let’s try it! I’ll do whatever it takes to convince you. It’s a sacrifice, mind you, but I’m willing to make it. And after you regain consciousness and undergo a great deal more medical treatment than can be accomplished in 2 or 3 hours, we can sit down and have a cup of coffee and speculate what 6 teenage athletes could accomplish by kicking your head.
And for pity’s sake, use words, not letters. You’re contributing to illiteracy with “u”, “r”, no capitalization and bad grammar. Are you an adult?
In any event, the only crisis here is a town that permits young men to be prosecuted for felonies for a high school fight, while letting whites who did the same crime get off scot-free. Not to mention allow friends and family of the prosecution get on the jury, and not to mention the fact that the nooses were excused, as was a group of white boys taunting Robert Bailey for having his “*** whipped” by a bunch of white guys, and calling him a nigger. Do you realize what a loaded word “whipped” is? Do you get the connection between that and the nooses?
How would I feel if my son did those things? I’d beat his *** myself. Does that answer your question?
Well Laura I am from Jena I know all involved black and white and I know their familys. I know the boy they jumped at the convience store, I know the boy who was involved in the fight at the fairbarn, ( he stays in trouble so that was no suprise and had nothing to do with the nooses). That was simply a case of the black “thugs” trying to get into a private birthday party they werent invited to. The fair barn was rented by the parents of the birthday girl and they just went there to make trouble. You know it is funny that the monroe attourneys are now trying to get bell tried as a juvenile and I think this would be better because then they could bring up all his past, the judge would make the decision and no media or public would be allowed in the court room. I know you think I am a white racist and I cant change your opinion on that but every single word I wrote here is the truth it is sad that you are defending something so hard just because the media didnt report the facts. In fact in most cases you might as well be reading the national inquirer. For the record I actually like Bell but I have watched him grow into a gangster wannabe and hopefully this will set him straight. I doubt the other five will do little to anytime but as you may not know Bell was the leader and the one who premeditated this whole attack and I expect him to get a year or less.
James, as I said before, I’m willing to listen and revise my opinion, as long as what you’re writing makes any kind of sense. “The boy they jumped at the convenience store,” is a funny way of phrasing that when by all accounts he was not injured AT ALL. The reports all say that they “wrestled the gun away” from him. The boy who was involved in the fight at the Fair Barn - which boy? Robert Bailey or Justin Sloane?
I’m still calling BS on your allegations against Bell of stealing a car and running over a small child. I find it impossible to believe that the DA who prosecuted Bell as an adult for a high school fight in which no one was seriously injured (and Walters KNEW that, because the ER head nurse told him so, which is why Walters relied on photos to sway the three members of the jury who were not connected to the prosecution) would give him a pass on two legitimate felonies.
I’m willing to be convinced - I’m a middle aged white conservative (and I’ve said for a long time, in many posts on this blog) that there have been major gains in race relations. Because there have - open discrimination may still happen, but it’s no longer legal, and it’s no longer socially acceptable among civilized people. So to have an injustice of this magnitude - as it’s been reported - weakens my arguments. But I want justice to prevail. If the things reported are true, then we need to fix this situation ASAP. If they are not true, then we need to fix this situation ASAP. But so far I have no reason not to believe the preponderance of the reports.
In any event, I agree that it would be better to try Bell as a juvenile. If he really does have priors as a juvenile, let them come out! I have never said he should have no punishment - only that 22 years is ridiculous, and that justice was NOT done to both races equally. The very fact that a white business in Jena refuses service to blacks, that something can be openly referred to as “the white tree” and that someone would feel the need to ask permission to sit under it, that all the things reported by the white pastor, Eddie (Thompson, Johnson? I forget and don’t feel like looking it up right now) about race relations in the town could be happening… and he’s basically where I am - he doesn’t want it to be true, but is reluctantly reporting it because he believes it. All of these things point to a situation in Jena that is a disgrace. Reed Walters is not allowed to talk about the case - which I find amusing given what he did to Bell’s parents to keep them silent and out of the courtroom - but others can. And they’re not. Which also indicates something to me.
Bottom line - as Fox Mulder used to say, “I want to believe.” Convince me.
As I read the entries on this subject it begs the question of education of those of you who can’t see an injustice if it bite you in the rear. Reading this story from Dallas, it sickens me to think that in 2007, blind racism on the parts of Jena residences and the justice system of Jena is allowed to continue. The Jena DA, police department and school board should be brought up on Federal Civil Rights violation charges.
I guess that none of you read the reports from the FBI who had been investigating this case at the time of the nooses up to now. They found no hate crime for the nooses , they found nothing illegal with anything the school board done or any law inforcement agencys. Again I am not saying racism doesnt exist and sadly it will be around forever. If only someone would have had a video camera, then everyone that has been mislead could witness this violent act. It would be Rodney King in reverse. As for you not believing Bell stole his mothers car and hit a child, it happened. The police werent involved as they were not in many of the criminal acts this bunch committed in the black community. You need to read the posting it the Alexandria town talk from a black neighbor of one of the six.
Let me clarify on the gotta go incident. The white boy and his girlfriend pulled into the store, the boy got out and started in. The black group were walking out with a VCR they had just rented. They looked up saw the white boy and said ” we got action boys” the white boy turned to go back to his truck and the blacks hit him in the back of the head with the VCR and he got to his truck and got his shotgun while they were still hitting him and they wrestled it away from him. Then they opened the other door and punched his girlfriend in the face. Then they ran with the gun. Luckily the gun wasnt loaded or there would have probally been a killing. That is why they were arrested and charged with theft and assault. If you dont believe any of this contact the store owner who witnessed it. By the way he is not white. Are you aware Bells mother is also no stranger to the court system, drugs, assault just to name a few.
