I enjoyed reading this article, but how sad it is too!
If only people would love each other regardless of the color of our skin!  God loves everyone! And all who accept His Son-Jesus, will one day live in a perfect place where there will be no Prejudice!
Won't that be a Wonderful World!

What I'm wondering is this, who was the white kid that was beaten by the 6 person mob and why doesn't anyone seem to care about him? Why did they pick him to attack? Was he one of the people who put the nooses in the tree or was he just a target because he was white?

Things are being handled wrong all the way around. Nothing was accomplished by cutting down a beautiful old oak. Nothing was accomplished by a mob beating of a white teen. Nothing is going to be accomplished by all the marches and speeches.

The only way to fight racism is to stop being a racist.  Set an example for others.  Stop yelling "I'm black, you're white" and "It's because I'm black!"

Stop talking about "hate" crimes.  All crimes against another human being is a hate crime.

When we cease to talk about the difference in our races and stop yelling about "racism,"  then racism will cease to exist.

Above all please remember, you don't have to be white to be a racist.

Hanging nooses is an insult as is burning the American Flag.  Insults can push an ignorant person to the point of violence.  We value the freedom of expression.  I listen to the new music.  All full of hate, violence, sexism, racism and drug usage.  We let it go as freedom of expression.  However, when it comes to fighting... physical violence, then the law better jump in with both feet.  One kid attacking another is not just a school fight.  It is assault and intimidation.  Six on one is something that if not resolved by the police leads to guns in schools.  Remember Colombine?  Race be damned, clamp down on the physical violence before it gets out of control.

The cost of the tree was nothing. Though the symbolisim cost was great. The Tree did nothing wrong, it just lived. The Tree will always in that town represent a terrible chapter in their history. One can only hope that instead of increasing the hate in that town it will cause them to look at what they are teaching their childern. And when they look at what they are doing, that they will change their thoughts and actions to the betterment of mankind instead of to the worsing of mankind.

I am appalled!!!  A boy (who cares what color he is) was beaten but because the perpetrators are black (one WITH a criminal history) they should go free?  I have a BIG problem with "white boys" going free for "intimidation" OR "hate crime" for putting nooses in THE tree.  Oh yes I do!!!  MY problem with this whole situation, including the MARCH on Jena is, why NOW?  Why weren't you marching AFTER the nooses happened?  Why are you marching to support a beating on a human being?  Was this boy one of the perpetrators?  Should we allow ALL the whites that have been either hurt or offended by blacks to just go ahead and take justice?  Let me tell you an offending situation for me...  Several years ago, I worked at Little Caesar's in Detroit.  I was sitting in the smoking room having a distinct debate between the finance and legal departments... I (a white person) said, "You people have no idea what we deal with"  Immediately, I was attacked as being racist!!!  Before then I SERIOUSLY had never thought Black/White (apparently I was an idiot)I had no idea (probably after dealing with "logical" people in the military (white, black and black/white couples).  I was totally offended that I was attacked AND stated it but was completely uncomfortable to deal with the situation because it was SO intentionally misconstrued (I REALLY believe this).  I was not (at THAT point) a racist, even though my WHITE husband, after working for 12 years for the Air Force (being away from our family of 5 and being close to poverty level) was passed over for doing the SAME job (making twice the money in a government job) for a black person with no experience.  Would YOU call this EQUAL???  Affirmative action has put a nix on ANY equality and/or community for whites and blacks.  The Democrats may like you to think that it exists, but it’s getting harder and harder for people that have been passed over for jobs that THEY deserve instead of a person of ethnicity of lesser experience or experience/intelligence (passing a test or years worked).  I think this mindset will take us to the NEXT '68 riots (this IS close to happening) unless the African American get over the misconception that today's U.S. owes you!!!  I owe you NOTHING!  EVER!  Get over yourselves and talk to the Jena School board, but DON'T try to free your "Bruthas" from their criminal acts!!!  I am totally disgusted by your MILLION BLACK trip to Jena (for criminals)!!!  Shall we talk about the Duke LaCrosse team and your "Madonna accuser" Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Jackson?  Not to mention the rest of your rabble rousing as well as your many "human indiscretions"...  I would love to have as many "outs" as you both have had publicly!!!  You both dismay me!!!

Again, the circumstances surrounding the Jena 6 case were mentioned excluding the incident in which 3 black kids were arrested and charged with a variety of charges including theft of a weapon, when a white kid pulled a shotgun on them. Not to mention the fact that the white kid was not charged with possession of a firearm. This case is not about a tree. It's about equal justice for all!

