Fighting Racism With Racism
Jena Six refers to a group of six African American teenagers who have been arrested and charged with crimes related to their alleged involvement in the assault of a white teenager in Jena, Louisiana, on December 4, 2006. The incident is one of many racially charged events that have occurred in the town since what has been called a prank involving the "white tree" on the Jena High School campus. Critics of how the case was handled, including civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, have claimed that the arrests and subsequent charges were racially motivated.
Many residents of the town, both Caucasian and African American, have expressed the view that the current problem is more the fault of outsiders using racial politics to influence the justice system. Additionally, U.S. Attorney Donald Washington, who is black, has expressed the opinion that although discipline was mishandled by the school, he found no reason to believe that there was any unfair judicial action.
Now, I usually won't bother with world news, however, I felt this was something important
to talk about. I'd also like to see how you all (my blog fam) felt about it.
Racism, I think we all have it in us, Whites because it's in the blood, Blacks because it is in the pain. Americans seem to be quick to want to hate someone for any reason.
Me personally I have a love /hate relationship with all people, the color of one's skin has nothing to do with it.
Should I see a Hispanic mother not attending to her child, I will find myself looking down on her for that. Does this make me a racist?
Where I grew up, which was mainly a hospital community (KU), (a good place for my Mom to raise two boys who loved to get injured) the surrounding area was very diverse at the time. But the shortcut to the projects were just a stones throw away.
I made my first real friend in Frank Rushton Elementary, Fredrick Lamonte Wade AKA "Freddy B" (R.I.P). He would be one of the first of many Black friends I would make growing up.
In my neighborhood, I was excepted for who I had become, no kwams from any of the colored kids about me using the slang "Nigga" or "My Nigga" as a term of endearment.
But then I grew up , moved from that area and found that not everyone was going to except that coming from me. I know what I am (not that Black folk should use this term to address each other either) , But I respect the fact that it is it inappropriate to speak this way.
Racism, Hate , Media, Misunderstanding, these are key elements in the role that is taking place in our society.
What's Happening in Jena, Louisiana , I have mixed emotions about.
People are violent by nature, the youth are bored, lost and misinformed.
I believe that this kid who got beat down, may have deserved a good ole ass whupping', but what if it had been a couple of white kids who turned on him? In defense for their black friend(s).
would they be under the same scrutiny?
And don't get me wrong, those who are guilty for a crime need to be punished.
Any of the kids involved with hanging the noose from that tree, should be charged with a hate crime. And punished (if only to have a footnote of that persons character, in the case of any future hate crimes).
And the alleged Jena 6 did commit assault, so there should be justice punishable by law.
I know I know, "Justice Is Blind"...
you know the more I think about it the more it untangles in my brain and makes me think of so many times in my life that I have encountered racism.
When I was growing up there was not a billion white kids listening to rap, compelled by what all of these great Black artists were accomplishing, following the trends, mimicking the moves, reciting the words, those who know me, know...
I've Taken some licks myself, I've been Jumped, Assaulted, Attacked , & Robbed, by Black people who I thought were my friends, I never hung no noose from no tree.
And sadly from it, I struggle now to not judge a group by a whole.
But that wasn't me then, and I can't allow that to be me now.
It's about people who are raised properly, but here's my path...
I grew up with no father, and a drug-addicted mother who spent the majority of my childhood in and out of prison, and I'm not a success in life, but I am not a failure either.
I dropped out of school and I raised myself, I work a mediocre job , I live check to check, Ive got a daughter (15 in Nov) and a step daughter (9 next week), and I'm as lost and confused as ever.
But, I'm alive and kickin'............(I'm an aggressive driver , but I'm so working on that)
PEOPLE NEED RAISE THEIR CHILDREN WITH THE WORLD IN THEIR EYES
The hate runs too deep....
Respond if you like, if not, Fuck You , I still love you.....