I think basically what it comes down to is your laying on the concrete unconscious, blood running out of your ears and still being kicked. You have 40 witnesses you see this, how many more kicks would it have taken to have killed him. There was a case in California recently were a teen was stomped to death by 4 other teens, Two of which were girls. I am sure they didnt mean to kill the other teen but they did.
What worrys me more about this whole case is the outsiders coming in from all over to support and defend what they dont even know about. I have heard rumors of white groups from other states that were preparing to make an appearence here. also black radical groups promising violence if they dont get what they want. It seems were are being used as a hub for the nations racism both black and white to flurish.
Again, I dont work for a paper or the media so I dont have an agenda. I am not trying to sell papers or increase ratings. So who do you think would be more likely to be telling the truth. I invite all of you to come to Jena spend some time talk to people here you will find no more and probabally less than where you live now.
James, I have not read the actual reports; as far as I know they are not publicly available. I’m going to try to find them online, but if you are aware of where they’re available, please let me know. But the FBI says did not investigate any law enforcement agencies; they investigated the noose incident. And it was the PR division, not the Civil Rights division, which I think is meaningful. Donald Washington refuses to investigate, I’ve posted on that before. He was completely disingenuous about how selective prosecution is determined.
As to Barker’s injuries, there has been no documentation - and I’ve seen at least part of his discharge papers - that they were severe. They certainly did not indicate a lot of kicking and stomping; nothing broken, nothing permanently damaged (he claims to have suffered “headaches” for several weeks after, but doctors could find no medical reason so I call BS on that or maybe they were stress-related), and the head nurse in the ER said his injuries were not severe. No renal or abdominal injuries as you’d expect from being repeatedly kicked in his body, either. That’s why he was able to attend the ring ceremony that night. Yes, he was on pain pills for a couple of weeks after. I don’t deny the beating hurt, any more than I deny that it was wrong. But I believe it’s been overly dramatized. I’ve suffered a far worse beating; something that kept me in the hospital for several days. I know what it’s like to be beaten and kicked, and I’m sympathetic, but nothing in what has been recorded about Barker by anybody indicates that the beating was serious other than anecdotal evidence. “Blood coming out of the ears” sounds awful. But it evidently was dripping from somewhere else into his ears, as no serious cranial injuries have been recorded. As I’ve said before, Walters relied on photos, not medical testimony. That should tell you something.
As to Bell and the car and child, are you saying there is a “stop snitching” movement in Jena’s black community? Is there any real documentation (and I mean more than an anonymous commenter on Town Talk) that it happened, and info on why it was not reported and prosecuted?
I appreciate the info on the Gotta Go incident. I have been considering a trip to Jena, if I can leave my clients for that long. Failing that, can you get me his name, or contact him for me? I will post his account verbatim on this blog if he is willing to give it. (I am likely to respond, but I won’t change his words at all.) I too am not on anyone’s “team” nor do I have anything to gain - I’m on the side of the truth. If it means retracting most of what I’ve written and making a public apology, I’ll gladly do it. Not only do I write here at PH, I also write for Blogger News Network, so his account will be included in the Google News feed.
In a previous post you said there was a buisness that didnt allow blacks in it or didnt serve them, I dont remember which. I would like to know what buisness that is. I would also like to know what criminal act was committed that was treated differently. Again take the facts not what you have learned from the media. Which by the way came from the accused familys and themselves. Who wouldnt try to protect their children and what else would the accused say. The prisons are full of innocent people, if you listen to them they were all mistreated, they are all innocent and none of them had fair trials. So known facts all you really have to argue about are the nooses. Maybe those boys should have been expelled for doing someting that dumb even as a joke. But no matter how bad you want it to be it is not a crime. Just because someone hurts your feelings that doesnt justify planning and carry
ing out a brutal beating on someone.
I think if these boys hadnt been let get away with so many things in their community and at school they would not have made the decision to do what they did. After all the entire shool was warned that absolutely no kind of violence would be tolerated at the school . Apparently he meant what he said.
The barber was interviewed in several papers including the Chicago Trib saying openly that he refused to cut black men’s hair.
>take the facts not what you have learned from the media
I take the media with a healthy dose of skepticism. War reporting is abominable, for example. I cross check anything important with milbloggers. However, you can’t just declare that the media has reported nothing but lies and expect me to take your word for it instead - a total stranger on a blog! Even in the ridiculous war reporting we’re subjected to, a grain of truth exists. Often twisted, maximized, or minimized depending on the narrative, but still there. From the beginning I have resisted the narrative on this and tried to stick to facts that are not in dispute. My opinion has been formed by those facts which have never been seriously disputed by anyone.
I’ve posted that I think the entire concept of hate crimes should be abolished, and people should be punished for their actions not their thoughts or motives. But all of the facts I’ve published about the Jena 6 are not in dispute by anyone credible - anyone willing to stand up for what they’re calling the truth and be held accountable for it. Right now you seem to be asking me to put aside media reporting in favor of the testimony of a total stranger, whom I have no way of verifying even lives in Jena. Surely you can see why I’m not willing to do that, in spite of my low opinion of the media. On that scale you currently rank even lower. Nothing personal, but if you want to be considered more credibly, you’re going to have to earn it. Convince me! Give me something that can be checked, give me accounts by people I can verify are in Jena and actually have the knowledge they claim to have. If they want a forum, I’ll provide it and I’ll cross post it to BNN so it’s also in the Google News feed. If there is a truth about Jena that needs to get out there, this is an excellent chance to do so. If there is an injustice being done, people have the obligation to stand up against it - and based on the information available to me, that’s what I’m doing now.
