The Jena 6

I really thought somebody would have started a thread on this before me, but since no one has, here goes.

To me, the only fact that seems unfair is that these 6 adults and kids weren't charged with a hate crime; that seems unfair, or more like a double standard to me. Shouldn't it work both ways?

From what I read the fight wasn't even a fight - the first punch (from behind) knocked the victim out, and these six assailants jumped the victim and kicked and beat the unconscious body. Sounds like the victim was either really lucky, or big enough to take a beating like that and walk out of the ER after only three hours. I would probably have been more seriously injured.

Aggravated second-degree battery seems like a fair charge to me. Attempted murder did too (especially considering the fact the victim was knocked out before the "fight" even really started), but the reduction to battery should be acceptable to any fair observer. What does Sharpton want the charges to be dropped to nothing? Just set 'em free cause someone hung three nooses, in school colors btw (thought that was a little morbidly funny, might have also contributed to the viewing of the incident as a prank, not a hate crime), from a tree?

Will this start a new civil rights movement in the US? If so, what will it accomplish? Will Sharpton join with the gays in this 21st century civil rights movement?

If it was 6 white dudes theyed be convicted of a hate crime. I am gonna protest against the black people

Noboby started a thread most likely because the media information regarding this story is a bit sketchy and it is hard to get a handle on what actually occurred beyond what the race industry hucksters like Sharpton and Jackson are claiming.

Yes, I would think that hate crime laws should apply if there are any such hate crime laws that are applicable within the jurisdiction.

But then, since when have these ridiculous "hate crime" (actually 'thought crime') laws ever been evenly applied? It is up to prosecutors to decide whether or not to bring these charges forward and they have never been evenly applied.

No, it will not start a new civil rights movement. What civil rights are we talking about here? New civil rights for blacks to beat a white and be legally immune from criminal charges?

The law is supposed to be color blind. If you assualt, kill or attempt to kill another, regardless of the race of victim or perpetrator, the law should be applied evenly. Many are not satisfied with that concept.

White kids hang ropes (I can't spell neuse) from a tree and get detention. Black kids beat the white kids and get locked up. The black kids acted by beating the kids up and intended to assault them. The ropes hanging from a tree may have had symbolism but prove intent..you can't. So whats the problem? Rev Al Sharpton is claiming that this is unfair and they were locked up only because theyre black. Why can't they just see that they were locked up because they committed a crime. Do I have this all wrong?

We have a thread about hating illegal aliens and this one looks like a good candidate for some hate too. And while some things are better left than said, I want to scream "What the fuck?!"

This is supposed to be the number one country in the world and we are still playing hate games with nooses and whites vs blacks. UNITED States of America my ass. This country is so deeply divided on almost every issue ranging from race to abortion to the war in Iraq, it almost seems like we would be better off by splitting the union into several parts. Really, think about it.

Those of you who are familiar with software engineering know the rule: Build two and throw one away. Sometimes it is just better to start from scratch rather than to fix what does not work. Our country should not be an exception. It is clear that there are people who love to hate. Abortions, illegal immigrants, evolution, peace, freedom, etc. These people will never ever get along with the other half. It simply blows my freaking mind that in 2007 there is an "all white" tree in the country where everybody is supposed to have the same opportunities.

This whole humble concept of American dream has been gang banged by our politicians to the point where terrorism and 9/11 are the only topics that they are willing to discuss. Nobody gives a flying fuck about victims of Katrina, kids blown to pieces in Iraq or the fact that this country has a good number of closet homosexuals who are on a crusade to criminalize their own kind. Black people have been handed the short end of the stick sometime ago and while I cannot speak for them, I can only imagine what they feel every time they see some smart ass decides to burn a cross or hang the rope on a tree.

What would you do?

MM - This whole thing has been reported very oddly by the media. Leaving things out like the fact that the white victim was sucker punched into oblivion and then beat is an important fact in my opinion.

I also agree that the law should be blind, and that hate crimes have never, and never really can be applied fairly. It is up to an opinion and opinions are always biased.

Sharpton does seem to want to make it legal for black people to beat up white people without the fear of real justice. Ludacris, and sad at best.

My fear is that if these protestors do succeed, they will get off scott free and set a dangerous precedent in the area. Wouldn't that also mean that whites could also beat up blacks, just to fix a "wrong"?

I also would love to know what Sharpton would have said if asked whether both parties (noose guys and the Jena 6) should be charged with hate crimes. Or simply what the charges brought against both parties should be. Would love to hear him answer that.

