[Note: The tree is not the tree, but a tree on the grounds of Jena High School.]
Asalaam Alaikum,
Despite the numerous problems going on all over the world and my fear and shock at many of them, I can't seem to get over what I see as an abuse of politics, especially of racial identity, in Jena, La. There seems to be so much information and also misinformation that I don't know how the average person can follow the train of logic in this case. If I was teaching my "American Government" class - and believe me, I wish I was - I would probably ask my students to tell me their opinions and then tell me where they got their information from. I would note the race/nationality of the students with particular opinions. I would note the source of their information and potential biases there. Then, I would maybe have them do a co
mparative analysis of different news sources to see just how information is primed and framed by different media sources.Unfortunately, the average American doesn't have the time or the ability to do a comparative editorial analysis of major papers to see what are the different opinions out there. But, I do. So, here are the four best op-eds I've read about Jena. One source is liberal, one is moderate, one is conservative and one is foreign. Please leave comments and lets keep an educated debate going:
"Racism in a small town" - Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, Sept. 20th 2007
"Justice in Jena" - Reed Walters, New York Times, Sept. 26th 2007
"No Justice, No Peace" - Thomas Sowell, National Review Online, Sept. 25th 2007
"America and Jena" - Laura Flanders, The Guardian (UK), September 26th 2007
I do not understand what you mean by "an abuse of politics, especially of racial identity." I also don't understand what you mean about the logic of the case being difficult and confusing. It is very simple and straightforward.
ReplyDeleteFurther, what appears to be missing from the smattering of articles you provide is any mention of the district attorney's statement that he could ruin these kids' lives with the stroke of a pen. And if you don't think that hanging nooses from the the white kids only hangout is a ridiculous act of provocation, take a look at www.withoutsactuary.org and educate yourself about the recent history of lynching - particularly as a response to desegregation efforts.
-Alcide
Hey Shaam,
ReplyDeleteper your request I am commenting on your Blog. Honestly, I could barely force my way through the third Op-ed article. There is just too much pain in my heart to be able to sit there and "objectively" read these other opinions. To me its not about the specific incidents of this specific case (although i can understand how that is the concern of the lawyer in the DA's office). To me the Jena six is symbolic. It is a symbol of the injustice that happens daily in this white supremamcist machine that we call America. What I dont understand is how the average white american can be in such denial of the subconcious sense of superiority that underlines everything they do. I truly believe that this society can not and will not progress until people who experience white privelage conciously make an effort to recognize that privelage and work towards overcoming their feelings of superiority that no doubt exist. As a white woman married to a Black man my eyes are opened to new horizons of injustice everyday and I know that what I see is only a fraction of what my Black brothers and sisters experience every day. So the argument that racism and racial injustice has no play in this case, or that it is unrelated to the actions taken by our judicial system is simply absurd.
Yes, but about Reed Walter's point about the lack of illegality when it comes to hanging nooses? You don't have to preach to me about the history of lynch mobs in America, I understand the history. But, why beat up on a white kid who was NOT one of the ones who hung the nooses?
ReplyDeleteEverything I have read so far indicates that racial politics in Jena have long been out of whack with black teenagers getting far crueler punishments than white teenagers. That is totally unfair. But, in this case - not any other - shouldn't the Jena 6 be charged for what they did to the young man?
As to why I included Clarence Stone - to get the perspective of a Black Republican ... a perspective that is often forgotten and just ignored. I didn't say these were the four best articles ever, but I like them because they bring different perspectives.
Maybe... or maybe the school administration should have taken more accountability for the hanging nooses (which can in no way be compared to toilet papering a building) or maybe the judicial system needs to adopt more policies that address the inequalities of Black and White maybe then a whole population of people in this country wouldnt feel so deprived of justice and maybe then we could have expectations of rationality and could judge people by rules that are just Black and white... no pun intended. My point is that whatever happened in this particular case, the Jena six and the way the public is reacting to it is more of an indication that people are tired and they want justice. And the way this country approaches justice is unsuitable. Despite everything, you know damn well if a group of white kids did the same thing to the white kid who was "not involved" with hanging the nooses he would be charged as a MINOR and wouldnt have all those trumped up "attempted murder" charges. Come on Shaam I know YOU know that.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the two incidents are fairly unrelated except that they both occurred in the same town (high school) and both were probably motivated by racism.
ReplyDeleteShould the kids who hung those nooses have been more severely punished by the school, absolutely. When you say the tree is not THE TREE, where did you get that info? I didn't see it in any of the articles you linked.
If the white kids who hung those nooses should be charged with a hate crime then why aren't the black kids who attacked the white kid being charged with a hate crime?
Racism can be a two way street, and people should not ignore racism against whites, though generally less abundant and damaging than other racism, it's still wrong. Should the kid be charged with attempted murder? No, murder implies premeditated intent to kill, it's unlikely that he actually wanted to kill the kid, but certainly he deserves a severe punishment for what seems to be an unprovoked attack.
It is interesting the way things are reported based on the political leanings of the news source. The liberal ones called the incident a school yard fight, while the D.A. and NRO described the fight in more detail showing it to really be more of a severe beating (kicking the kid after he's unconscious is not a fight, you already won the fight if your opponent is knocked out). I'd have to assume that their descriptions are accurate or someone would have called them on it. The liberal papers weren't necessarily wrong in calling it a 'fight' but I think it was deliberately put in terms downplaying the severity of the actions of the 6 black kids.
I think you are confusing racism and prejudice. racism has to do with power relations in society. By this definition, Black people CANT be racist towards white people. They do not have the status of power that racism requires. They can be prejudice and thats the difference. If a black person acts out of prejudice white person it is an isolated incident that doesnt have the power of institutions behind it the way racism does. Comparisons and this notion of a "two way street" is ridiculous as it assumes that there is ann equal basis to begin with which just inst the case. these acts dont take place in a vacuum and so pretending like they do is a diservice to this debate.