I assure I am in Jena I have lived here my entire life. Oh and by the way nothing personal taken. if more people would quit taking every little thing personally the world would be much better. Earlier you stated you would like to come to Jena but didnt have time because of your clients. This leads me to believe you may be a lawyer and if so I would have lower opinion of that than the media. Other than a politician that would be near the bottom. Of course I guess you could be a therapist. I dont expect you to believe what I am telling you but everyone here knows the truth. I believe if i wanted to make up lies I could make up some that would be more interesting than the truth. LOL but the I would be just like the media.I have sen where you have argued with several people on here who were tell the real deal and you seem to have a hard time wanting to believe it. Thats ok though because in the end nothing you or I say is going to change things. I do know racial tensions are 1000% more now than before it happened. Oh , I also never saw the barber interview and I wonder which one it was there are several in town. I doubt any of them have cut a black persons hair but I also doubt there have been any to ask. I have had my hair cut by a blackman who is a friend of mine several times while we were at work. He would tell you it is a lot different cutting black hair and white hair. I doubt any of these barbers would know how to do anything with it but shave it. Back to the real deal here, I had never known of the tree being calledthe white tree before this. We always refered to it as the square. That tree was very small when I went there. I do know there wera a group of boys who sat there all the time and had memorialized it to a friend of theirs who had bee killed a little over a year ago. I will do a little researc on that and ask some students if it was known as the white tree by all or just by the black kids. I did talk to one of Bell former teachers today from junior high and she told me he was the worst kid she has ever taught. I hadnt realized his behavior had went back that for. I also talked to the owner of the store today and he didnt want to talk about the issue . He said he had already lost buisness, because of him being a witness and he couldnt afford to loose any more. I never did know what part of Louisiana you were from. Sorry I havent took time to look at any of your site here but normally I am pretty busy.
LOL, no, I’m a lowly web developer. It was Doughty’s Westside Barber Shop:
More from Mr. Doughty, in a Newsweek article:
I have never been in that barber shop if you can even call it that. It is only a portable building maybe 8′ x 20′. The Billy Doughty I know who is a barber is in his 40s and I can promise you would not have got those comments from him. That must be his father but I wasnt aware he still cut hair. As I sit here and read these blogs and think back on the past. In my short 40 years I can recall times when there was a lot of racism in this area as in all parts of the country. There were times in school when there were some racial problems but they were short lived. There were places in this parish blacks just didnt go as was the case in many parishes. Then I think about today and I dont see how young people today can even start to compare to the racism their grandparents and some parents faced. There are times in everyones life when you will have feelings that you normally dont have and try to avoid. I myself had an instance yesterday that could have turned ugly and some may have saw as racist. I was picking up a lawn mower at Lowes in Alexandria. A young black man was loading the mower, he proceeded to run the mower into the back of the cab of my 1 week old truck bending the front of the bed. I was furious, I didnt say a word to him but he knew what he had done. I didnt turn him in or chew him out but I would have liked aan apoligy. After all I am sure I worked as hard for my knew truck as he did for his avalanche I saw him get into. You know todays youth need to be held responsible for what they do. I wonder if I should have made a report just to teach him a lesson. The thing is if he had been white I would have chewed him up oneside and down another.
Thank you, Laura, for looking at the truth. When I first saw the videos done on YouTube from Democracy Now, I was totally outraged. When, I read more, I was absolutely livid. But when I read your report, I was able to reflect.
I lived in a small town in MT in the early ’80s. Small towns are interesting places - and where extremely strange things can and do happen. I have an interesting ouija board story I can tell as well as a one girl smear campaign. When I returned in the mid-80s, a drunk coming out of one of the town of 300’s two bars fired a gun at my [black] boyfriend (now husband).
I now live in the Seattle area and am sometimes flabbergasted by the racist statements I hear. Since Seattle itself prides itself as being fairly liberal, it is surprising. Unfortunately, I can’t say that it isn’t shocking. I’ve even had my own boys be blamed for things simply due to their race. At one time, one of my boys was told that a program for “at risk” youth was reserved for Asians only.
In any case, I am so sorry to learn that you know what it’s like to be beaten. However, knowing what it’s like to be beaten, it is very apparent that you also know that six to fifteen guys, of which at least five are athletes, that the injuries are most definitely not consistent with the descriptions of the attack. The fact that none of those who responded dealt with this truth is bothersome to say the least.
Again, I agree that no one should have attacked anyone. But to charge six young men with attempted murder or aggravated assault is just too much. And, sorry, but something’s fishy in the State of Louisiana.
God bless you, Laura.
Did any of you see the assault a couple of months back of a young black man stealing the car of a 80 something year old man. If you didnt the old man was hung between the door of his car and another car. The attacker punched the old man in the face until he was unconscious and slumped over. I am not sure if he was charged with attempted murder or assault. It was one or the other but it should have been the attempted murder. Again if there was a video all of you would have a different opinion. How is it so hard to believe 40 witnesses. Once a person is knocked unconscious and anyone continues doing anything to that person they are trying fact that he went to a ring ceremony that he had worked for his whole life just shows he was determined to not let his attackes take something else from him. He should have stayed in the hospital for observations. The human body is very resiliant and can take quite a bit of abuse it still doesnt change the fact that they were trying to injure him and had planned to do so. I dont know how it is in other parts of the country but school fights with one on one happed fairly often. I have never in my life heard of 6 people jumping on one person in school. That is nothing more than a gang beating. I know you have that in most parts of the country and especially large citys. If these thugs recieved more severe sentences maybe it would stop. Down here we have no tolerance for such behavior regardless of color or who you are.