Jena Six refers to a group of six African American teenagers who have been arrested and charged with crimes related to their alleged involvement in the assault of a white teenager in Jena, Louisiana, on December 4, 2006. The incident is one of many racially charged events that have occurred in the town since what has been called a prank involving the "white tree" on the Jena High School campus. Critics of how the case was handled, including civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, have claimed that the arrests and subsequent charges were racially motivated.
Many residents of the town, both Caucasian and African American, have expressed the view that the current problem is more the fault of outsiders using racial politics to influence the justice system. Additionally, U.S. Attorney Donald Washington, who is black, has expressed the opinion that although discipline was mishandled by the school, he found no reason to believe that there was any unfair judicial action.
Now, I usually won't bother with world news, however, I felt this was something important
to talk about. I'd also like to see how you all (my blog fam) felt about it.
Racism, I think we all have it in us, Whites because it's in the blood, Blacks because it is in the pain. Americans seem to be quick to want to hate someone for any reason.
Me personally I have a love /hate relationship with all people, the color of one's skin has nothing to do with it.
Should I see a Hispanic mother not attending to her child, I will find myself looking down on her for that. Does this make me a racist?
Where I grew up, which was mainly a hospital community (KU), (a good place for my Mom to raise two boys who loved to get injured) the surrounding area was very diverse at the time. But the shortcut to the projects were just a stones throw away.
I made my first real friend in Frank Rushton Elementary, Fredrick Lamonte Wade AKA "Freddy B" (R.I.P). He would be one of the first of many Black friends I would make growing up.
In my neighborhood, I was excepted for who I had become, no kwams from any of the colored kids about me using the slang "Nigga" or "My Nigga" as a term of endearment.
But then I grew up , moved from that area and found that not everyone was going to except that coming from me. I know what I am (not that Black folk should use this term to address each other either) , But I respect the fact that it is it inappropriate to speak this way.
Racism, Hate , Media, Misunderstanding, these are key elements in the role that is taking place in our society.
What's Happening in Jena, Louisiana , I have mixed emotions about.
People are violent by nature, the youth are bored, lost and misinformed.
I believe that this kid who got beat down, may have deserved a good ole ass whupping', but what if it had been a couple of white kids who turned on him? In defense for their black friend(s).
would they be under the same scrutiny?
And don't get me wrong, those who are guilty for a crime need to be punished.
Any of the kids involved with hanging the noose from that tree, should be charged with a hate crime. And punished (if only to have a footnote of that persons character, in the case of any future hate crimes).
And the alleged Jena 6 did commit assault, so there should be justice punishable by law.
I know I know, "Justice Is Blind"...
you know the more I think about it the more it untangles in my brain and makes me think of so many times in my life that I have encountered racism.
When I was growing up there was not a billion white kids listening to rap, compelled by what all of these great Black artists were accomplishing, following the trends, mimicking the moves, reciting the words, those who know me, know...
I've Taken some licks myself, I've been Jumped, Assaulted, Attacked , & Robbed, by Black people who I thought were my friends, I never hung no noose from no tree.
And sadly from it, I struggle now to not judge a group by a whole.
But that wasn't me then, and I can't allow that to be me now.
It's about people who are raised properly, but here's my path...
I grew up with no father, and a drug-addicted mother who spent the majority of my childhood in and out of prison, and I'm not a success in life, but I am not a failure either.
I dropped out of school and I raised myself, I work a mediocre job , I live check to check, Ive got a daughter (15 in Nov) and a step daughter (9 next week), and I'm as lost and confused as ever.
But, I'm alive and kickin'............(I'm an aggressive driver , but I'm so working on that)
PEOPLE NEED RAISE THEIR CHILDREN WITH THE WORLD IN THEIR EYES
The hate runs too deep....
Respond if you like, if not, Fuck You , I still love you.....
5 comments:
LOL!!! First off...I want to say thank you for starting this blog. Many times I wanted to run a joke or comment on something on your other blog, but I felt that it was'nt the forum for it. So thanks for this, I believe grone individuals with some level of intellect need to exchange ideas and dialogue in general.
