Butterfly Cauldron
Thursday, September 20, 2007
I don't want to believe it's hopeless, but. . .
Hopefully, everyone who reads this blog knows about the Jena Six (link goes to a timeline of the events. There are about a billion other places online to find info, but I pimp the Town Talk cause I used to work for 'em.). There was a giant rally held in Jena today, nearly 60,000 people attended for across the country. (Myrid photos and videos of the rally can be found at The Town Talk, just look around the main page.) On the one hand, it's inspiring. On the other, I fear it won't do much good.
Why do I feel this way? Because of the comments you can find on the forums at the Town Talk. Comments made by people living in the middle of all of this, of people who live in Jena or surrounding areas. And what sort of things do you find there?
f I were in Jena and I wasn't racist before, this would certainly make me so.
This is a criminal case, yet the media made it about race. Someone made up the whole "white tree" claim. Wonder who would gain from that bogus claim. The Jena Six mentions the racial slurs that some had pummeled at them but doesn't mention the racial slurs they pummeled themselves. Have you noticed how the family and friends of the Jena Six do NOT want to talk about the Jena Six's criminal history? Why is that? The Jena Six's family never mentions that the black community didn't show up for jury duty. They should be outraged that the black community done this to Mychal Bell, yet not a word. Why is that? They are thicker than thieves, no pun intended.
If there was a point to the rally, I don't know what it was.
Well it looks like the crime rate for the rest of us that don't live in Jena will go down! Jena better lock up everything they have.
What is really sad, is when white people wont get together and stand up for what they believe. We should be down thier protesting them but we would rather stay home because in general, white people are passive. When are we going to get our hands dirty and fight for our beliefs? i told my fiance last night that i was going down there to protest against against the protestors, and you know what she said? she said for me not to because i would probably be the only white person thier and that i would get hurt. thats really pitiful when your own people wont stand up with you and fight. one day, we will have to defend ourselves, or else get runover by bigotry. im really dissapointed in my race right now, what we need to do is get together and fight this hypocracy.sad,sad,sad
need not worry. the white race handles things differently. let them have their little march and see where that gets them. and then wait and see how the "white" race puts them back in their place. a march has never solved anything before and it will surely not affect the outcome of this trial. i am sure the blackies have other marches to attend down the road. we just have to passify them and let them march:-)
Here is some humor for you native son:
Q: A black guy and his black girlfriend are in a car. Who's driving?
A: The cop!
maybe we will see this exact scenario is jean thursday
do you think you could get the rest of the marchers to accompany you back to the motherland...that would be one hell of a fundraiser!!!
What do you call a black person in a three piece suit?
Will the defendent please rise
his is just what they wanted, they will have all the law tied up at the rally so they can rob loot and steal from the surrounding area. They need to declare marshal law so the people around here can protect what belongs to them.
There are more. Too many more to be believed. And yes, of course, there are a few voices of reason trying to point out this is not acceptable. But frankly? There's more of this than the other. Want to read it? Go here and click on anything with the name Jena in it. But don't eat first, k? You'll be sick, sick, sick.
And so, I'm feeling terribly melancholy and hopeless. What does anything accomplish if we are still mired in these sorts of attitudes? When it's okay with us that teenage boys stand to lose the majority of their adult lives because they got involved in a stupid fight?
Besides that -- most of these boys haven't gone to trial yet. What happened to them being innocent until proven guilty? Everyone is assuming they're guilty. And maybe they are, but maybe they aren't. What they deserve is a fair trail, but a fair jury on charges that fit their actions. And second degree battery dosen't fit these actions. Because if they did, why did the white boy that assaulted a black boy, with a fucking beer bottle, charged with a misdemeanor and given probation?
Charge them with misdeamenor battery, disturbing the peace, whatever. Make it something reasonable. Don't take away their lives because they did something stupid -- if they are, in fact, guilty.
But I don't think it will happen. I think, once the cameras are gone and the media is gone and we're all talking about the Next Big Story, that the situation for blacks in Jena will be worse than it was before this. I think racial relations will be pushed even further back. Because we have so many people who believe things like those quotes above. Because if people can think this, even in the light of so many other people from so many other places seeing clearly how /wrong/ this whole thing is...what hope do we have?
Why do I feel this way? Because of the comments you can find on the forums at the Town Talk. Comments made by people living in the middle of all of this, of people who live in Jena or surrounding areas. And what sort of things do you find there?
f I were in Jena and I wasn't racist before, this would certainly make me so.