According to Guardian (full article) :

"The beating victim, Justin Barker, was knocked unconscious, his face badly swollen and bloodied, though he was able to attend a school function later that night."

That my friend is a normal outcome of a fight. You don't lock people up for a scuffle that generates several bruises. Shit like that happened on an every day basis when I was growing up and nobody complained. You want to prove something and hang a noose? Then you better be able to stand the ground. In this case there were several incidents that led to the final fight and it sounds like both parties had scores to settle. They wanted to fight, they got a fight.

From snopes.com-
"During a fight that broke out in the lunchroom between a white student and black student, the white student was hit from behind, knocked out, then set upon by other black students who proceeded to kick and stomp his "lifeless" body ass he lay unconsious on the floor."
http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/jena6.asp

That soes not sound like a typical fight to me. Stomping someone in the head, who is unconsious (which seems to be the case considering he was treated for head and face injuries) is trying to kill that person. Maybe that didn't cross the minds of the attackers as they were doing it, but that is what it seems to me to be.

I can't seem to find exactly what injuries the vistim sustained, would like to know that if anyone can find it. Stitches, broken face bones? All could be fixed in 3 hours at an ER, if it wasn't crowded.

BTW the victim was not involved in the noose incident. This guy was apparently unrelated.

If the attackers weren't attempting to murder the guy, how is it attempted murder? What's aggravated assault these days, or ADW for that matter? The white students should get expelled for behavior unbecoming a student, have to go to fuckin' reform school or get their GED, and the guys who beat the fuck out of the white kid should be expelled, arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault or ADW. A stomping isn't attempted murder, and hanging nooses isn't a hate crime. Actually filling the nooses would have been a hate crime.

In one of the articles I've seen, they indicated that three months passed between when the nooses were hung and the beating took place, during which time the kids involved had no disciplinary problems, played sports together, etc. So what happened after three months?

I hate it when people jump on a protest cause just for the sake of it. It kind of seems like that's what's going on. Never ceases to amaze me when people rally around to support those who commit crimes. Just makes no sense to me.

If your kicking an unconscious guy in the head..what are you accomplishing other than "trying" to kill him? Hanging a noose from a tree is a silent statement..while not correct it was still somewhat peaceful. Kicking a man while he's down is just plain being an animal.

If 'The Guardian' newspaper from England is your primary source of information, that certainly explains a lot. Especially the previous post that you wrote.

It doesn't seem like they are telling the whole story. Why would that be?

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The national media didn't pick up the story until recently. Now that the racial industry hucksters are involved it has become a national story.

It didn't meet the media requirements for a national story. First of all, it involved a crime where a group of black people had beaten up a white. That is not worthy of national attention according to media playbooks. Those that are doing some reporting on the story are also intentionally leaving out the fact that the defendant that was recently up for sentencing already had numerous prior convictions for violent crimes.

Secondly it is very difficult to find what political party the LaSalle Parish District Attorney is affiliated.

He is now being described as a racist and a "Jim Crow" politician on many websites. No legitimate media articles are mentioning under which political party he was elected.

Therefore it may be safe to assume that the DA in Jena is a Democrat or a member of some other party. If he were a Republican and could be portrayed as a racist, then the national media would have jumped on the story a long time ago.

So, yes. The media handling is strange but not unexpected due to their typical modus opendi.

Have you ever heard of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom? I'm willing to bet that you haven't. It was one of the most gruesome and violent kidnapping/rape/murder stories to come along in years. The mainstream media refused to make a national issue of the story because the victims were white and the perpetrators were black.

They also feared the story because the white male victim was also gang raped by all of the black male perpetrators. Among all of the other crimes that occurred.

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Sharpton does seem to want to make it legal for black people to beat up white people without the fear of real justice. Ludacris, and sad at best.

Sharpton cares about only one thing: Al Sharpton.

He couldn't give a damn about black people, white people, yellow people, any people. He only cares about advancing himself, his image, his national profile and his wallet.

Ludacris, and sad at best.[/qb][/QUOTE]Sharpton cares about only one thing: Al Sharpton.

He couldn't give a damn about black people, white people, yellow people, any people. He only cares about advancing himself, his image, his national profile and his wallet.[/QB][/QUOTE]

AMEN! You nailed it!

As animalistic as it may be, kicking someone in the head doesn't indicate an attempt to murder that person. Shit, I've kicked lots of people in the head, and as far as I know, they're still alive. And I've been kicked in the head myself more times than I can remember, and not only am I alive (and kickin'--ha!), I can still spell better than this motherfucker:

Hey, I'm just sayin'.