ReplyDeleteOkay, by your definition then change racism with prejudice in my previous comment and please respond to the points I made. I believe that racism has nothing to do with power structures but has to do with individual belief. The black kids beat up the white kid because he was white, that's racist. If it was white kids beating up a black kid because he was black you would agree with me.
ReplyDeleteChanging the definition of racism so that it's impossible for black people to be racist seems like a good way of making it okay for black people to be bigots... If we want people to be treated fairly and equally then setting up a double standard such as this seems extremely counter productive.
When do the isolated incidents of prejudice add up to become an institution? What happens when the balance of power shifts? I think you're piling too much weight on one side of the scale so that when it tips it will tip too far instead of balancing out.
Is there institutionalized racism in this town, probably. Where have the protesters been before this? Why do they care now and not ten, twenty, or thirty years ago?
I am not making up the definition. In America the difference between a White person's experience and a Black person's experience is precicesly the difference in the insitutional prejudice. Yeah we have all experienced someone abusing us or disliking us because of our color but with out an institutional support behind it, its nothing more than a bad experience, not a denial or human rights or and instance of systemic inequality. Please tell me you see the difference!!
ReplyDeleteAnd trust me people have been protesting institutional oppression for a while now hun but when your powerless in a society its easy for the majority to turn a blind eye to the struggle!
Well I've never heard that definition before and I'd wager that most people define racism as I do, something on an individual level.
ReplyDeleteHere's a question: If there was a judge that was doling out harsher sentences to people of a certain race would that judge be racist? Because the judge himself was racist or because he had an institution backing up his decisions?
The only reason the institution is racist is because of the decisions of an individual (or individuals). The system just does what the individual says. The institution is a tool and is only racist because the person making decisions for the system is racist. If someone owned a gun and shot only black people would you say that the gun was racist?
No one is powerless, if people had been protesting in Jena before this wouldn't the media be reporting it? Also if you are living somewhere where the prevailing institutions are racist (because of the people running them), and your efforts to change the system are fruitless you can still vote with your feet. Move elsewhere. No that doesn't fix the larger problem but it does help your own situation. And if enough people vote with their feet it become a problem for the place they've left.
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ReplyDeletewow... so now your suggestion to racism is leave and go back where you came from... nice. Being able to move is a privelage and trust me there are few places in this country where racism isnt a probelm.
ReplyDeleteHere is some material on racism which i think is useful to contextualize this:
ReplyDeleteSociological Definitions
Some sociologists have defined racism as a system of group privilege. In Portraits of White Racism David Wellman (1993) has defined racism as "culturally sanctioned beliefs, which, regardless of intentions involved, defend the advantages whites have because of the subordinated position of racial minorities,” (Wellman 1993: x). Sociologists Noel Cazenave and Darlene Alvarez Maddern define racism as “...a highly organized system of 'race'-based group privilege that operates at every level of society and is held together by a sophisticated ideology of color/'race' supremacy. Racist systems include, but cannot be reduced to, racial bigotry,” (Cazenave and Maddern 1999: 42). Sociologist and former American Sociological Association president Joe R. Feagin argues that the United States can be characterized as a "total racist society" because racism is used to organize every social institution (Feagin 2000, p. 16). This stands in contrast to a definition that presumes racism to be an irrational form of bigotry that is not connected to the organization of social structure.
check out more at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism
I think what Nadia is trying to point out is that this cannot be treated as isolated incidents in one small town. Trying to reduce these incidents to the 'simple facts' and to what the 'law' says is only depoliticizing the reality of what took place in Jena.
ReplyDeleteSham asks how you connect the innocent white kid to why he was beat up? I would think that a history of arbitrary hate, repeated injustice, and the continuing socialization of inequality is an obvious way to connect the two. To simplify them as separate attacks only overlooks the unequal system that Nadia speaks about; a system that has never been resolved and continues to simmer under the surface and then explode.
Similarly, for Mattress to devalue the fact that these incidents were unrelated EXCEPT through racism, seems to completely miss the bigger picture. Also, I dont understand how you can ask why there were no protestors until now when these debates have been going on for decades? In the written word and on the streets. To ask these questions is to completely de-contextualize the entire issue which doesnt really get us anywhere.
I never said to leave and go back where they came from, I said to go elsewhere. Go to the "few places in this country where racism isn't a problem." Anyone can move, in the 30s many people who were dirt poor moved all over the country to places were there were jobs, those people were way poorer than most of the people we consider poor today. If you're determined you can do it. And why is leaving not an option, why would you want to stay around a bunch of racist assholes? Because you enjoyed their wonderful company?
ReplyDeleteDevi, are you saying that because there is a system of injustice in Jena that it justifies the beating of a kid who was unrelated to previous provoking expressions of racism?
For a white person to pay for the 'crimes' of another white person, simply because they both happen to be white, is racist and unjust, regardless of whether or not the system is racist and unjust. If the black kids had attacked and beaten on of the kids who actually hung the nooses on the trees I'd have much more sympathy for them. But to just randomly beat a white kid simply because he is white is racist, even if you're black. Even if the system is racist, attack the perpetrators of racism, attack the system but to attack an innocent bystander is wrong. Sorry if I'm not sympathetic, I'm sure those black kids could have found one of the white kids responsible and beaten him.
Of course a better response to the noose hanging would be a non-violent one. Organize all of the black students in the school and sit under the tree en mass. Why didn't something like that happen?
Here's an interesting article about the Jena incidents. sounds like there has been a lot of distortion of the actual events and a lot of media laziness. What a surprise.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1024/p09s01-coop.html