This is a criminal case, yet the media made it about race. Someone made up the whole "white tree" claim. Wonder who would gain from that bogus claim. The Jena Six mentions the racial slurs that some had pummeled at them but doesn't mention the racial slurs they pummeled themselves. Have you noticed how the family and friends of the Jena Six do NOT want to talk about the Jena Six's criminal history? Why is that? The Jena Six's family never mentions that the black community didn't show up for jury duty. They should be outraged that the black community done this to Mychal Bell, yet not a word. Why is that? They are thicker than thieves, no pun intended.
If there was a point to the rally, I don't know what it was.
Well it looks like the crime rate for the rest of us that don't live in Jena will go down! Jena better lock up everything they have.
What is really sad, is when white people wont get together and stand up for what they believe. We should be down thier protesting them but we would rather stay home because in general, white people are passive. When are we going to get our hands dirty and fight for our beliefs? i told my fiance last night that i was going down there to protest against against the protestors, and you know what she said? she said for me not to because i would probably be the only white person thier and that i would get hurt. thats really pitiful when your own people wont stand up with you and fight. one day, we will have to defend ourselves, or else get runover by bigotry. im really dissapointed in my race right now, what we need to do is get together and fight this hypocracy.sad,sad,sad
need not worry. the white race handles things differently. let them have their little march and see where that gets them. and then wait and see how the "white" race puts them back in their place. a march has never solved anything before and it will surely not affect the outcome of this trial. i am sure the blackies have other marches to attend down the road. we just have to passify them and let them march:-)
Here is some humor for you native son:
Q: A black guy and his black girlfriend are in a car. Who's driving?
A: The cop!
maybe we will see this exact scenario is jean thursday
do you think you could get the rest of the marchers to accompany you back to the motherland...that would be one hell of a fundraiser!!!
What do you call a black person in a three piece suit?
Will the defendent please rise
his is just what they wanted, they will have all the law tied up at the rally so they can rob loot and steal from the surrounding area. They need to declare marshal law so the people around here can protect what belongs to them.
There are more. Too many more to be believed. And yes, of course, there are a few voices of reason trying to point out this is not acceptable. But frankly? There's more of this than the other. Want to read it? Go here and click on anything with the name Jena in it. But don't eat first, k? You'll be sick, sick, sick.
And so, I'm feeling terribly melancholy and hopeless. What does anything accomplish if we are still mired in these sorts of attitudes? When it's okay with us that teenage boys stand to lose the majority of their adult lives because they got involved in a stupid fight?
Besides that -- most of these boys haven't gone to trial yet. What happened to them being innocent until proven guilty? Everyone is assuming they're guilty. And maybe they are, but maybe they aren't. What they deserve is a fair trail, but a fair jury on charges that fit their actions. And second degree battery dosen't fit these actions. Because if they did, why did the white boy that assaulted a black boy, with a fucking beer bottle, charged with a misdemeanor and given probation?
Charge them with misdeamenor battery, disturbing the peace, whatever. Make it something reasonable. Don't take away their lives because they did something stupid -- if they are, in fact, guilty.
But I don't think it will happen. I think, once the cameras are gone and the media is gone and we're all talking about the Next Big Story, that the situation for blacks in Jena will be worse than it was before this. I think racial relations will be pushed even further back. Because we have so many people who believe things like those quotes above. Because if people can think this, even in the light of so many other people from so many other places seeing clearly how /wrong/ this whole thing is...what hope do we have?
Labels: outrage, racism, stupid people, stupid state
2 Comments:
i suppose that it's always possible that the power of the Internets make these people seem more representative than they actually are.
still, well, it did happen in the first place, didn't it.
well, it's been festering; i guess, well, here it comes to the surface again.
i dunno about racial relations being pushed farther back in the long run. I mean...easy for me to say, from here; but, well, dammit, i think that shining light on this and people saying "no" to it is the only way forward. doesn't mean it won't bring more ugliness bubbling to the surface, but...doesn't mean it wasn't already there. and there's power in just naming something, i think.
and the message that "hi, kids, nope, racism's not a thing of the past, never was" is maybe something that a bunch of cynical white mainstream Irony Generation kids need to finally have sink in.
darkest before dawn and all that, though it feels like eternal night... on a brighter note, how are your watery kittys?
Post a Comment
<< Home