Support the "Jena 6"?
I'm probably going to get a lot of flack from this post, but it's been bugging the hell out of me.
Why are people supporting the "Jena 6"?
These are 6 teenagers who stomped on a guy's head. It doesn't matter if he allegedly made some derogatory comment or not. I think if he did, it was a stupid move on his part, but the fact of the matter is, that's immaterial to the situation. 6 people beat up a guy and started stomping on his head. For some reason I don't think "Oh, I'm just going to rough up this guy a little bit to teach him a lesson" was going through the heads of these kids. In a heated situation like that, all you can think about is inflicting the most amount of damage possible.
I'd have to say the charges are very forgiving. When you stomp on an aluminum can, it is crushed flat. Stomping on a person's head is like that, except the head has a brain in it and if that brain stops working because it's flattened under the sole of a boot, that person is dead. Dropping the attempted murder charges is a lucky break for those teens. The one kid that has a higher bail has it because of a criminal history of this behavior. The judge doesn't want to fall for the ol' "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." If someone repeats an action that has been deemed wrong by the democratic laws of our land, it's kinda hard to trust them to not go out and do it again.
Right now, thousands of people are march on this town demanding justice. Justice!? You people have a pretty screwed up sense of justice. You paint a picture of these kids being troubled youths in a discriminating society that need to be acquitted. Excuse me, but there is a guy that took shoes to the head from these teens; let's not forget about him. The law is in place to deter people from doing this BS. It's not a bluff; "alright, you got us, we'll let you off the hook." You attack someone, you serve time. That's what jail time is, a time to reflect on where you went wrong and what you can do to fix it.
Now, I'm not saying these kids don't need help. It sounds to me that whole town needs help getting over their race issues. These kids need help to set them on the right track. What I'm saying here is that people are holding them up as saints when they aren't.
You want justice? Here's your justice: Let the system do it's job. It's always been good at doing it's job and if it needs repair, it gets repaired. That's why people are allowed to defend themselves and be judged by a jury of their peers. I have no sympathy for the "Jena 6", they should all go to trial and be judged on their actions of maliciously attacking another student.
Somewhat related, somewhat just funny, here's a clip from The Colbert Report in which he interviews DC Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton. I say it relates because there is a dialogue about perception including skin color in which Colbert points out that he is "color blind." Good point; I'm not a fan of people who ask for everyone to be "color blind" and to not discriminate against minorities, but then turn around and demand special privileges for that group, even though they are being treated equally (ie affirmative action). Anyway, here's the clip:
http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2006/07/youre_not_an_am.html
Please keep any comments constructive and in good taste or I'll taser you like a U of Florida student.
EDIT: These guy is a real douche. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/20/roland.martin.jena6/index.html
"Much of the reporting and commentary on this has been shallow...
If you heard that six teens had beaten up another teen leaving him unconscious, would you think that those accused deserved to be tried as adults and face upwards of 80 years in jail?
Prior to Justin Barker being beaten, another teen (who was black) was beaten, and no charges were filed against the (white) students in that case, would you question the district attorney's action in Barker's case?"
You hypocritical ass! Who's being shallow? Beaten-up and aggravated battery are completely different things. Also, these kids didn't leave him unconscious, they kept on beating him while he was unconscious. I think you're underplaying the situation a bit. Given their ages, past criminal histories, and the nature of the crime, they can be tried as adults.
Another student getting beaten up? Again, very shallow. What was the extent of the "beating." I also thought you were looking at the facts disregarding race, except you put "(who was black)" and "(white)." You yourself are playing the race card and undermining your argument. I would hold it more credible if you just mentioned that there were other beatings that didn't receive the attention as the "Jena 6" incident did.
"If a group of teens hung a noose on a tree, and the principal recommended to expel them, and then the school board overruled them, what would you say about that?"
Not only is that the school's prerogative, but also has nothing to do with the case. The noose incident is just another example of how troubled this community is, but it had no direct bearing on the teens decision to attack another student.