This should make everyone want to sit down and weep for this country, this world.  Have we learned nothing in all these years?  Where are the parents who should be teaching their children to respect others?  Better yet, where are the parents?  They say a fish rots from the head down and that's exactly what is happening to America.  Better wake up!!!!

Tell the full story. Why is it that everyone keeps saying six black kids beat up a white kid? Why isn't the media telling the FULL story? I hate how the media twists stories to make it seem as though blacks are overreacting. It's not true. Read your facts.

Robert Bailey, a black student, was beaten up at a white party. Then, a few nights later, Robert and two others were threatened by a white man with a sawed-off shotgun, at a convenience store. They wrestled the gun away and fled. Robert's mother, Caseptla Bailey, said: "I know they were in fear of their lives. They were afraid that this man was going to shoot them, you know, especially in the back, running away from the scene."

here's the link to the FULL story
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/324177_amygoodman19.html

How come no one talks about the black kid that got hit over the head with a bottle and beaten up by white kids?  The white kid with that hit the black kid over the head with a bottle received only probation and not attempted murder.  That is the key here with the DA and his lie about color has nothing to do with it.  So if you look at the facts, a white kid uses a bottle and smashes it over the head of a black kid and gets probation.  A black kid punches and kicks a white kid and gets attempted murder.  

How can SIX against ONE be a fight? It is not. How can the six be the victim? Oh! they are black now I see. This country is twisted I for one am feed up with the poor little black man problems people of every color and race have problems. In this country we already lowered the teaching standards, lowered job qualification and give them special treatment. What if white people took to the streets for this kind of unjustice because despite what the news broadcasts their are poor white people and white people who feel just as if not more disinfranchised that blacks. oh they would be called a racist! All this does is push whites to the kkk and the white supremacist. State the facts if six white people beat one black person they all would be charged with a hate crime. Especially if they have a history of violence

I agree with the judge's decision to deny bail.
The student who placed the nooses in the tree did wrong - no denying that. He was suspended from school, but this penalty was deemed "not enough" by some, so they decided to "correct" the punishment themselves (six of them on one - I might add) by giving him a savage beating.
This is nothing short of mob "justice". And I'm shocked that some civil rights leaders would stage such a protest with these facts.
Let the justice system handle this. If we let mobs be judge, jury and executioner... what kind of country have we become?

If it had been six white kids that beat up one black kid Jesse and Al would still be down there protesting! It seems it does not matter if the blacks are right or wrong, to this group it is "Whiteys" fault.

I can not beleave that this kind of stuff is still going on in this nation. The judge should be tried for
hate crimes.I am ashamed to be part of a country were we still let tis kind of stuff happen. We need to all wake up and demand that this kind of justice COMES TO A STOP!

That the people of Jena actually thought cutting down that tree might make the problem go away illustrates how misguided they are in their attempts to cope with all this.

At the same time, the fact that it took a noose to capture the country's interest in this issue of the overcharging of black youths -- a problem that has persisted for half a century and one that extends well beyond the deep south -- points to our inability as a nation to do much more than blame 'racist rednecks' for ungracefully reminding us of our past.

Were it not for the attendant Civil Rights-era iconography of this case, most likely it would have been overlooked like so many others. Maybe all this attention will provoke further investigation into the broken legal system that produced it.

Ok folks lets get this straight.  A group of black kids jumps a white kid.  Police charge black kids w/beating up the white kid.  Blacks get made and march because the police are enforcing the law.  Gee, thank god it was not a group of white kids jumping a black kid.

It's so lovely to see how the civil righrts movement has transformed from the right to sit at a lunch counter to the right to beat up someone. As a black male in this society it's heartbraking. Instead of angrily protesting a chapter should bhave been taken from M.L.K. with an invite to unity and ask white celebs to attend....and a condemning on violence on bnoth sides.