James Black, cite the video, and I’ll watch it and give my opinion of it; but I still don’t see how it is relevant to this case.
Show me something that indicates Justin Barker’s beating was planned.
Show me something that says your opinion is more valuable than the doctors who sent Barker home after 2.5 hours in the ER.
As to the 40 witnesses, their testimonies were conflicting, so you’re going to have to break it down if you want to prove something by it, and by the way, the coach said outright that Bell was not involved in the attack. Bell’s attorney didn’t call him to testify about it.
Bell’s attorney apparently doesn’t know what he’s doing. Why didn’t he apply for a change in venue? Why didn’t he find witnesses to testify for Mychal Bell (if there were any)?
I’m very surprised that the NAACP or ACLU didn’t send him somebody to defend him.
The NAACP and the ACLU knew about the case but chose not to get involved until after Bell’s conviction. My opinion is that they wanted to wait until the case had sufficient drama and publicity.
Laura which coach were you refering to, maybe the one who was holding the gym door so no one could get out and help him and the same coach who told them to run so they wouldnt know who they were. As for being premeditated it wasnt necessarily for Justin but they were going to beat some white person that day. Just minutes earlier in the gym one of them tried to start a fight with another white boy. The boy said I am not going to fight you man. Another black student stepped in and told “Bell” we arent going to do this in here. They then proceeded out of the gym and attacked Barker.
On another note I went to the first football game of the year friday, guess what no violence, no racism. blacks and whites together as usual. Also get this they were actually able to win without the thug squad. Heres a little more news for you a just learned a white man was beaten at a storage unit as he got out of his truck sometime this week. He now has a broken back and several other injurys. He said the blacks were not from Jena. This is what has bothered me with this whole case people with problems from other places coming here to act out for thier on selfish benefit. If I was Sharpton or any of the others I would be worried about someone from elsewhere using this as a perfedt oppurtunity to retallliate against them. Innocent people maybe in danger of getting hurt or killed.
The above incident hasnt hit the news yet and is under investigation. I did confirm the allegation with a deputy today. The reason it hasnt made news yet is because opposite of popular belief they dont arrest people here for no reason.
Okay, this posting began with, I doubt anyone kid in a high school fight had felony charges brought against him/her before December 2006. Actually, there was Demetrius Oglesby, who was charged with a felony offense for starting a food fight that led to numerous injuries of other students, and that is one case of many. You are so biased in your reporting and opions that it actually becomes hilarious.
(and Walters KNEW that, because the ER head nurse told him so, which is why Walters relied on photos to sway the three members of the jury who were not connected to the prosecution
I’ve seen these photos. not a pretty site.
Why didn’t he find witnesses to testify for Mychal Bell (if there were any)?
16 people said it was Bell.
Show me something that indicates Justin Barker’s beating was planned.
There is a witness report in the courthouse from a black female who wishes to remain anonymous who says she overheard Bell and the others planning this in the lunch line.
From Jena 2 - I’m not interested in photos. I know how bad a beating can *look* - and I know that two weeks later it’s a whole other story, unless there has been a serious injury. Qualified medical testimony of serious injuries would have put me firmly on the side of putting the Jena 6 in jail. But Walters didn’t have that.
I’ve read several newspaper accounts where the coach said it wasn’t Bell and wondered why Williams didn’t call him to testify, and those newspaper accounts raised questions about whether that testimony by the kids was influenced by the teacher who had made the list of names. (I forget her name.)
As to the witness report, I would have no way of knowing these things. Is it publicly available? Can I get a copy? (I don’t mind paying.) I’ll come out to Jena if that’s what it takes; it looks like it may have to. If this is another media malfeasance I’ll enjoying publishing that more than you can possibly know. But I’m not willing to just go by your word on it. I can’t even verify you by your IP address since you’re using Bellsouth.
Chris: In order to be considered “aggravated” under law, a weapon had to be used in the assualt. No one has proved that Bell kicked Justin and his tennis shoe was the lethal weapon that was used to authorize the charges.
Kicking, if it was done, is not stomping. When the kids beat Bailey up, were they attempting to murder him? Why are that gang not in jail on the same charges? Why were the boys not charged with conspiracy to commit murder when they threatened to lynch black teens for sitting under a tree on school property? If Bell and the other 5 are in jail, the white boys need to be sitting there right alongside of them getting equal justice.
alyce-
While the act of hanging the nooses was undoubtedly disgusting and the boys responsible should have been expelled, to go so far as to say that they should be charged with conspiracy to commit murder is ridiculous. Pulling a twisted, racially charged prank is something they are guilty of. But there is no evidence to suggest that they were actually planning to murder anyone with those nooses.
To everyone in regards to Jena 6
The reality of Jena 6 is that people of color will be treated unfairly and justified by a political incorrect judicial system, until “we” stop living in the past. I don’t condone “beatings” nor “racism.” Its obvious that racism is playing a more vital role in Jena 6 than the “beating.”
Its ashame and sad to hear and observe what “humans” think and feel in regards to this matter. Regardless of race these are human beings who deserve to be treated with dignity. I don’t care about their past because “all” persons involved in this situation have a past which could be more revealing on why this happened in the beginning.
