I think this case should have been handled differently from the start. The nooses represented hanging someone from a tree. That's considered a hate crime. True, two wrongs dont make a right, but if you have been subjected to this kind of racism over and over your attitude would be different as well. I believe that Jena is a racist town, Period.

I am so glad he is home. And yes Jena is a very racist town. The D.A. is a "Old dixie crat"

Mr. Savidge,
Enjoyed your article, but Jena is not Selma and Mychal Bell more closely compares to O.J. Simpson than Medgar Evers.  Bell just may walk on this case.  If that happens, it will have more to do with hysteria than justice.  Of course, Jesse Jackson would like to see charges against all of the defendants dropped. He also thinks that it is "child abuse" to try a juvenile as an adult (a relatively common practice.)  And that Jena is everywhere. What can you say to something like that? This is 2007 not 1957 and for the most part, an allegation of racism these days is simply the card you play when you don't have an argument.  It worked for O.J.  Think Bell's defense might try it too?  
   

There was a time when we would hear of a darkie trying to swim the river with 30 pounds of log chain when they committed crimes in a quiet society.  Do they still try to do that when we have n-word and other socially discreet black words if they do the same things against the w-words?

I believed that the boys involved in the attack on Barker should recieve punishment, but I also believe that the boys involved in haning the nooses should have also recieved punishment. For both actions were wrong, and both parties should be held accountable.

Is there anyone in the USA who truly believes that there is, "Liberty and Justice for all"? Those are the last words in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Our justice system treats Blacks and Latinos harsher then Whites. The irony is that some people just will not open there eyes to see this fact.

The military is spending millions to alter a building that appears to display an offensive symbol from an aerial view.  A noose has the same connotation to Blacks.  It is a symbol of murder and hate and horror.  How could anyone say that the hanging of not one, but 3 nooses, was a prank.  It was meant to terrorize, threaten and intimidate and this falls outside the scope of freedom of expression.  People cannot terrorize one another.  In recent weeks, nooses have appeared in various schools throughout the country.  The families of the Jena 6 have to be protected because a hater has published their exact whereabouts with instructions to deliver justice.  What kind of people find pleasure in the torment of another human being.  Mr. Reed says that God protected them from the marchers.  Well who was riding around with nooses hanging from their trucks?  Not the marchers.  Since Mr. Reed thinks that God walked with him that Thursday, I’m sure he would have been proud to have Jesus standing beside him when he delivered his hateful news conference or told the Jena 6 their lives could be taken with a stroke of his pen.  

Of course, no whites in Jena would openly say there is a race problem. For them, there was no problem until this incident. It was a sleepy little town where everyone knew their place. They have never been excluded, it's always been the exclusion for blacks. This day they had a voice and it was loud and quite proud.
    No longer should we stand for injustices just because, or be afraid to speak on the unspeakable. A noose is just a small example of how things in that town and for that matter in lots of towns in this USA handle blacks and other minorities. We as a nation need to see that all things end up falling on racial lines of divide, always have always will. It's just a shame it has happen to a new generation just getting their feet wet and understanding how it goes.
    Michael Bell has spent more than enough time in lock down. More than a lot of white collar criminals who have done alot worse. Let him find some peace in this life and know that the future and fate of those in Jena does not have to be his.
   

What makes the felony charges lodged against the black teens in Jena a prima facie case of racism is the fact that sneakers were deemed to be a dangerous weapon, when an adult white broke a beer bottle over the head of a black teen was charged as a misdemeanor.  Moreover, a six-month probationary term was imposed, while the Jena six continues to face felony charge.

Another aspect of racism is the fact that only one person was charge with a crime (a misdemeanor) when several persons assaulted the black teen.

You can't pretend a beating of a human being white or black by six people should go unpunished. That is not a school yard prank maybe a prank in a prison yard like Angola State prison. If this is how we let our young people deal with problems there won't be an older generation. They will have killed everyone.

hey jena 6 is just a tip of the racial iceberg in ameri"kkka. what about the 20 million blacks that suffer all over the world in fact what about the white kid who police tasered for all to see . you see if we have to take a stand on injustice let"s do it for all and not pic" and chooose a selected few cause al sharpton and jesse said so!

what happened in Jena,La.is a very sad thing,it should not have become a national issue,it is a local community issue that could be resolved in a very civil way by the school board and the PTA .Race has nothing to do with what happened.what happened is there is a victim,and the attakers should be punished.