Who the hell are you trying to bullshit? You've never kicked anyone in the head. If someone looked at you crooked, you would shit in your pants. You cry about videos on the internet.

You also don't know what the hell you are talking about. A prosecutor can sure as hell charge people with attempted murder if they are repeatedly kicking someone in the head. Especially someone who is unconscious. That clearly is an example of intending to inflict serious and possibly deadly harm to another individual. Prosecutors file numerous charges for an incident. It doesn't mean they will all stick, but they can bring all applicable charges forward.

QUOTE]alive (and kickin'--ha!QUOTE]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIRHZ2lFeIA

honestly, i can't say anything that hasn't been said. all i know is race relations will be better once jackson and sharpton die. they do more to stress relations. still waiting for them to apologize to the duke lacross guys (unless i missed it....)

I really just want to move to Montana someday. Society has become a world of shit and i'm living in the toilet called Florida.

well, i saw on the news this evening that there were 2 colleges up here in md (baltimore) protesting along with those people down there in LA. some had actually left baltimore to go down there and protest. it just doesnt make sense to me at all. we're no where close to LA but it seems to effect areas like baltimore just as much.

The whole thing is ridiculous.

Some white kids act tough and shit, and hang nooses on a tree outside school. Big tough guys...

Takes some time, and people find out who the little pussies were.

Then the little pussies get the shit beat out of them. Serves them right.

It's a school fight, nothing more, nothing less. The kid couldn't have been beaten all that bad if he went to a school game that same frickin' night.

If 6 guys are beating on a person with intent to murder, which is what they're charged with, no way in hell does that "victim" get checked out of the hospital the same day...

Come on. This whole case has been blown out of proportion. If the white kids that hung the noose were suspended from school like they SHOULD have been, and like the principal of the school recommended, then NONE of this would have happened.

I'm not condoning violence, in this case, but the white kid got what he deserved, and nobody was killed. Seems like "justice" has already been done. Nobody, on either side, ought to be held on charges or go to trial, at this point; both sides of the argument already handled their shiite.

(BTW: I'm white. So Madman and any of you other lackies want to try to hang that Sharpton crap on me again... STFU! You don't know what you're talking about.)

Bull shit. Hanging a noose is done to intimidate. Plain and simple. Not quite as "spectacular" as burning a cross, but it's the same kind of cowardly crap done by white trash that are too big of pussies to stand up and say something in somebody's face without a hood on.

It's pathetic. Can't prove intent... Bull shit. Crap like this has been going on in the South for over a hundred and fifty years. What the fuck do you THINK hanging a noose is for? Decoration? It wasn't Halloween. Wake up.

edited to add:
And to further clarify my "I'm white" comment from before. I have 3 BLACK brothers and 1 BLACK sister. All adopted. But they are no less my brothers and sisters than the WHITE ones by birth. Any son of a bitch says anything to my face about the color of their skin, or tries to intimidate them with cowardly acts like hanging a noose, and I'd be the first to take a fucking bat to their head.

I can't stand Al Sharpton or Jessie Jackson. But I ALSO can't stand poor white trash that act like they're better than someone because they're "white".

If you do things intentionally to terrorize or intimidate someone, aka, hanging a noose, you better hope your intimidation worked, or else they're gonna' stand up and kick your ass. Hope it's worth it to 'ya to take the risk...

The protest was heavily promoted on black radio stations, web sites, political activist web sites, and even on college campuses in many parts of the country.

Many colleges arranged buses to bring students down there to protest.

Yes, I do read international news. Surprise, CNN and Fox are not the only news channels!

For those of us who like only American News, here is a quote from Fox for you:

"The victim of the Dec. 4 beating, Justin Barker, was treated at a hospital for injuries and released the same day. The motive for the attack was never established, but it came amid tense race relations in Jena, a mostly white town of 3,000 in north-central Louisiana. Three nooses had been hung in a tree at the school earlier, and the students involved were briefly suspended."

Full article.

The guy was released the same day. It is called a fight and some minor injuries. Having a gun shoved down your throat is an attempted murder. Missing a tooth or being knocked out is a result of a physical interaction. What else did you expect to have in a town where a school has an "all-white" tree? Considering all things, that bafoon is lucky to be alive. Getting kicked an beated by 6 guys and he spent only a day at a hospital? In my opinion they did not do a good enough job to be tried for aggregated assault.

You are completely full of shit porsche.

This garbage sounds like more of your warped "Civil Rights Academy".

According to you cops suck and white guys deserve to get beaten for allegedly hanging mock nooses from trees.

