The Jena 6
I’m pleased the prosecutor seems to be standing firm, mostly. I’ve complemented the culture of North Louisiana before, and hopefully they won’t bow to politically correct pressure. Jackson and Sharpton have played their card with the marches and what-not but the mainstream of the country isn’t buying the sob story this time around. Steve Sailer says all that needs to be said about the subject.
Apparently the story behind the story is that the six young hooligans were sports stars in their hometowns, which went to their head- this latest incident is just their taking their perception of privileged status one step too far. This should but probably will not teach the mainstream of the country the dangers of glorifying high school athletics as the end-all and be-all of small town identity and life.
For one thing, athletics is a sorry primary selector for human quality, which means our value system of who is honored with status gets turned upside down (athletics is, however, a great secondary selector of genetic fitness, reflecting the Greek ideal of sound mind and body). In any human group, status is the currency of choice for mate attraction, etc. You would think that the very legitimate small town concerns about the latter would lead to modulation of the former.
But football is a religion not subject to rational analysis I suppose.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Am I wrong or did the beating occur due to this white kid hanging nooses in a tree? This is the story I heard…
September 25th, 2007 at 11:48 am
I don’t think that the entire issue in Jena is over the kids being athletes. I am sure that it does play a large part in it though. The real issue is why the white kids were not held just like the blacks. Having family that is from that general region of Louisiana I know first hand that blacks are not looked highly on still to this day. I remember how it was when I was a kid, so I don’t exactly believe that the white kids are completely free and clear of any wrong doing in this case. Yes athletics should not be held as high as it is in today’s society, but it is and it will continue to be especially since it is seen as a way out of the conditions that these people probably live. The prosecutor, from what I have seen and read is not going to do anything to the white kids in this case but is going to prosecute the blacks to the fullest extent of the law. I not saying that he shouldn’t, just that he needs to look into exactly what happened and not be blinded by what ever money or status that the white side night be throwing into the picture.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Hanging nooses from a tree is tasteless and hateful, probably something deserving of expulsion or suspension from school. But it is not a crime. In fact, when a black artist hangs a Confederate flag from a noose in a museum, it’s considered “art”:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,259347,00.html
However, beating someone nearly to death is a crime. The prosecutor is doing the right thing. But Jackson and Sharpton, lacking any supply of real victims, must simply overreact to what amounts to a high school rivalry between two groups of athletes. That is, when they’re not making things up entirely:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawana_Brawley
September 25th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
The white kids that pulled the noose-hanging prank were NOT the same white kid that got the bloody pulp beat out of him by the six black athletes.
They beat up a completely different white kid that was uninvolved with the original prank.
However, since he was white, and went to the same school, he is guilty by association.
Instead of convicting those misunderstood black athletes, they should line up ALL the white kids that went to that school (remember they’re guilty by association) and allow the black athletes to beat the bloody pulp out of ALL of them! Now that would be some racial reconciliation
September 25th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
No reason for this beating has been offered, that I know of. The victim was not associated with the nooses.
The noose thing was apparently investigated as a hate crime, and nothing was found that could support such a claim. And I guess common sense won out there — I can’t imagine a means whereby tying a rope in a tree could be construed as being a crime (unless, maybe, you have to trespass to get to the tree). The perpetrators were not tried, not because they are white or affluent, but because they didn’t break any laws.
Physically attacking people, however — except in defense of self or others — that’s a crime…. Of course, unless it’s by a white offender upon a victim of color, it can’t be a thought crime — I mean, a hate crime.
It appears that at least some of the black athletes could largely be considered repeat offenders, or even career criminals (in the extreme). Mychal Bell, object of so much adoration from reliable supporters, was on probation for a Christmas 2005 battery incident, one of four other violent crimes of which he has been adjudicated. To an unbiased observer, that might appear to suggest a trend.
What drives this kind of uproar is sheer bully pulpit tactics. People like Jackson and Sharpton try to make a big stink about what is — surprisingly, for Louisiana! — a properly functioning legal system, and all of us cowed Caucasians play our prescribed parts.