As for the Jena 6 situation. I feel that the white kids were wrong for hanging the nooses, however it did not warrant physical retaliation. The 6 blacks were wrong for beating the white dude. They could have killed him, or caused irreparable harm to him. I think the 6 blacks, if they were involved in the beating , should be charged with assault.
I understand that much more happened during this whole ordeal, but when one goes from words or jestures, to physical violence, it is wrong. Violence should only be used in defense or retaliation of violence.
Right on Doc, I feel this is a symptom of a bigger problem with the world as a whole. From Columbine to 9-11 to this. When people feel victimized, alienated or oppressed in some way the blowback of it is violence, most often at targets who may have prbably had nothing to do with the source of their frustrations. EVERY single human being has a line that once it has been breeched all reason goes out the window. We need to stop with the divisive "Us & Them" type mentality. All human beings of every race want the same thing, A good life, grow old & to see their children prosper. That's it! Our time on this earth is very short. We should make the best of it. I'm at a loss as how to get everyone on that page though. Just my 2 cents Doc. Nice blog BTW
First off, I want to commend you for raising you daughter and stepdaughter. It's such a blessing for them that you're very much a part of their lives. Concidering what you went through growing up, some would have, in one way or another, kept the negative going. So, much respect to you. I feel that it lies within parenting. In most cases, if kids are raised from parents with heads on their shoulders, kids won't stray too far, if at all. I won't say that I grew up a scary cat, I just knew what was wrong and steered clear from it, even if all of my friends were onboard for doing dirt. They automatically knew to drop me off before anything went down. I think my parents just embedded that in me. In most cases, there's always a peaceful way to handle things. As for Jena 6, there was a peaceful way to do it but as the earlier comment said, kids can get pretty board in a small town and just make bad moves sometimes. I was told as a kid that it's not what someone does or how things are but how you respond or react. Plus I have a strong fear for Karma! I feel that good returns good and bad will come back 10 fold. I think punishment should be due wherever negative acts took place, on both parties. Outside parties ultimately just wanted the whole thing to play out fairly, so they totally disagreed with Donald Washington. Though we all know better, justice is suppose to work for all. I know that's not the case at times. I have a court date Monday in Houston because cops pulled me over for driving in the Metro lane. I didn't realize it, we were lost in downtown Houston and we were just trying to get to the freeway to go back to the hotel. We don't live there, but those cops do, and unfortunately so do thousands of New Orleans evacuees now. I felt like those cops have had all they can take from the negative side of New Orleans and at 2 in morning, they just wern't in the mood for ANYTHING. Unfortunatly, they pulled over 3 guys, who could, from 1000 feet, pass for nerds, but it didn't matter. They did everything from check all over the car and trunk to downtalking us. Fortunately we're all level headed guys and just downplayed it, upset or not. I guess everyone has a boiling point eventually, I've just never reached mine...... or was I raised "right"?? Great eye-raising point about "what if it had been white kids fighting in defense of their black friends?" How would that play out? How would the cops in Houston play that out at 2 in the morning? Would they have to go back to Houston to appear in court? Thanks Doc for your view on the subject.
Damn Doc. I Didn't even know about blogcabyn until today. Great topic. although i'm catching it a little late. I struggle as well to not judge a group as a whole. People just React to what they've experienced or what they've been taught. Its Human Nature To Do So. That still doesn't make it right.
...three years ago i moved into a gay neighborhood...i figured i'm pretty cool...i can handle this...they're gay thats their thing right...they're cool...fast forward to today and i'm hating every fag i see...why, not because they're gay...but because they're there...thats who i see every day...the frustration and anger in my life needs an outlet and here it is...focused on who's there...who am i better than...i take the subway everyday.. and when i look around i see apathetic people who are afraid to make eye contact with anyone....why...blame the media and pop culture...the boogey man is everywhere...i don't think racism is in your blood...the ability to hate is...and it will be directed at whom ever is available and convenient to hate at that moment...and the these days the list gets longer every day...
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