I hate to be rude here, but I read the first 4 sentences of your post and I won’t read anymore. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW that MYCHAL BELL’S CASE HAS BEEN THROWN IT, then we have nothing to talk about.

Anyone who visits Chi-Town knows that we have one of the most racially segregated cities in North America. Most of the races that we have- Indian, Asian, Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, all live in separate communities with little to no mixing in our neighborhoods. Social Psychology suggests that similarities attract. I believe this. However, when we do mix, i.e. at school, work, cultural events, etc. we have learned to enjoy one anothers company and we “get along.” We have a hard time swallowing a pill like this [Jena 6 situation]. I guess you can say that the people in CHICAGO “know better” for lack of a better term. About 75% of the world who hates the “N” word are people from Chicago and they are White (this is a bogus statistic that I made up but it feels so dam true). We are extremely culture-conscious and racially sensitive. We are just so past this whole “prejudice” thing, it’s so ancient! Diversity is taught in our schools, most households, at work and we practice it day to day. You know some companies have DIVERSITY PROGRAMS and SENSITIVITY PROGRAMS. You guys have lost that, or never had it. If you did, the noose crap wouldn’t be going on, regardless of school spirit (I AM STILL TRYING REALLY HARD TO PICTURE A NOOSE AT A FOOTBALL GAME. WOW!). So you may think that you have set me straight with your reply up there but you will never change my opinions of this whole ordeal. You may have reached 1 but you have 1.3 million to go sweetie. GOOD LUCK!

WE HAVE GOT TO DO BETTER.

ms_vaughn01@yahoo.com

My take on your take:

“Honestly, since when is 20+ years in prison for a teenager appropriate justice for a high school “*** wooping”?”

I don’t know, who got twenty years? Did you not read all of these articles?

“I have seen soooooo many high school fights. I have seen people get their heads, lips, eyes and everything else busted up but NO ONE GOES TO JAIL and certainly not for years at a time. YOU PEOPLE [Jena residents] CANNOT POSSIBLY BE SERIOUS.”

You live in Chicago, where crimes are committed repeatedly every day. For “fights” to happen in YOUR school is common, the shock factor isn’t there. IT IS HERE!! Just because YOU live in a large city where crimes are punished less, and I live in a small town where crimes are punished more harshly don’t make YOUR judicial system more right than ours. Maybe Chicago should crack down on it’s high schoolers who exhibit gang-like behavior and violently kick and stomp someone while they lay unconscious on the ground. Maybe if you DID what we did, you’d have relatively little violence problems in your schools like we have.

And yes, I’m serious.

“When those idiots hung those nooses on that tree, they knew exactly what they were doing. I don’t even see how other schools in the area are allowed to do it for football games, if that’s even true. But again, I am from Chicago and I bet my life you would never see any bullcrap like that anywhere. Do you have any idea what a noose represents? OMG, that is a d*mn murderous weapon which perpetuates hate and disrespect, to name a few, and I just can’t believe that it is taken so lightly in this town. Using a noose to indicate school spirit? GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK! “

I don’t know what those guys knew, but I DO know that two nooses were hung and three black students sat under the tree. I also know that, this IS NOT the “white tree”, as the media has pegged it. Me and a few of my friends have found photos of BLACK STUDENTS sitting under this tree and we plan to send them to media organizations when we collude our efforts. I also know that there was a football game that night against the Mustangs. I know that this tree is OFTEN used to put things up in preparations for football games. I also know that nooses have been hung in trees before at Jena High School, and many of my friends who went to schools around Alexandria said the same thing! So there is ample reason to DOUBT that these guys were not making a racist statement. There is also evidence to suggest maybe they were; but I’m not convinced.

“I want everyone to stop jumping on racial bandwagons and pay attention what is actually at stake here. There are 6 teenage boys who are about to loose their adulthoods to the prison system and the only thing we can think about is how somebody got beat up.”