Several centuries ago, one person bought another person from one of the second person’s own countrymen. None of the three is alive today, but I’m somehow supposed to feel guilty about it, because I might be descended from the first person and someone else might be descended from the second person. Phooey!
I happen to know for a fact that some of my ancestors were slave-owners — in central Louisiana. Shock! I’m from the South, and my family has been here from the 1600s. Because of my familial origins (suspiciously similar to Greg’s above), the possibility exists that one or all of the “Jena 6″ derive from the slaves of my forefathers. And yet, curiously absent from me is the slightest twinge of guilt or obligation.
I submit that this “white man’s guilt” is the product of a decades-long brainwashing project intended to truncate the socio-political will of American whites. It’s gotten to the point that anyone who even questions the presence of racism in a situation like this is complicit in that racism. Again, phooey! Stuff and nonsense!
Could some of these kids be victims of racism? Sure; there are sociopathic misanthropes everywhere. Given their vaunted status as star football players in a small town, however, I find it hard to swallow. Much more likely is the possibility they were given every opportunity to excel and better themselves, and their little foibles were glossed over and consequences removed for the purpose that the local high school could avail itself of their athletic prowess. This was obviously a disservice to the “Jena 6.”
As I will one day be held to account for my self and my children (but decidedly not for my ancestors) before God, so, too are these guys and their parents — and only them — responsible for their actions.
In the end, I don’t care what color the perps or the victim are. It comes down to one question, and only one: did they commit a crime?
In the case of the nooses? No.
In the case of the beating? Yes.
September 26th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Nothing else to add except I believe participation in athletics builds and reveals character. Therefore, I believe it is a wonderful evaluation tool. Show me a kid that thinks, hustles, and leads with class at practice and in games and I’ll show you a kid that will likely be succesful off the field too.
September 27th, 2007 at 11:16 am
I completely agree that Sharpton and Jackson should keep their noses out of this situation. As a matter of fact I believe that somewhere down the line they should have or should be tried for inciting racial unrest n many cases. They did have last week while themarch in Jena was going on, some white teenagers arrested in Alexandria for riding around town with nooses hanging off of their truck and carrying rifles with them. I believe that it was partly under agefor carrying the rifle,but also for trying to causeproblems in light of the Jena situation. I agree that the black kids should be tried for the beatings on the white kids. I do however think that the kids that put the nooses in the tree should be tried for causing the problem in the first place.
Having attended a school in the black section of town and being a minority in the situation, I know that if something had been said or done like that anyone that would have brought it up later would have been on the receiving end of a beating. That unfortunately is human nature at times and also comes with a group mentality. I am in no way condoning the action but I have seen and been a part of such things. Did I ever participate in something that severe? NO. I am just saying that I can see where it would come from.
September 28th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
I definitely agree, Mitch, that athletics is an important part of character development and of human existence. Over the last year, I’ve slowly gotten into the best shape of my adult life and the difference in my attitude and outlook are very positive.
The lack of balance in these small towns and in larger society is what concerns me. We confer status inappropriately. This leads to a flawed personal economy.
One must wonder if Louis Brown planted the seeds of his daughter’s murder while watching football games glorifying the athletic ability of her future husband and murderer. Without football, OJ Simpson would never have had the money or status to marry her.
We teach our children values most directly by how we spend our time. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say we over-emphasize sports, and the inappropriate status given to people with no other significant quality than their raw athletic ability was a contributor to the Jena situation.
October 12th, 2007 at 10:54 am
As a mother with a son who is obsessed with sports, I can say that the way he plays is very often a reflection of his character. HOWEVER, I would surely not make major judgments about him as a person based SOLELY on his athletic ability. His attitude, his sportsmanship (or lack thereof), his discipline and commitment, these are all reflections of who he is, but they don’t show up on the scoreboard.
So, I think that athletics is an important part of character development, but not in the way many people judge it to be. We can’t make judgment calls based on the scoreboard, but rather what we observe in the players on - and off - the field.