It really is ridiculous that one can hang  three nooses from a tree and the white community only see it as a prank. The south is known by its history of this type of behavior.  It was rude, offensive, and yes a crime.  Where is the justice.  How is it that the alleged victim could initiate a confrontation expecting a positive result.  These young men have been incarcerated, and their sentence should be considered time served.  Enough is enough.If this District Attorney really believes God is in contol, then let him.

Some people believe we have to go to school and work with them, but we don't need to associate with them in our home.the black race have the idea that they are stronger,better in all sports than the whites.If you ever listen in you will under stand we will never except each other as equals.In this case you can'tlet
the blacks go unpunished. Just look at New Orleans what a mess it's in! All the murders every night and no one can stop it. You never hear the black leaders offer any help in trying to solve that situation. In fact New Orleans is run by a black mayor,black DA,
black superintendent of police.and on and on...and now they want a black president!!!!
if they can't run a city how can they ever run a country!?This goes on around the smaller cities in Louisiana that happened in Jena,it just isn't broadcasts.the press isn't that welcomed in parts of
Louisiana.
                                 
                                 
                                 

seems the blacks have forgotten rodney king, oh and of course  oj was a vithim too i suppose. We gave them freedom and they destroyed every major city in this country.soon we will have nothing left to give, then maybe we'll go back to slavery to get them to do some kind of work. katrina was nothing more than picking a scab off a festering wound

I couldn't believe  all the people,  they must  not  have  jobs  to go to!!!!

This is just another case of two publicity seeking black leaders(?) or black trash (not to use the N word that blacks can use freely)seeking their own glory.  About time the black community woke up to the fact that this was a "hate crime", the white boy was beat because he was white.  Why do we seem to only prosecute white people for hate crimes?  America needs to enforce the 3r's on all races, color, creed, etc.
Respect for others, Responsibility for your actions, and then you get RIGHTS! God Bless America for it's tolerance, yet America is being damned because tolerance is misused by the Jackson's of the country.
We need a National Association of Responsible Americans, not NAACP or LULAC or whatever racial group (except white) is allowed to be public.

If white youths had beat up a black youth surely a hate crime charge would have been added to the charges. There's a double standard for you. It ticks me off that some blacks are calling for all charges to be dropped. Obviously they don't care one iota about the victim here.

As I read these article,people see this Jena incident differently, they see this as they want to see it,they are blind to the truth and this is the state that USA in race VS. race and this is sad, the greatest country in the world.Can we all get alone, we don,t the see the true pic,, that these are kids,if left alone they would handle this themself,s,I do believe that both parties need sometime in a youth detention center, this need to be adress by the town folk,s,Jena you do need to adress this issuse,without outside help,cause you all do have a problem.if you don,t handle your problem your problem will handle you.We not forget that we are the greatest country in the world we have all race,creed,color, and that what make us the greatest.

do you relly think that this is publicity this is truly an injustice period!!!!

In response to the authors of three messages posted: Why would you perceive race NOT to be a salient issue when you choose to use such terms as "darkie" and "black trash," or suggest that participants of the rally did "not have jobs to go to?" This language (your authentic thoughts about Blacks in the US) negates any other comments you have offered. If you harbor hate for a people, why would you even offer insight on any situation involving the people. It simultaneously reflects your lack of social awareness and multi-ethnic/multi-cultural interactions, hinders movement towards a resolution, and embarrasses our nation.

racial and social hatred take insidious forms.  obviously most of the people who have written feel that their point of view is the only correct one. but the coded language and innuendo, though, of those against, for lack of a better word, is an indication of how close to the surface the deep and dark fears or hatred float. fear is the operative word, for why else would you hate or terrorize another person or groups of persons. all martyrs have suffered because of fear for fear breeds suspicion and intolerance and allows cruelty, that seething mass so close to the surface, to erupt.  the deniers, and that's what they are, shake their heads and shout blame at others. i am not implying that the jena six, a convenient catch phrase remniscent of a sports or pop culture occasion, are martyrs. they are not; though they could have been,and most certainly would have been 50 or so years ago before the internet allowed the spread of information so quickly and effeciently. saying "if whites had done this" or "if blacks hadn't done that" does not erase the obvious cultura, economic, and judicial imbalances. all denial does is assist in the perpeptuation of closed, small minds which take sustenance from that denial and its accompanying self righteousness.