I try to see this case as objectively as possible, and being from Jena has allowed me to understand this case much better than most. I try to remove my emotions from how I feel but it’s hard when people jump to assumptions about my home town and everyone who lives here. These teenage boys are not about to lose their adulthoods. No one has been sentenced, 4 have not even went to TRIAL yet. Two are being tried in the juvenile justice system, including one who plays on the football team as we speak. And your last comment saying that “the only thing we can think about is how somebody got beat up.” I can’t help but take offense to this. You see, when this case first evolved (ask Laura, I’ve just about been here from the get-go), it was Jena 6 this, and Jena 6 that…FREE THE JENA 6!! Everyone focused on the horrible treatment of 6 guys who beat and stomped someone while unconscious. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE VICTIM? There is no 100% cut-&-dry antagonist and protagonist in this situation, but the VICTIM of the crime was all but forgotten because he was white. That angers some people, I’m sorry. No one said “These guys should be tried fairly, but Justin Barker’s family deserves justice”. NO. Everyone was just saying “FREE THE JENA 6!”. So pardon me if I feel like maybe it’s time the victim is finally treated as such, not someone who had everything coming to him because he MAY have said a racial slur (if you’ll read the eye witness statements, there’s ample room for doubt in that theory).

When those idiots hung those nooses on that tree, they knew exactly what they were doing. I don’t even see how other schools in the area are allowed to do it for football games, if that’s even true. But again, I am from Chicago and I bet my life you would never see any bullcrap like that anywhere. Do you have any idea what a noose represents? OMG, that is a d*mn murderous weapon which perpetuates hate and disrespect, to name a few, and I just can’t believe that it is taken so lightly in this town. Using a noose to indicate school spirit?
GIVE ME A FREAKING
BREAK! That could NEVER fly where I’m from. I suggest that from here on out the school establish some sort of Racial Sensitivity program because trust me, this crap sounds unreal. Of course there is racial tension, hell, I can think of 400 years worth of reasons for it; especially involving a noose. I am not justifying anything, but I understand. Some of these comments on this website just further support the idea that without a doubt Jena has some racial problems. The sooner people start to realize this, the better. I pray for those little boys (including Justin) and I hope some real justice comes of this bullcrap.
I want everyone to
stop jumping on racial bandwagons and pay attention what is actually at stake here. There are 6 teenage boys who are about to loose their adulthoods to the prison system and the only thing we can think about is how somebody got beat up. He is a BOY for crying out loud! That probably won’t be his last butt-whooping if you want to know the truth of the matter. FYI, I am sure that the reason people are looking at Barker’s injuries as “minor” is obviously because the people who are responsible are being sentenced to PRISON for it. Come on now, the crime doesn’t warrant the time, it just doesn’t. There have been murderers and rapists who have gotten lesser sentences. So he got his butt whooped for talking sh*t, it happens all the time. It’s a part of growing up, kids fight. He is not dead or even anywhere close. He also found it quite easy to get up out of the ER hospital bed and march straight to a ring ceremony that same day. He must have been really fighting for his life! What a miracle! Sorry guys but the injuries that he sustained DO NOT WARRANT PRISON TIME. PERIOD. This whole case has bullsh*t written all over it. I JUST WISH I COULD DO MORE.

ms_vaughn01@yahoo.com

I don’t know what was going through the guys’ heads, but we can say with 100% certainty that there WAS a football game and I can vouch with 100% certainty that that tree has OFTEN been used in the past to show Giant pride. And yes, I have spoken to people from other parts of Central Louisiana and a few of them have told me THEY had nooses hung in trees on more than one occasion in preparations for football games in high school.

I don’t buy it – it just doesn’t pass the logic test. If that were true, Reed Walters would not (as he described in his NYT op-ed) have tried so hard to find a way to charge the noose-hangers, nor would the principal have recommended expulsion instead of just saying, “Look, it’s common knowledge that we hang nooses before football games around here, and it’s happened before plenty of times so why are you getting worked up about it now?” Nor did the school board use that argument back when it would have mattered.

You can’t tell many these people or convince them that this MAY have been a prank in preparations for the football game. I don’t know what was going through the guys’ heads, but we can say with 100% certainty that there WAS a football game and I can vouch with 100% certainty that that tree has OFTEN been used in the past to show Giant pride. And yes, I have spoken to people from other parts of Central Louisiana and a few of them have told me THEY had nooses hung in trees on more than one occasion in preparations for football games in high school. If these guys hung these nooses EVEN “as a prank” directed towards the black students, I think EXPULSION isn’t enough. I think harsher punishment should have been given. But we can’t say with 100% certainty that’s what these guys were up to. Yes, they are rednecks. That makes it very questionable, but it does not PROVE their intent. Additionally, I’ve heard that THREE black students sat under the tree, yet only TWO nooses were hung. If this symbol was aimed at the black students, wouldn’t they have made one for each? So I think you have to factor that in as well. I’m on the fenceline regarding their motives. I don’t know what they meant to do, but they definitely should have addressed the issue afterwards and stated publicly what their intentions were. A public apology would have helped, too. It’s still not too late to do this. Their voice would help the situation alot. If only there was a media outlet that cared to present an unbiased, non-agenda driven story.