Roland Martin - you are the weakest link. Goodbye!
Why are people supporting the "Jena 6"?
These are 6 teenagers who stomped on a guy's head. It doesn't matter if he allegedly made some derogatory comment or not. I think if he did, it was a stupid move on his part, but the fact of the matter is, that's immaterial to the situation. 6 people beat up a guy and started stomping on his head. For some reason I don't think "Oh, I'm just going to rough up this guy a little bit to teach him a lesson" was going through the heads of these kids. In a heated situation like that, all you can think about is inflicting the most amount of damage possible.
I'd have to say the charges are very forgiving. When you stomp on an aluminum can, it is crushed flat. Stomping on a person's head is like that, except the head has a brain in it and if that brain stops working because it's flattened under the sole of a boot, that person is dead. Dropping the attempted murder charges is a lucky break for those teens. The one kid that has a higher bail has it because of a criminal history of this behavior. The judge doesn't want to fall for the ol' "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." If someone repeats an action that has been deemed wrong by the democratic laws of our land, it's kinda hard to trust them to not go out and do it again.
Right now, thousands of people are march on this town demanding justice. Justice!? You people have a pretty screwed up sense of justice. You paint a picture of these kids being troubled youths in a discriminating society that need to be acquitted. Excuse me, but there is a guy that took shoes to the head from these teens; let's not forget about him. The law is in place to deter people from doing this BS. It's not a bluff; "alright, you got us, we'll let you off the hook." You attack someone, you serve time. That's what jail time is, a time to reflect on where you went wrong and what you can do to fix it.
Now, I'm not saying these kids don't need help. It sounds to me that whole town needs help getting over their race issues. These kids need help to set them on the right track. What I'm saying here is that people are holding them up as saints when they aren't.
You want justice? Here's your justice: Let the system do it's job. It's always been good at doing it's job and if it needs repair, it gets repaired. That's why people are allowed to defend themselves and be judged by a jury of their peers. I have no sympathy for the "Jena 6", they should all go to trial and be judged on their actions of maliciously attacking another student.
Somewhat related, somewhat just funny, here's a clip from The Colbert Report in which he interviews DC Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton. I say it relates because there is a dialogue about perception including skin color in which Colbert points out that he is "color blind." Good point; I'm not a fan of people who ask for everyone to be "color blind" and to not discriminate against minorities, but then turn around and demand special privileges for that group, even though they are being treated equally (ie affirmative action). Anyway, here's the clip:
http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2006/07/youre_not_an_am.html
Please keep any comments constructive and in good taste or I'll taser you like a U of Florida student.
EDIT: These guy is a real douche. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/20/roland.martin.jena6/index.html
"Much of the reporting and commentary on this has been shallow...
If you heard that six teens had beaten up another teen leaving him unconscious, would you think that those accused deserved to be tried as adults and face upwards of 80 years in jail?
Prior to Justin Barker being beaten, another teen (who was black) was beaten, and no charges were filed against the (white) students in that case, would you question the district attorney's action in Barker's case?"
You hypocritical ass! Who's being shallow? Beaten-up and aggravated battery are completely different things. Also, these kids didn't leave him unconscious, they kept on beating him while he was unconscious. I think you're underplaying the situation a bit. Given their ages, past criminal histories, and the nature of the crime, they can be tried as adults.
Another student getting beaten up? Again, very shallow. What was the extent of the "beating." I also thought you were looking at the facts disregarding race, except you put "(who was black)" and "(white)." You yourself are playing the race card and undermining your argument. I would hold it more credible if you just mentioned that there were other beatings that didn't receive the attention as the "Jena 6" incident did.
"If a group of teens hung a noose on a tree, and the principal recommended to expel them, and then the school board overruled them, what would you say about that?"
Not only is that the school's prerogative, but also has nothing to do with the case. The noose incident is just another example of how troubled this community is, but it had no direct bearing on the teens decision to attack another student.
Roland Martin - you are the weakest link. Goodbye!