Topic : 10/01 Jena 6 Continues

Stephanie wrote that the Jena 6 should be charged with hate crimes for beating up Justin Barker. Did the white boy that pulled his shot gun on the 3 black boys get charges with a hate crime. Did the boys that hung the noos get charged with a hate crime. No they did not so why should the black boys just because they are black. No Al Sharpton did not pay for Justins medical bills do you really think he needed help paying those bills? The white people in Jena see only what they want to see. Of course they don't think racism exists in Jena because it doens't happen to them. Other people have said that black people teach their children to hate whites and white people have taught their children to hate blacks. I teach my children that people are not going to like you sometimes because of the color of your skin. How many white people have to have that conversation with their children. I'm thinking not many. Racism still exists and until white people can admit that there is going to be a division of the races. I also don't think that Dr. Phil should have bothered doing this show. What did he think he was going to accomplish by doing this show. Now those people that were on the show have to go home and deal with more ignorance. I am glad that the media is shedding some light on this issue but Dr. Phil should stick to his man camp stories and leave these issues for the real media.

I guess the only way to see if the white kids in Jena would get the same punishment is to have them commit the same crime on one black kid...Get real, is that what everything now has come to when in fact the parents of these kids are to blame. I find it hard to beleive that the kids that hung the noose did not know what it stood for, living in the deep south, although not criminal. The issue of SIX KIDS BEATING ONE no matter what the race is unspeakable. The beating should be considered a lynching and should be prosecuted at the full extent of the law. The only thing all of the civil rights groups have done for the people in Jena is to excuse the true problem of parents not being accountable for the poor choices their kids made. Using the race card has worked so far and with this kind of media attention and diversions no wonder it is constantly used...Step up parents teach your kids the right things at home, by doing that your children would'nt be facing jail time now.

I guess the only way to see if the white kids in Jena would get the same punishment is to have them commit the same crime on one black kid...Get real, is that what everything now has come to when in fact the parents of these kids are to blame. I find it hard to beleive that the kids that hung the noose did not know what it stood for, living in the deep south, although not criminal. The issue of SIX KIDS BEATING ONE no matter what the race is unspeakable. The beating should be considered a lynching and should be prosecuted at the full extent of the law. The only thing all of the civil rights groups have done for the people in Jena is to excuse the true problem of parents not being accountable for the poor choices their kids made. Using the race card has worked so far and with this kind of media attention and diversions no wonder it is constantly used...Step up parents teach your kids the right things at home, by doing that your children would'nt be facing jail time now.

What I want to know is why Blacks get away with hate crimes? The Boy was white who was hurt so Bad-The six young people were Black-They deserve to be punished. If it had been the other way around -They would have been MARCHING in the streets Then also!! And the Parents of the Boys involved seemed pretty Smug and Self-Righteous to me-Blacks have a very hard time admitting they are wrong. I work with them-and BECAUSE they are Black-They get away with Things We white people would be Fired for-and they know it and laugh about it at work!! Fair should be Fair regardless of color of Skin-Seems as if the only Fair here-is if your Black!

I can not believe what I am hearing and seeing! The whole situtation is terrible but to say equal justice. There can not be equal justice because it is not an equal crime. Yes the children who hung the noose on the tree where wrong. It was a very hurtful and stupid thing to do. The school needed to make a very firm stance on that and make an example out of those kids. But in the same breath hanging a noose on the tree did not physically harm anyone. Six children jumped on 1 child and beat him up. How can you even compare the two? It sickens me how everyone is over looking that fact. This boy could have been killed. And as far as Micheal Bell is concerned yes he was held without bail. But no one seems to notice that he had other assaults on his record. When the court system sets bail they take those things into consideration. People are acting as though this is the first time he has done anything of this sort. The justice system is working fine. He had prior assaults on his record the court veiwed him as a threat because of his prior offenses. The other children invovled may not have had anything on there record so they where not treated as strictly. He needs tp be delt with before he does kill some one. If he has other assaults on his record its obvious he does not have a problem with getting voilent and it needs to be stopped. You just cant go through life beating up people who say or do something hurtful to you. I am also bothered that the race card is thrown around so much. I am not racist by any means. But please. I am sick of hearing about what my anchestors have done. I am not them. Nor will I ever be. I dont care what color the 6 kids are they beat another person. I want some one to ask the family's of the Jena 6 how that would feel if there sons where the ones in the hospital from a beating they took from 6 other kids. Would they be screaming about how unfair it was if the role was reversed. I dont think so. There is racism all over the world on both side. Racism against blacks, hispanics, whites and woman etc. Everyone experenices racism at times in there lives its all in how you deal with it.