The problem is that 6 African American Men have already been found guilty not only by Jena, Louisiana but by those of us that are bias and judgemental. We don’t know these children. Words are powerful and growing up in an community where the “n” word is used daily; You are reminded of slavery; and Racism and discrimination is the norm: Well to be honest young “black” men today don’t want to be reminded of their generational past. Just like White American don’t want to be reminded or relive Pearl Habor, World War I & II, Scalping, etc.
White America how would you feel if you were forced to relive these situations? How would you feel being the individual or persons working in “cotton fields,” “sold into slavery,” “beaten”, “prejudged by your color,” or “forbidden to eat in public restaurants?” Put this on the mind.
No wonder why other parts of the world despise us. No wonder why Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, etc. would rather fight/die for their countries freedom than to convert to the United States way of life. The United States is making more enemies than friends. Treating African Americans like trash. White America accept and respect “dogs” more than they do other human beings. What does that say!
Anytime, M.V. is fighting for redemption due to fighting dogs. What! I know white people that fight chickens (roosters), hogs, and dogs. Just another suggestion for the mind.
If you are a Christian and you do read the bible - this shall all come to pass. There is only one authority and power that reigns over all dominican and its not the white man.
Lekeytha, Is that the dominican republic you speak of. I assume you mean dominion. It would be nice if everyone one was equal. It would be nice if you were not taught that the white man is here to keep you down. It would be nice if you didnt throw the race card every time something is not the way you like it. Just think if it wasnt for affirimative action alot of you would not even have a job or at least not a decent job. If we all were equal a black man wouldnt get the same prefered rating as a veteran, this is what happens if you are applying for a state or goverment job. It would be nice if you were only hired for your ability not because you are forced to hire people to have a proper racial mixture. So do you really want to be equal? I dont think so, then you would have nothing to complain about. Blacks have far more oppurtunitys in our society than any other race, You can go to college with very little or no expense. You can get into college with a lower score. Heck you cant harly even be fired because you will cry racism. Sounds like you have it made to me.
Laura, there was a article in satudays Alexandria daily town talk about Bell explaining why he didnt recieve a bell low enough to get out of jail. I missed the issue as I was in Shreveport. I was told it saidt the judge set the bail high because he had 4 pending violent offenses and that he felt he was a threat to the community. I assume the actual offenses were not publicized due to him being a juvenile at the time.
I almost forget, I just left walmat a short time ago.(in Jena) I saw a young black man walk half way across the parking lot to shake the hand of the school superintendent. Just another example of how out of people of all races get along and interact together in Jena. When this is all over and the truth is finally published alot of you are going to feel really ignorant. I will fully expect a public apoligy from each and every one of you for putting down our community and society in general.
>
Actually, most of the public doesn’t realize how much Williams was protecting Bell by not bringing up Bell’s past. The DA can’t by law bring up someone’s past in court unless the defense makes a reference to it.
Lekeytha-
“Its obvious that racism is playing a more vital role in Jena than the “beating”"
That quote, much like your dreadful writing style, is wrong for so many reasons. Firstly, you are assuming that racism is playing a more vital role than the beating with little to no knowledge of the situation. Do you live in Jena? Were the prosecuting or defending attorney in this case? Were you on the jury? Did you sit in on the trial? Do you personally know all parties involved? I strongly doubt you answered yes to any of those questions.
Beyond that, writing “beatings” using the quotations works to imply that it was not really a beating. You are downplaying the fact that 6 boys attacked another boy. Whether or not he was beaten as badly as some claim is left to be seen, but I, unlike you, will refrain from expressing my opinions regarding the beating because I do not know all the facts.
Please do not take liberties like these in the future. They paint you as an ignorant individual when you may in fact be intelligent and receptive.
Laura ,I appreciate you printing Bells priors. As I know the judge and DA, I also know how prosecute and how they normally sentence. I expect the other 5 to get a supended sentence and 5 years probation. I expect Bell to get 5 years and serve one. I dont feel this is extreme for any of the six. Earlier I had refered to a video of a old man beating beaten. You can find this on Utube by searching for 91 year old man beaten.
Let me start off by saying that I appreciate the many different points of view that are expressed on this blog. While one cant help but to form an opinion after reading all the facts pertaining to this case, we must all be careful to express our feelings respectfully without taking a personal swipe at one another. The fact remains that in every city in America there are all kinds of racist things happening and the truth is it is up to the government to improve race relations in our communites. The fact that things that were created in this country to protect the rights of minorities are always looked down upon is disturbing. It is disturbing because the foundation of this country was not built upon the notion that there would be equal opportunites for all who dwell here. In fact history has shown that all sorts of individuals founded this country on land that was already settled by a group of called the Indians. Hundreds of Tribes were pushed out to make way for the Europeans to come and inhabit this country. So Mr. Black you are incorrect in posting that it is unfair that affiramative action is what allows us to obtain jobs and schooling. I am the proud mother of a 22 year old boy who is in his 4th year at Northeastern University in Massachusetts. Northeastern is one of the MOST prestigious universities in this country. My son played football and maintained strait a’s all four years in high school. This is what allowed my son to go to school, not at a reduced tuition, but FREE!!!! on an all academic scholorship. and while he does not play football anymore he maintains strait a’s and b’s and has a gpa of 3.8. and excuse me Mr. Black it had nothing to do with the color of his skin, and everything to do with his determintion to succeed in life. Please check your facts before you label an entire race of youth. it is disgusting and disrespectful. My sons best friends are of all races and thankfully he did not have to grow up dealing with the trials of racism. He is very aware of his ability and knows right from wrong. Moving forward this will be a case where everyone involved will have a chance to reflect and make a conscious effort to end this idiocy we call racism.
