The Jena 6: Black High School Students Charged In Fight
By Just Stupid on Sep 5, 2007 in Stupid Laws, Stupid Politicians, Stupid School
Last fall, when two Black high school students sat under the "white" tree on their campus, white students responded by hanging nooses from the tree. When Black students protested the light punishment for the students who hung the nooses, District Attorney Reed Walters came to the school and told the students he could "take [their] lives away with a stroke of [his] pen." Racial tension continued to mount in Jena, and the District Attorney did nothing in response to several egregious cases of violence and threats against black students.
But when a white student–who had been a vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses–taunted a black student, allegedly called several black students "nigger", and was beaten up by black students, six black students were charged with second-degree attempted murder. Last month, the first young man to be tried, Mychal Bell, was convicted. He faces up to 22 years in prison for a school fight. You can help by visiting Free the Jena6.
Technorati Tags: jena high school, the jena 6, jena six, white tree
Click on a Star to Rate This Stupid Post:
(3 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)
Loading ...
Rob Patrick | Sep 20, 2007 | Reply
The black students who ganged up and beat this
white kid need to be punished. Its called assault for a reason. The “intent to kill” part should probably be dropped, but a crime was committed. That being said, the assault victim was out of line by using racial insults, however a gang beating was not the way to handle it. The students who stupidly hung nooses to try to deter black student from sitting under the tree were punished, but I believe they should have been expelled, not suspended. Two wrongs don’t make a right and the bad blood that has been fermenting in this community should be dealt with by their own town officials, schoolboard, etc. The eyes of the nation are upon them. To have the media parade of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson will only polarize this community against each other. The only good news I have heard about this case is that the “white tree” has been removed. I do blame the school’s principal and school district for letting certain white students to claim it for their own and ban blacks. They had to know about this. I think justice in this matter should be the firing of the principal and any board members within the school’s district, expulsion for the students that hung the nooses, and juvenile probation for the students that committed the assault. They were provoked, but being called names doesn’t give a student the right to commit an assault. I would hate to think of the backlash if the assault victim was black and their were 6 white students attacking. It seems there is no wrong or right or justice in this matter. Just enraged outsiders looking for media attention.