Hey how about this? Next time at 17 and your already on parole, you do not hang around kids and start kicking a kid in the head.

i think the ppl of jena done the right thing these kids assaulted another human being ( not black or white of hispanic or what have you but a human being) now they have to pay the price  they can concider themselves lucky that it was not the other way around cause it it would been 6 white kids beating up a black the federal government would have procecuted them to the fullest of the law

How is restraints on what and how we say things freedom of speech? The truth is, racial injustices have been and are still very real.  The laws or the lack of a law are desighned to be munipulated by who can afford to have someone munipulate them for there own cause.  For example, the DA of the town of Jena said there are no laws in Luisiana that address the issue of civil rights violations, namely hanging nooses from a tree.  When essentially the reason for such an act can only be construed as intimidation, a threat of violence, and ultimately a threat of death.
When the act created the air of violence that the DA indirectly or directly supported and the white student was beat up, the DA charged the blacks with the maximum charge.  It is and always will be a set up to put minorities behind bars for reacting to threats of violence from whites.  When will our federal government step in to take away the fuel that these states use (the laws or lack of them)that incites such behaivior? By having the federal government arrest the white students for civil rights violations namely racial intimidation to incite violence.  I believe that the federal goverment has the power to stop all of this crap, but just like  the state of Luisiana it chooses to directly or indirectly to support such actions.  This is why blacks represent a large portion of our prison population.

The tree should have stayed, the administration and staff at the school should have been removed.  It is a known fact that the staff arrives before the students.  Why did a teacher or principal not remove the ropes? The ropes have had to be seen by the staff or administration prior to the students arrival.  The gate keeper, custodian, or principal must have seen the rope once the entered the campus.  No one seems to question who saw the noose first and why did they not remove them?  You do not need a court order to remove a hang man's noose or do you?  As for the judge who refuses to give Bell a bond, he is only trying to show the world that no one can come into his district and make a statement.  Deep down inside he knows that the whole ordeal was handled wrong, but again, nobody will make him do anything, he is the big dog. He must be a relative of George Bush.  I could go on and on, but all of us know, those of us who live here in Louisiana knows that things have not changed regarding racism.  There is a God and these judges and lawyers will stand before him one day and be judged.  Go straight to Hell, no bail, no pardon, no excuses, and no mercy for you have wronged many when you were in a position to help and dispense justice. I was stopped (profiled) two nights ago and the officer stated that he stopped me to ensure that I was not drinking and driving.  Ensure, Is that probable cause? He wanted to ensure(ha ha).  Boy was he shock to learn that I was a seven year veteran of a local sheriff's office.  We go through this daily in Lousyana (Louisiana) and it appears that things will not get better. Get ready because we will bring the fight to you because we are not taking it anymore!!! Try us (minority) and see!!    

While I agree hate comes in all forms, however Nooses or no Nooses it doesn't give the right to anyone to beat and almost kill someone, where their names above the nooses or even fake grave stones No!!!! just because nooses were speculated as a hate crime , whats to say it was a high school or even a collage prank, football teams solemnity or etc didn't place the nooses as intimation for the other team or such did the nooses beat and almost murder the jena 6 are even directly to the africian America the so called minority-which many are finding out or have discovered they can no longer make this claim due to alot of Tv programs now with blacks in them,radio show , rights and etc - one real minority are still native Americans the real first slaves who are still being prosecuted and moved off their own lands due to mining operations or how about the Gay, Lesbian Transgender people who many are affected by a real hate crime or even judged against, very similar to how blacks were supposable treated. Where is the TLGB community's Luther King ???

as far as the Jenna 6 they should be tried with hate crimes and not looked upon as "hero's" -just because they are black!!! There is a real victim here and its not the Jenna 6 !!!

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/fighthate_news

-Joanne Lynn
http://www.wkjce.org

I thought by definition, when six people of one race beat up someone of another race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.  this was called a "hate crime".  I have not heard this term used by anyone.  If it is not entered in the charges then where IS justice.

The emphasis in the news has been on the incarceration of one of the Jena 6.  It should be a very serious crime in any jurisdiction when several people join together to beat up one person.  This beating could have resulted in death.  What were the extent of the injuries?  How about a picture of those injuries as a balance to the pictures of the demonstrations?  How about some questions to Jesse Jackson et al regarding the 6:1 ratio in the fight.  Does he approve of this?  Does he regard as trivial?  Where is the balance in the reporting on this episode?  The impression that one gets is that the application of the law to the Jena 6 was racially motivated.  How would you have felt about if the one who was beaten was your child?  This was not just a fight, it was a thorough beating by a gang of thugs.

It seems to me all this is over someone being prosecuted for beating someone else, and that started from others hanging nooses....who cares what color they were..purple, green or blue...wrong is wrong..and your color should make no difference. If we are  supposed to look past color , how come it's the first thing anyone hollers when something goes wrong?