Everything about this situation is extreme that is understood…. but what sickens me the most is that for the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would consider the hanging of nooses a “prank” a “joke” or how a teen is getting charged attempted murder for a school fight? How is this justified? Are we teaching our children that it is fine to send the message of racism? I am a mother of two. As a parent I will raise my children not to embrace hatred ~ rather to love one another. How do we really think these teens learned of nooses? Who in this day and age allows such a thing?
My concern is that all teens involved be treated equally regardless of the color of their skin. I do feel that the charges of attempted murder and conspiracy is outrageous, to me it seems as it was a case of battery. I feel for all parties involved as well for the generation that we are raising. If the school board, the teachers would have intervened earlier on maybe just maybe the situation would not have escalated.
Intelligent minded
These comments you refer to aply to all blacks but mainly to the ones on here so righteously state all whites are racist and evil. I got tire of reading their ****. It is good your son will be a positive role model. there are intelligent people in every race theres no denying that. For you to just jump in here without knowing the facts on this issue is just plain rude. You are to quick to make assumptions. The media made this event as trivial as the national enquirer. I havent been any where close to as rude as some people on here. I apoligize if you take it personally. You dont live here, you dont know, just as 75% of the others in here dont know. I have just as much right to defend my community as others do to try to condem it. Hopefully intelligent people as yourself will look at the facts before making judgements. By the way my great grandmother was 100% choctaw and you dont here me complaining about what happened hundreds of years ago.
Disgusted:
The charges were dropped to aggravated battery.
this whole thing is ridiculous and is being blown way out of proportion. If the black kids are going to be charged for beating Barker, the white kids should recieve the same charges for assaulting (Bailey i believe) at the Fair Barn. And the incident at Gotta Go is c0mpletely ridiculous, ridiculous doesnt even come close to describing the insanity of the charges the black men face. And to Mr. James Black, for someone who allegedly knows everything there is to know about the case, knows everyone involved in the case, knows the District Attorney, as well as the workings of the legal system, it amazes me to see just how horrible your spelling and typing skills are. honestly, its obsurd.
Anthony Stafford:
Some of us not just live in Jena, but have also read the eye witness statements. If you read those too, you would have a different stance on the whole issue.
“James Black
August 28th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
35
Lekeytha, Is that the dominican republic you speak of. I assume you mean dominion. (one should not point out another’s mistakes unless they are willing to note their own, I’ve bolded them below) It would be nice if everyone one was equal. It would be nice if you were not taught that the white man is here to keep you down. It would be nice if you didnt throw the race card every time something is not the way you like it. Just think if it wasnt for affirimative action alot of you would not even have a job or at least not a decent job. If we all were equal a black man wouldnt get the same prefered rating as a veteran, this is what happens if you are applying for a state or goverment job. It would be nice if you were only hired for your ability not because you are forced to hire people to have a proper racial mixture. So do you really want to be equal? I dont think so, then you would have nothing to complain about. Blacks have far more oppurtunitys in our society than any other race, You can go to college with very little or no expense. You can get into college with a lower score. Heck you cant harly even be fired because you will cry racism. Sounds like you have it made to me.
Laura, there was a article in satudays Alexandria daily town talk about Bell explaining why he didnt recieve a bell low enough to get out of jail. I missed the issue as I was in Shreveport. I was told it saidt the judge set the bail high because he had 4 pending violent offenses and that he felt he was a threat to the community. I assume the actual offenses were not publicized due to him being a juvenile at the time.”
Now for my response:
As for affirmative action….if things had been fair from the beginning and applicants weren’t intentionally overlooked for jobs simply because of their race…there would be no need for special ratings, affirmative action, or any other work related considerations. Women have had the same problems, over looked for certain jobs, advancement, etc. Imagine being a black woman, you’re doubly screwed. This country was founded BY white men FOR white men. Being a white man, you can never understand the plight of someone of any other race, or another ***.
These young black men may be guilty of many things. I’m sure the young white men involved may be guilty of many things as well. The issue here is severity. Slap on the wrist for some vs prison for others. Expulsion from school vs 3 day suspension. Prank vs premeditation. A hate crime is a hate crime no matter how you cut it. The nooses were dyed to match the school’s colors and hung the night before (deductive reasoning used here) so that they were seen first thing the next day. Tell me how that isn’t “premeditated”. Rope is generally one color, so for there to be 3 nooses hung to match the schools colors…that would indicate premeditation. But yet it was “just a prank” according to the Superintendent. The principle “supposedly” felt differently when he recommended the expulsion, and who would know the students in his care better?
There was a lot going on here and it unfortunately escalated to where it is now. Doesn’t make it ok, doesn’t make it right, and it sure doesn’t make it excusable for any of them. The focus needs to be on equal distribution of the law. We are supposed to be a country of equality, not of one-upsmanship. “poke me I’ll punch you, punch me I’ll kick you, kick me I’ll kill you” That gets nothing but sore hands, black eyes and full cemeteries.
Lok back at your own post before you poke at mine. I never said i was a gramatical genius. Most of these post I hurry through and dont even pay attention to my spelling or proper typing skills as you call them. I can point out 6 typos in your last post without even much thought. Yes I could take time and use spell check but that is not the point here. You will find out everything I said was true. Absolutely nothing you think happened is true. As long as I get that point across I could care less if you criticize me. At least I do capitalize the first word. If you would like to know the real story of the Gotta Go incident or the fairbarn incident just read back where I posted them and you will see what actually happened and was witnessed. There are a few people in here who know what happened, most of them have JENA in their name.