REVISED Wow these comments prove that there is still wide spread racism in this country.  Also that people  will form opinions based on there prejudices not on the facts.  They probably don't even realize how racist they are and the sad thing is he will pass that on to his children.  There was an obvious double standard that what this case is about.  They did beat up a black kid one hit him with a beer bottle and he only had his wrist slapped. There was no hate crime added like you alleged.

I would hate to be black and know that there are people like you Dan and the others out there.  These people making these completely racist comments probably go to church and think they are good Christians, Jews ect.  When in reality your very presence violates your religions teachings.

six teens brutally beat one teen. Period. some more teens hung nooses from trees in that same town. Period. Two separate scenarios, in two separate places, at two separate times. There is only one contrived connection: Race. What a bunch of garbage. If a crime has been commited, then prosecute. If the community is feeling stonewalled over the lack of prosecution in the noose incident, fine. React. Protest. March. Whatever. But don't you dare insult me and everyone else in this country by using the racism involved in one scenario to try and affect the possible outcome of a brutal, unprovoked act of violence. I say again, two separate scenarios. When is the black populus going to learn: You are not owed anything! Neither are the whites! Or the hispanics! Nobody is in this country is. That's the beauty of it. You have to earn your life. Make the right choices. Accountability. Responsibilty. If the blacks feel there has been no justice in the noose situation, than fight for it, by all means. But leave the actions of the Jena 6 out of it. Their senseless act of violece deserves it's own justice. There must be accountabilty. Period.

The rhetoric resonates from relay tower to satellite dish and the hot wire story now is about race.   Yes it’s about the four letter word race.  

Even Presidential Candidates are talking about their observations on racially related crime, and their concerns about the affects on our communities across the country and the impact on our justice system and our corrections system.
 
The new place for those who live off donations from people who fear we might all get along some day is in Louisiana,  home of the Jena Jumpin Jive Five.  Sorry, home of  the Jena Six, I suppose, but I’m sure some readers will look between the lines of all the stories here and elsewhere and see some relevance for the Jena Jumpin Jive five + 1 label.

Last December, the JJJ plus one beat another student even after he lost consciousness.
Thankfully, he did not die,  but indeed he was assaulted and it seemed to be a case of racial disparity.  JJJ plus one young black high school students were reportedly the ones who participated in this assault on one Caucasian white student.  Frequently, some report that the hanging of nooses in a tree at the high school in August seemed to be related to this violent event in December. As can happen anywhere,  racial sentiment mixed with teenage hormones can evolve over many weeks into daily and nightly battles between young men with strong attitudes.

Now the rally cry has gone out far and wide that there is something inherently unfair about the justice system that would imprison and ultimately convict one of the JJJ plus one of an adult crime.  The jury pool selection in a small southern community resulted in an all Caucasian seated panel.  That certainly raises some questions of judicial fairness.  The high school student who participated in the attack with the JJJ five was arrested and prosecuted for an adult crime, which some would term a racially charged hate crime.  The prosecutor initially called it attempted murder, and later called it aggravated battery.  

The color blind mirror image of a group of white students participating in a similar assault on an Hispanic student or an African American student or a student of alternative sexual choice would certainly be portrayed as a hate crime.  Now the appeals court steps up and rejects prosecution of an adult hate crime because the accused was a teenager. The conviction was overturned and the prosecutor told by the appeals judges the student should be tried in juvenile court. Other non violent actions such as the hanging of nooses in the tree which provided the shadow for all of this conflict to begin were punished by school discipline but not ‘hate crimes’ prosecution.  A white student who was involved in a race related scuffle was placed on probation after being charged with battery.