Davinedesigns:

I think most of us are probably glad you don’t live here either. It’s actually a great place to live. The black and white community here have some issues (a few bad seeds), but for the most part get along great. Yes, sports is usually the common bond, but definitely NOT always. It bothers me to no end when some of the racial activists say that Bell and co. were just being used for their abilities. It bothers me when they say that, since our white & black communities unite much more during sporting events, that the “white” system is using the black students to win sports games. The problem is, the black community NORMALLY has a much stronger emphasis on sports. It seems that education and club-oriented activities take backstage to sports. This is likely the reason why the white & black communities here come together more during sporting events. This is NOT the “white” system’s fault. If you want to complain about how the black athletes are being “used” by the white system, work on emphasizing other activities! I apologize if I come off as a racist for pointing out one of the perceived problems in the black community, but it angers me when racial activists are ever-so willing to dump all of the problems in their community in the white person’s lap. Racism has to change, but so does the “victim mentality”. Both are valid issues that we need to move forward with.

About the barber shop. I have one question to you: What would a black barber have said if asked the same question? This barber NEVER said a black person could not enter his establishment. You are twisting the words around to make it sound worse.

And YES, she is telling you that the neighborhood has changed because this 16 year old was in prison. I fully back what she says, and I’ve heard the SAME THING from two or three of my black friends in the community.

And regarding the pen speech. It is SO easy to throw in there that he was looking at the black students when he said this. NO way to verify it, NO way to prove it wrong. I have heard that when he actually said those words, he WAS looking at a few of the black students in the front of the auditorium because they were acting up and not listening to him. I believe this is what Reed Walters said.

Justin Barker is not a holier than thou person. I’ve yet to see anyone who has portrayed him that way. I don’t know him so I can’t vouch for his personality, but I don’t care if he is a devil-worshipper, what happened to him was extremely wrong. Arguing with someone and flipping them the middle finger doesn’t give that person a right to get 5-8 of their friends and kick you in the head while you lay on the ground unconscious. This violence in our school system should not be tolerated. If Barker WAS indeed the starter of the altercation (which I believe ample evidence in the eye witness statements suggest otherwise), what happened to letting bygones be bygones? It’s very apparent that these guys use violence to solve all of their problems. Not just violence, violence with a gang-like mentality. They ganged up on several male white students before they attacked Barker.

khushbu:

You ask if we have ever heard of a “high school fight” being taken to court? No, but I have several comments I’d like to respond about this one question:

1.) Someone gets punched in the head from behind, gets knocked unconscious, and is savagely beaten by 6-9 students. You call that a fight? Again, anytime someone uses the word “fight” to describe what happens to Justin Barker, their intentions to me are obvious. This was not a fight, it was a beating. Even Alan Bean agrees with me on that.
2.) Most of us don’t keep up with minor court cases to even accurately GAUGE if high school “fights” are taken to court. So few of us are in the position to accurately reflect on that. Ask a lawyer!
3.) The severity of this crime, which TRANSCENDS a school fight in every sense of the word, requires strict punishment. I think the punishment should be STIFFER than usual since it was in a high school where learning should be taking place. I also feel it should be stiffer if the others records resemble Bell’s.

“barker black and the “jena 6″ white… there would be no courts involved at all…. ”

This statement makes me laugh every time. Wow!! So you are honestly telling me if the races were reversed, these charges wouldn’t have been brought. So Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton wouldn’t want those 6 guys hung up on crosses and crucified? You honestly feel that way? WOW! I can’t help but to VEHEMENTLY disagree with you on that one.