Karol
Nicely done. I guess I should pay a little more attention to my spelling. I have to admit I have typed many more words in these post than I have in the past 20 years since I graduated high school. In my line of work I rarely have to type anything other than the occasional spread sheet and the occasional accident report.I suppose I have been in a supervisory position for to many years. I normally leave the letters and reports to the secretarys. No matter how many times people keep mentioning the nooses, that still is not a crime. No matter how bad it hurt anyones feelings it still not a crime. Ignorant yes but not a crime. Not to be a smart A** but rope comes in many different colors and the color of the ropes have no meaning here. The students that done this would have been better off if they had been expelled. You probably arent aware that all three quit school because of life threats, harassment, and extortion. Yes extortion Bell threatened one of the three and told him the only way they would leave him alone was if he brought him a dollar a day. You would have thought he would have asked for more. So the school board may not have did much but they recieved far more punishment than they bargained for. Their familys also got constant death threats. I could go through each event and explain to you what really happened. This isnt hear say or he said she said. I dont blame people who read or hear about this to think “oh my god” but they are misinformed. You know alot of people blam this on the school board and the school for not expelling those boys and its true they should have been. I still doubt it would have changed anything. If fact Bell should have been expelled from school and arrested when he urinated in the corner of his spanish class. Yes he did ask to go to the restroom and the teacher told him that class was almost over, to just wait. Bell was in detention almost every weekend for disrupting class or being out in the halls wondering around during class. (After he asked to go to the restroom.) Now if they had did what they should have and expelled him then I doubt any of Barker incident would have every happened. I dont think that coach Fowler would have took kindly to one of his star running backs being kicked out of school. After all he never punished Bell or Jones when each was arrested for battery during football season. So I guess someone did recieve special treatment other than the noose hangers. Also Fowler (football coach) didnt allow 3 white players to play in a game because the toilet papered the school. I would have loved to see Bell play in last nights football game but I couldnt, you couldnt andthe school system couldnt make his choices for him. I hope having ones feelings hurt for any reason doesnt justify retaliation by violence. If it does then this country is in big trouble. I am sure some will think I made this up, but I assure you I dont have that knid of imagination. I doubt there will ever be complete rest between races. Whether it is black and white. white and tan , black and yellow or any combination of the bunch, there will always be differences. There will always be somebody who is getting the short end of the stick. On another note ,speaking of different standards. I was recently on a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico and I noticed a little tension in the air. I started asking around to see what was up. I had been on this particular rig many times and everyone got along well. Basically what had happened was a couple of guys from Mississippi came to work on the rig and their state flag was on a patch on their coveralls. With their state flag being the confederate flag ,a black man complained and they were made to rip the flag off. Naturally they didnt like it or understand why. A day later the same black man wore a sweater into the galley that said the blacker the college the sweeter the knowledge. They two white man complained to the rig manager that that offened them. He then replied he couldnt do nothing about it and didnt want to hear any more of it. This is one thing I fail to understand a black person can call a person of any other race any thing they want. It doesnt matter if being called a redneck, cracker, white trash or anything else offends me ,they can say it with no consequences. I hear them call Mexicans wetbacks, asians chinks, and call each other N***** all the time and couldnt care less. So why do they think other races should refrain from saying or doing anything that might hurt their feelings.Recently I was called a fat white craker MF because I parked in a spot apparently he wanted. I thought to myself I wonder what his reaction would have been if I had came back with the first thing that popped into my mind. It would have probably been a fight. Anyway enough rambling but hopefully you see my pont.
Well Said…Justice is not done with a sledgehammer, but the conscience of man!
I think that we should not forget that this kid wanted to portray a lynching which in my personal opinion he deserved everything he got and then some, these boys have a hard road ahead of them I would like to say that life is not harder for them being black but the cold hard truth is that their life is going to be harder than your average white kid is this right NO but it is TRUE. We can not forget the fact that this one white child set back his community 80 years and the Family Values that were instilled that he would think that this is an exceptable thing to do. We need to do something about it not just sit at our computers and blog on it but get out and start a petition to call this community to the 21st century where the law states that were all equal this child Justin needs to be charged with commiting a Hate Crime and this is the truth. If these were *** kids who would be in court?
The reason the government forced integration is so THAT black students would brutalize white students.
It’s amazing how the media is against the white kid. They really wanted the white kid to die. They will rot in hell!
ChristynD:
The victim who was beaten by the Jena 6 had nothing to do with the noose hangings. He hung out in the same group they did, that’s about it. He was also involved in a verbal altercation with Robert Bailey beforehand. Some claim he called one the “n” word, but I’ve heard there are no eye witness statements to support that claim. I haven’t received all of the eye witness statements yet but plan to.
Either way, nothing gives ANYONE a right to do what they did. Do you know the details? Here’s a rundown.
White kid walks past several black kids with his girlfriend. When he passes one up, he punches white kid from behind. White kid hits concrete and is knocked unconscious before he even hits the ground. While he is unconscious on the ground, these 6 guys kicked him repeatedly. One eye witness says one of the Jena 6 leaned down and started punching him, too. MULTIPLE witnesses say they were kicking him in the head.
Keep in mind that, medically speaking, brain injuries are alot likelier to occur when someone has been knocked unconscious.
So you tell me, does he deserve this?
And do we have laws that are supposed to shelter people who conduct this kind of behavior in our school system?
Two of the other 6 charges were dropped to the same as Bells as expected. they havent said anything about Bells appeal to not be tried as an adult yet. Also there are no protest outside from all the people who said they would be there. Everything sure seems to be as normal as long as the people from elsewhere stay out of it.
