The Jena 6, two years later

Before I start let me just say something. Michael is a Biblical name, it is a bloody angel, spell it right when you name your kid. There are reasons people stereotype against the black members of our community.
For those of you wondering the reason why I am talking about the Jena Six, only two year and a half late, I am simply because one of the members was in the news again today; Mr. Bell apparently shot himself while cleaning his gun (which is why you always have the safety on and CHECK THE DAMN GUN).

On December 4th ,2006 six males beat one male until he passed out. They greatly injured his face and body. Basically, 6 guys teamed up and kicked the shit out of another. What should have been a simple prosecution soon turned into the biggest civil rights trial in years. Going back to my old three-point style of posting, I think that the Jena Six should have been convicted, and that it should have been handled differently. I feel that they attacked a person for no reason, I believe that they were merely used as a scapegoat, I hate Sharpton with a passion.

I feel that they attacked a person for no reason
A young man was beaten, nearly to death, by a gang of other people. Under any logical circumstance the gang should be tried and convicted, regardless of their color. The only thing here is the fact that they thought that the white man had used ‘fighting words’ and thus deserved it. Guess what, there is no reason to beat a person unless they are actively threatening you or another.
Basically, the entire argument moves around the fact that the white teenager supposedly hung a noose on a white-only tree. While this seems quite dangerous, it apparently was common place. There was no evidence that he was the hanger of the noose, nor any that he agreed with it. In fact, this beating might now cause him to be racist. Even if he did hang the noose, there is no reason to believe

I feel that they were merely used as a scapegoat
I do believe that our country has a judicial system that is over harsh on those of African decent. A simple look at the drug penalties shows as much. But, at the same time, I do not think that race played a single role in this situation. I see this as a proper move by the DA of the area, you prosecute people who attacked another, violently and without cause or provocation. Basically, I think the DA was doing his job perfectly. The only reason this was big was the fact that all the boys were black, and they were able to make an argument about the nooses that WERE NOT HUNG BY JUSTIN.
A large group of black Americans want to be able to blame the system. Jackson, Sharpton, Wright, they all want to be able to blame the man for the reason that statistically there is a higher poverty rate for blacks. Most blacks, however, are intellegent and no that this is not smart, nor is it right. Anyways, I really feel that the boys were used as scapegoats merely to further the agenda of these people. They were used to draw sympathy, longing, and a desire to amend our justice system. Frankly, the boys should not have been used in this way, and, even if they should have, THEY BROKE THE BLOODY LAW.

I hate Sharpton with a passion
I believe that Sharpton is a bigot (see his comments about Romney and Mormonism), an anti-Semite (see the Feddy Market Case), and an asshole (see his unpaid taxes and his campaign finances). The fact that he can say he argues for civil rights while keeping a straight face is beyond me. While he was good at first, he has become useless and a harm to the black community. Jackson, on the other hand, attempts to actually do good, he just fails. Sharpton has even show his willingness to lie in a trial, and then to accuse the people helping him when they contend that he was wrong.
On a side note, I do like some of the works he does. His groups, his funding, his anti-animal-cruelty bits (though I do dislike PETA), and his strong support for gays is a great thing for this country. If only he kept to logical areas of civil rights, not making shit up for the publicity.



In the end, I think that, while there might have been a HINT of racism in the whole Jena Six debacle, there was not enough to make it a bad trial. The boys broke the law, period, end of story. Sure, they were acting like idiots and they are kids, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be punished.