I think it's pretty sad that we as Blacks are still faced with so much racism and the world wants to ignore it until a white person is beat up or killed. My son was a nigger by some white students at his old middle school, and nothing was done about it; but when the white student lied and said my son called him a "cracker", he got into a lot of trouble. Was anything done to the white student, "NO", but my son's reputation was ruined at that school. Now he is in high school and from what I'm told black students are faced with a lot of racial remarks everyday. Eill anything be done there, I doubt it.

It's 2007 already not 1807 folks. The person killed another person. Ist degree murder, let the courts decide. What a nothing story...that the media has blown way out of proportion.

This is just poor writing. Why can't you guys hire some decent staff for God's sake. Whats a tree worth - please.

First of all, You have to see all boys fight in school for no reason. They are young kid. They should not  be treating  as an adult. I am just wonder if 6 whites kids beat up a black kid. What will be the outcome?The judge should treat them as kids fighting in school. It is not an unusual thing. That is part of life.The judge should let go and set that kid free.I hope that I can face him and ask him if he never fight in school, or if he act as a racist? Kids are kids.

First of all, You have to see all boys fight in school for no reason. They are young kid. They should not  be treating  as an adult. I am just wonder if 6 whites kids beat up a black kid. What will be the outcome?The judge should treat them as kids fighting in school. It is not an unusual thing. That is part of life.The judge should let go and set that kid free.I hope that I can face him and ask him if he never fight in school, or if he act as a racist? Kids are kids. Thank you.

I personally think that this whole 'Jena 6' story and all the blacks in an uproar about nooses hung from a tree is just one more indication of how this country panders to the blacks just because they have the loudest mouths and think that they can get away with ANYTHING because of their skin color.  Just start screaming RACISM.  For God's sake, these 6 thugs beat, almost to death, another boy, who is white, and I am sure that the color of HIS skin is why they targeted him.  Is this right?  Just because it is the blacks doing this to a white does it make it okay?  Apparently, in the eyes of all the blacks, it does.  How is this any different than what was done to blacks (and whites that were trying to help the blacks.  Whick I'm sure that the blacks of course don't care about.) during the '60's?    I am originally from the North and moved to the South years ago without a predjudiced bone in my body; actually used to feel sorry for the poor, down-trodden blacks (like most Northerners do).  Not anymore, after living in close proximity to and with these people for TOO MANY years.  I am sooooo sick of them.  With all their ignorance and crying about how Whitey keeps them down.  They keep themselves down, and drag others down with them.  I could go on, but it's really not worth it.  Ask the black mama:  if that was your son that 6 WHITE boys had beaten almost to death what is it that you would want?  I would think that you would want JUSTICE.  Oh, and if it HAD been 6 WHITE boys that had beaten, nearly to death, a BLACK boy, OH MY GOODNESS, can you just imagine what would be going on right now?  SHUT UP to the blacks in this country who are using racism as an excuse for EVERYTHING while they actively practice racism against whites every day.  What is it, we're supposed to pay for what happened all those years ago?  I guess that's why everybody tiptoes around, pandering to the "African American".  To hell with your "African American" crap.  Either you're an American or you're not.  PC crap.  And if they want to be AFRICAN SO BAD why don't they just go back to AFRICA?  Oh, that's right, there wouldn't be any public assistance and FOOD STAMPS there.  What WOULD THEY DO?  WHO WOULD THEY DRAIN DRY THERE?  I have gotten off track here, it is easy to do when it is this subject.  There are MANY people fed up with this black issue in this country.  It can't stay this way for much longer. Eventually something has got to give, and it's not going to be pretty.  This is not threatening talk, it's just observation.  This whole 'Jena 6' thing is TOTALLY ridiculous and SO very sad.  

Mr. Jackson and Mr. Sharpton need to go home. Cutting a tree down doesn't solve anything either! C'mon people. Why didn't school officials put a stop to this mess before now? What was a white kid doing with a shotgun at a convenience store. Needless to say, you do the crime you have to take responsibility for it. I've heard the white kid was left unconscious, I've heard he went to a school function that night. If he was able to attend a school function he wasn't hurt too bad! These 6 kids knew better than to assault someone. Take responsibility for your crimes. A slap on the hand doesn't cut it anymore. It's a shame that in 2007 people still behave this way. What happened to love your neighbor as yourself? By the way, I'm white and live in an all-black apartment complex where I'm called "Mama". Grow up people and get along!

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):