Opal-
I hope both of those last two comments were jokes (albeit unfunny jokes)
We will have to accept that there are things in America, that will not really change. We will
only have improvements and gains between the different cultures when the cultures and races go through similar experiences that affect both equally. As a person who occasionally visits America, I have been fortunate enough to observe different aspects of the culture and I am always amazed at how some communities are able to work out their differences and how others find it very difficult. If there is a problem that will not be reconciled it is usually fostered by persons who live for causing discord and damage, it makes no difference if they are Black, White, Asian or Hispanic. These persons are so weak that they are easily manipulated by demons within and without, and they often refuse to keep the rules that they have set for others. We can call it racism, violence, gangbeating, whatever.
He said, Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, this encompasses the first four commandments, and then He said, Love your neighbour as yourself, the latter, encompass the commandments five to six. It may not be apparent, but if we cannot keep the first four we will not be able to keep the other six, and since the same guys who you look to for justice are the same guys that removed the commandments from public view, it looks we are between a rock and a hard place, I would have to include myself because the rules apply to me also whenver I travel to America.
If changes are not forthcoming the only retribution we will see is a pound of flesh
Bell’s problem is that he had three prior convictions on battery - this is probably why he is also being tried as an adult. Sorry but at some point you ahve to learn a lesson and that obviously was not working in his case. He should taken a plea.
I agree that the charges and sentencing are way over the top for this type of crime in this particular case. However, I would like to see fighting taken far more seriously in schools. Kids should not have to go to school in fear of being assaulted. I do believe it should be investigated and treated as a crime - and if the person committing the assault is found guilty and is 16 or older they should spend some time during the summer in a detention center for the first offense. Second offense would be jail time and expulsion. Too many kids keep coming through the system thinking violence is the answer and we need to put an end to it. Fight videos on the web are everywhere - it’s a sick contest to see who can be the least civilized.
The problem with this whole charade is - it should have been handled at the school level. The DA should be prosecuted for abuse of power.
In response to Christyn D:
I cease to be amazed at the lack of equality in the world. For some reason, people think it is OK to hate another Race of people. Not just one person, but an entire race. Christyn D thinks the white kid who was beaten should be prosecuted for a hate crime. The kid who was beaten? He didn’t hang a noose. He didn’t do anything except taunt another kid for getting his “a$$ whipped” in a previous fight. Where does that fall into the category of a Hate Crime. AND, if you are prosecuting kids for hate crimes, then shouldn’t it be the black kids who beat the white kid? Afterall, their defense is that they beat the white kid in retaliation, because he happened to be friends with the 3 kids who did hang the nooses. In other words, they beat him BECAUSE HE WAS WHITE. Black kids beat another kid because he’s white and that’s OK because they have a “tough road ahead of them”. Christyn went on to say, “if these kids were white, who would be in court?”. Fact is, if these kids were white and had jumped a black student, you would not only see all 6 kids expelled from school, you would probably see some pretty stiff criminal charges regarding hate crimes. You see Christyn, in this world it is OK for a group of black kids to jump one white kid and beat him senseless because of the color of his skin. IT IS NOT ok for a group of white kids to jump one black kid and beat him senseless. That is called racism in America, where it is OK for blacks to say anything deragatory they want about whites because they feel they have earned the right to be racist. I, for one, am not going to raise my boys to believe that because slavery existed, they have the right to be prejudice against all white people. Fact is, life is hard for whites and blacks. As a College professor, I can attest that it is much more difficult for a poor white student to make it in this world, than a poor black student. It is up to all African American PARENTS to instill pride and a sense of logic and morality in our children in order to abolish ALL racism, not just racism against blacks. I truly feel sorry for you if you have a grudge or hatred for any group of people based on their skin. If you haven’t opened your heart and your eyes to INDIVIDUAL freedom in this country, then I suggest you take the time to get to know someone who is different from you.
Let me start this by saying I was born and raised in Jena, and pround of the town and people, black and white.
I graudated JHS in 72, we intergrated our schools when I was a sophmore, very little problems with the change,
just some white and blacks being thuggs, the same white boys causing trouble in our all white school, and the same black boys causing trouble in their all black school, trouble comes in all colors.
When we intergrated our school we played sports together, very few problems, but as for the school “hang out places’, the nerds had one place, the cowboys had thier place, the jocks had their place, the popular kids, had thier place the thuggs had their place, black or white, and if you was in the wrong “place’ your were probaly not accepted there, white or black, the “tree” probaly was one of those hangouts, maybe not sure. As for the shotgun incident, my mother used to work at the store and are good friends with the owner who saw the incident, a simple case of thuggs being thuggs, The people from Jena, black or white, will defend themselves,
whatever way they can. From my understanding by people present, the fair barn incident was a private party that some kids tried to crash, and were removed by force, after mouthing from both parties a fight insued.
and I believe the person who told me. the fight at the school I know no first hand details, but in texas where I live now, any school fight the city police are called and charge are filed. Do theese kids deserve 22 years in jail. of course not, do they need to be held accoutable for their actions, of course they do, all, black or white do.
The reason that the DA has not mentioned their past crimminal history is because he cannot, because of pending cases.
Before I am crucified in this blog let me tell you about me, I am 54 yo white guy, born and raised in Jena, moved to TX in 78, was not born in a racist home, my family stills lives there, and I visit often, I still remember the “black only” windows at the restuarants, and I did not understand, my Dad said it was just ignorant people being ignorant, where I live now is a small town about the same size as Jena, and we are about racially even, blacks, hispanics, white, and we have thuggs of all colors, just like Jena. I teach sunday school at the Baptist Church,