There is nothing juvenile about these JJJ’ers being held out as victims. Their situation, after being involved in a physical assault on another person, is being held out as an example of unequal justice.  The victimization legend of these poor young gentlemen grows daily while their Reverend preacher-advocates rapidly spread the alarm about only a portion of the larger story in order to bring in thousands of citizens to rally for one-sided concepts of justice.  Rallying for justice while they suggest that the prosecution of assault and of hate crimes against the JJJ plus one is fundamentally wrong seems terribly full of hypocrisy.  

How hollow are these one sided cries of victimization.  How hollow are the angry demands for a special new type of one sided justice. Defending the JJJ seems to be a new bold twist for those who reportedly eternally pursue racial tolerance and peaceful coexistence.  Apparently in criminal cases of racial assault, the best defense is a good offense.

Tolerance is a positive type of acceptance to be practiced in the daily peaceful relationships with those of other cultures and races.  Tolerance is just too convenient a demand when raised to defend criminal acts.   Now it appears more and more that the cry of ‘hate crime’ is meant only to come from one group and is reportedly off limits to any others.  

Tolerating peaceful coexistence is desirable.  Gathering under any type of rainbow of color and pushing aggressively for tolerance of illegal acts and criminal acts, even by those in our own culture group is wrong. No excuses, it is wrong.

Is it unfair here to label these young men, with futures of athletic success and educational scholarships and indeed lucrative athletic careers in front of them,  as members of a group called the JJJ?  Some will instantly be offended.  No doubt many people would say that it is a tragic oversimplification of a very serious problem.   Many people would say they are just teenagers in a tough town who have become pawns in the justice system.  Perhaps they are just hot headed teenagers.  Perhaps they felt that fighting was not a crime and 4 or 5 or 6 on one was their style of high school vigilante punishment for what they believe was an injustice.  Perhaps it is all just a very tragic misunderstanding.

The time has come for people of color, pink, yellow, red, brown, mahogany and white, to make a very clear distinction in their appeal for tolerance and equal justice. We must draw a very bright line between inequity, injustice, and violence and crime.  

If we don’t begin to draw that bright line, even in our own racial groups and cultures, if we continue to make excuses rather than examples for those who resort to violence and crime, then we can look forward to many more such violent acts by gangs of teens and adults, all possible members of the JJJ, or members of some opposing group by some other name or set of letters.  

Didn’t our society already stand up to draw such a bright line?  
Don’t we already call it a hate crime when such things occur?  
Perhaps it will always be a matter of perspective in the alphabet soup.  
Your perspective may just depend on how you were taught to spell.  

Sadly,  
A. N. Onmuss
(A colorblind white man in Alabama)

I am so glad he is home. And yes Jena is a very racist town. The D.A. is a "Old dixie crat" ;
just readig these comments by people who know nothing of this case except what they read or seen on T.V. , proves just how little the civil rights movemet of Black Americans have grown since 1968....it never left;
Bbefore there was quotas for jobs and millions were employed ....Now there are none ....
America has been Militarly- defeated in every conflict , it has engaged itself in,because white america doesn't feel Black Americans can engage in debate,on International issues:
White America-continues to its own-downward-spirial in complete Social and economic-self-destruction
and with the help of Dick Chenney (Exaulted Grand Dragon) and George Bush-have Murdered thousands of innocent citizens in there part of 9/11 and Operation Able Danger:
With 574,000 missing Americans it behooves me to say this Justice system has time to embark on a school-yard fight between teenagers !!!!.......White-Government,Laws,Politics,
and Law enforcement are all deeply-Flawed....leaving the door to True freedom and democrocy wide-open and unprotected , by those who wish to destroy the flag and this Country:
But we shall destroy this country ourselves ,everyday behind the racial-division which Blinds,most White America .......( you hate O.J, and most Black sport figures ...You hate Ophra because she is rich; You hate Jeses jackson and Rev.AL SHARPTON,because they speak out for injustice out of the 70 or so Million Black americans you choose the few Black-Americans who have risen up and taken a stand or achieved Greatness...White-America fears because it lacks confidence in its own ability and see's its own Pathetic self-image rottening away internationaly and at home .....Because, they want to be- but- cannot Be-GOD .......!!!!!!!

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