“something that reaches such a magnitude where the white students who beat the black kid weren’t given anything in comparison to the “jena 6″”

The white students who beat the black kid…that situation was VASTLY different than the Justin Barker beating. Go http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/003979.html there and click on the “Convenience Store Incident”. Thumb down to Robert Bailey’s eye witness statement. He is the only one who filled one out. Even according to HIS statement, as you can clearly see, it was not a beating. He says one guy attacked him, another stepped in, then the fight was broken up. Then later one attacked him and “several” attacked his FRIENDS. So EVEN ONE OF THE GUYS YOU SUPPORT contradict what you are trying to say. Get your facts straight, please.

I’ll respond to more of this later.

nooses being hung before footballs?!?!?!?!?! are you kidding me? that in itself is not and should not be a normally occurring event… and in this particular case, it was a racial thing… also, have you ever heard of a high school fight being taken to court? i’m pretty sure that answer is NO! this is absolutely ridiculous… if this was in reverse— barker black and the “jena 6″ white… there would be no courts involved at all…. this is definitely racism— furthermore, i’m sure you know this by now… but let me refresh your memory: “The same day as the impromptu protest, an assembly was called. White students sat on one side of the auditorium, black students on the other. LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters dropped what he was doing and, accompanied by the police, came out to threaten the black students. He faced their side of the auditorium and told them, “See this pen in my hand? I can end your lives with the stroke of a pen.” It was not an idle threat.” If this is what the majority of the people in Jena believe is “normal”… you guys definitely need to get out more and see the world outside of your racist Jena— the world has moved on. yes, our justice system does not always work with the utmost fairness, but something that reaches such a magnitude where the white students who beat the black kid weren’t given anything in comparison to the “jena 6″

lastly, i liked to say that i’m not condoning any of the “jena 6″ acts, but only trying to figure out why the charges were so different for students involved in the same type of event (beating up another). if this isn’t racism then i really don’t know what is.

#84 justcause Says:
September 21st, 2007 at 9:09 pm
I find it amazing that the root cause of the the incident has been totally lost on the the sympathizers for Barker, wasn’t his friend who insigated this attack on Mr. Bell. why are we not punishing him or his parents for the cowardly attack him and his friends engaged in. As for black people being racist (posted by someone else on the site), we cannot be racist because racism has to do with he unequal balance of power. Black people do not control the wealth, the government or any other resources that can be utilized to keep another race down. so PLEASE STOP sayin that blacks are racist.
——————–
justcause – I hate to inform you of something as simplistic as this, but 5 black males on 1 white male IS most definitely an IMBALANCE OF POWER. Anyone can be called racist if they believer THEIR RACE is superior to others, whether you are asian, black, hispanic, or white. Race doesn’t equal blacks only. It has nothing to do with who controls the wealth it has to do with attitude.

You’re old enough to go to war and kill a complete stranger for whatever cause at 18, yet you’re not allowed to drink alcohol because you’re not old enough to understand the responsibility of consuming alcohol (or, can’t handle your liquor as most folks would say), unless you’re at home with mommy and daddy. I don’t get it.

And no, jen1groomer, I won’t be protesting on Justin Barker’s behalf. Not that I condone what happened to him, but in this particular case, he doesn’t need thousands, or even hundreds to support him; he has the Jena justice system, plus the incompetent DOJ (particularly Donald Washington) in his corner. Most folks aren’t protesting because because the Jena 6 are “innocent”, but because these are agregious charges. I’d feel a lot better when everyone comes to their senses and recognize this.

A hate crime is defined as “A hate crime (bias crime), loosely defined, is a crime committed because of the perpetrator’s prejudices. This is a controversial political issue within the US. The US Congress (HR 4797 – 1992) defined a hate crime as: “[a crime in which] the defendant’s conduct was motivated by hatred, bias, or prejudice, based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity of another individual or group of individuals. …” which means that the crime must be motivated solely by race. An example would be if a white kid smacked a random black kid on the street or vice versa, simply because of race.

Just because one party is black and the other is white does not make something an automatic hate crime. It is difficult to explain the Jena 6 as being or not being a hate crime because of all the other incidents that happened leading up to the Justin Barker beating. It has also been reported that Barker was taunting the black students before this. That would mean that this crime was motivated by the taunting, however racial it may have been. If Justin Barker was black and taunted the Jena 6, he may still have been beaten; the situation probably wouldn’t be such a big issue.

Hanging nooses from a tree is a hate crime. It is solely motivated by race.

And justcause, anyone could be racist. While racism has caused some people in power to oppress others (like the Apartheid), anyone has the capacity to discriminate based on race.