Jena 6

[mzsa]

In case any of you haven't heard about this yetWhile I don't generally believe that violence is the answer, I think that you can only take abuse for so long before you crack. Whether you think that what these kids did was justified or wrong, they had clearly been backed into that corner for too long and when words fall on deaf ears sometimes

Comments

[mzsa]

Here's what truthout.org says:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/070307B.shtml

"On Friday night, December 1, a black student who showed up at a white party was beaten by whites.

On Saturday, December 2, a young white man pulled out a shotgun in a confrontation with young black men at the Gotta Go convenience store outside Jena before the men wrestled it away from him. The black men who took the shotgun away were later arrested; no charges were filed against the white man.

On Monday, December 4, at Jena High, a white student - who allegedly had been making racial taunts, including calling African-American students "niggers" while supporting the students who hung the nooses and who beat up the black student at the off-campus party - was knocked down, punched and kicked by black students. The white victim was taken to the hospital treated and released. He attended a social function that evening.

Six black Jena students were arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. All six were expelled from school."

-So it's not like he was an innocent bystander.

[artisticskin]

No one's innoncent, but it doesn't excuse their actions. Jumping someone is never right. Having been a victim of bigotry myself, I don't think striking back solves anything,

But still I keep coming back to this:
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

[mzsa]

right, I agree with you 100%.

[romijordanna]

I agree, and yet... at some point you're just asking to get the shit beat out of you. We have enough survival instinct left to know when we're saying/doing things that will almost necessarily put us in danger, whether we believe those things are right or wrong. It's silly to put the bait out and then be surprised or upset that it was taken.