I can not believe what I am hearing and seeing! The whole situtation is terrible but to say equal justice. There can not be equal justice because it is not an equal crime. Yes the children who hung the noose on the tree where wrong. It was a very hurtful and stupid thing to do. The school needed to make a very firm stance on that and make an example out of those kids. But in the same breath hanging a noose on the tree did not physically harm anyone. Six children jumped on 1 child and beat him up. How can you even compare the two? It sickens me how everyone is over looking that fact. This boy could have been killed. And as far as Micheal Bell is concerned yes he was held without bail. But no one seems to notice that he had other assaults on his record. When the court system sets bail they take those things into consideration. People are acting as though this is the first time he has done anything of this sort. The justice system is working fine. He had prior assaults on his record the court veiwed him as a threat because of his prior offenses. The other children invovled may not have had anything on there record so they where not treated as strictly. He needs tp be delt with before he does kill some one. If he has other assaults on his record its obvious he does not have a problem with getting voilent and it needs to be stopped. You just cant go through life beating up people who say or do something hurtful to you. I am also bothered that the race card is thrown around so much. I am not racist by any means. But please. I am sick of hearing about what my anchestors have done. I am not them. Nor will I ever be. I dont care what color the 6 kids are they beat another person. I want some one to ask the family's of the Jena 6 how that would feel if there sons where the ones in the hospital from a beating they took from 6 other kids. Would they be screaming about how unfair it was if the role was reversed. I dont think so. There is racism all over the world on both side. Racism against blacks, hispanics, whites and woman etc. Everyone experenices racism at times in there lives its all in how you deal with it.

Another common thing I've seen on these threads is people blaming the parents for their behavior. We don't know the situations of these parents. Teens are most greatly influenced by their peers -- not their parents. I'm sure most of these kids knew what hanging a noose symbolizes and I'm sure most of the parents were horrified to learn that their kids did it. I don't think it is fair to presume a child learned that kind of stunt at home. How many times do kids do stupid things like drinking and driving? Do you really think they pick that up from their parents, or is that peer pressure. Likewise, I'm sure there are many hard-working, church-going moms in the Black community who would be horrified to learn that their child beat up another kid. I don't think these mom teach their kids to be thugs any more than the white moms teach their kids to be racist. I think there is an ugly group bully mentality that plagues most high schools -- and in this case the divide is along racial lines.

I also think the kids that hung the nooses should have been made to publicly apologize for what they did and given community service where they did gave back to the community they dishonored. The 6 kids who assaulted Justin should yes be punished accordingly, I do beleive they should be charged with exactly what they did "Assault with intent to mame" I am sure they did not plan to kill Justin but they did plan to mame him and therefore should have the consequences of that crime. I also do beleive that Justins mom (being that his father said little it was hard to see where he stood) does hold a hatred for the boys that hurt her son (which I can understand) Justin seemed to liken the idea of sitting down with the boys to come together for healing, however his mother didn't seem to enthused about it. Rita ( I beleive was her name) the mother of one of the boys also seemed hesitant to put this behind her, when Dr. Phil has Justin's mom what she would do if she were to pass Rita on the street, Justins mother said I wouldn't have a problem talking to her saying " Hi how are you....I am a mother and I would be doing the same for my child as she is".... but when Dr. Phil asked Rita this her response was, "I am also a mother and that's all I have to say".. That to me meant she harbours hatred within herself also. This is what gets passed on to the children of these people, this is why there will always be racism. There just are people that will not give up things from our past. You would think that people who have a problem with people of different races, would not CHOOSE to live in these areas. It really is a choice, even the poorest of poor can move. As for the issue of the TREE, I don't beleive that it was planted with the intent of separating (sp) people, perhaps certain students sat under it, I do not know. However the woman who left the stage and came back brought a valid point when she was asked about the tree, kids segragate themselves, just as they do in every school across America, I went to a school where when you walked into the cafetria you had, cheerleaders over here, atheletes over there, bookworms over there, geeks over there, partiers over there, kids have always separated themselves into their own groups or clicks, that is how kids forms their friendships, so because certain students sat under this one tree shouldn't define the tree as they did. If the people and parents think the 6 boys were charged inappropriately, then why don't they just look at the books and see what crimes were committed as "assaults" and how these were charged. It should be standard, Assault is Assault, it shouldn't be handled differently for any reason.

"But here is my question; what were those white kids in Jena thinking when they hung nooses from the tree of knowledge. I love how this kid who started the whole thing is now playing the poor victim. He and his buddies knew what they were doing was wrong and knew they would get a very strong reaction from the few African American families who live in that racist town let alone from the eintire country." The boy who was beaten by the "Jena 6" was not one of the boys who hung the nooses.

Sharpton kept repeating something about two wrongs not making a right. I agree. the black boys moving in under the tree was deliberate....they knew their action would cause a reaction; in fact, they were hoping it would. The reaction (the nooses) was exactly what they wanted. They then knew they could beat up one or more whites and get away with it...all they had to do was scream RACISM. My goodness...aren't they big, brave men!!!! Six against one....wow, what courage!!!!! How do they think their future sons will view their actions...."Oh, my daddy was SO BRAVE. He and five of his friends beat up one white boy. I think I'll do the same thing at my first chance. Of course, I'll need to get some of my buddies to help me, because that's what my daddy did."