Maybe you think a noose is some sign of oppression or something, but it doesn't give anyone a legal license to go out and beat people up.

Maybe the kid who was beaten was alright a few hours later. It makes no difference. He could have just as easily been dead a few hours later.

The intent was the same. You can't seem to grasp that concept. I'm beginning to think you don't grasp a lot of legal concepts.

You also don't seem to grasp the fact that the kid who came up for sentencing has a history of violent crime and assualt.

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You may read other news sources, but it doesn't seem you are aware of the sources you are reading.

Your link is an Associated Press article, not anything created by FOX.

Have you ever actually been to the South? Stuff like this happens damn near EVERY day. Either some white kid mouths off and gets beat, or some black kid mouths off and gets beat. This situation isn't any different, except for whatever reason, the county prosecutor decided to go after the 6 instead of the original 3.

"allegedly hanging mock nooses from trees." Open your fucking eyes. There was no, "Allegedly", and there was no, "mock nooses". They hung REAL nooses from a tree on the fucking school property. And why? Because the WHITE kids didn't want the BLACK kids to sit under "their" tree before school... You seriously need to wake the fuck up and take a look at the real world around you...

Yes. I DO think it's ok for a white coward that hung up a noose to get his ass beat. He knew the potential consequences when he was hanging the rope...

Legal to beat 'em? Nope. Not legal at all. But it's vigilante justice to the coward that hung the rope, because the local cops and school administration wouldn't do anything about it.

I'm telling you right now, if there are 6 people with the intent to KILL another one in a beating, that victim doesn't go home from the hospital the same day. Sorry. Not buying that. There was intent to beat down, but not kill. Hell, even a good beat down puts you in the hospital for a few days... Unless this white kid's last name is, "Norris", I'd say the 6 guys had no intention to kill him, and really didn't even beat him all that fucking bad.

Can't kids have a fight on the "playground" without somebody getting all pissy?? People like you are the reason why you can't even play friggin' dodgeball in school anymore. Candy ass.

Maybe you didn't know, but hanging up a noose to intimidate ain't legal, either. According to most state laws, that's, "Terroristic Threatening". Look it up. In Kentucky, hanging a noose on school property would violate section KRS 508.078, Terroristic Threatening in the Second Degree. It's a Class D felony.

For the 6 that beat 'em down, in KY, they would have violated section 508.020, Assault in the 4th Degree, because no weapon was used. That's a Class A misdemeanor.

I don't know LA's laws, obviously. But if something like this happened in Kentucky, the 3 boys that hung the nooses would be looking facing 1-5 years of jail time, and the 6 that beat up 1 of 'em would be looking at 3 months to 1 year of time. Hmm... Tell me again which one is the "greater" of the crimes?

So where's your overwhelming support to send the first set of CRIMINALS to court for hanging the noose?

Yeah. Didn't think so you two faced piece of crap. Guess maybe I do know a little about the law, afterall... So bite me.

Ahh. I see you like to try people for things they may, or may not have done in the past, for current events. Hmm... Nice to see you're "fair and balanced" with your thoughts on this one... Last time I checked, juvy records aren't available to the public. How the hell do you know what "history" he does or does not have? Better yet, why does that even matter?

Evidently you think it's OK to hang nooses to intimidate people? Tell me something. Can you see well enough through those little slits in your hood when you're hanging up ropes, or burning crosses?

Sure, I have been to numerous Southern states in my life. You are full of shit if you think that racial issues are exclusive to the South.

We have had race riots right here in NYC. We have had people die because others like Al Sharpton have whipped crowds into frenzies of racial hatred.

Don't give me any of your bullshit claiming that racism is something permanent and endemic in the South. You sound like nothing but a propagandist.

I'm sure that all the black people that have been moving to Southern states in recent years are moving there for the sole purpose of wanting to experience some of that "good ole' Southern racism".

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Yes. I DO think it's ok for a white coward that hung up a noose to get his ass beat. He knew the potential consequences when he was hanging the rope...

Legal to beat 'em? Nope. Not legal at all. But it's vigilante justice to the coward that hung the rope, because the local cops and school administration wouldn't do anything about it.

So you are saying you believe in "vigilante justice".

Is your sense of vigilantism an equal opportunity sense of justice, or is it just directed towards white people?

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I'm telling you right now, if there are 6 people with the intent to KILL another one in a beating, that victim doesn't go home from the hospital the same day. Sorry. Not buying that. There was intent to beat down, but not kill. Hell, even a good beat down puts you in the hospital for a few days... Unless this white kid's last name is, "Norris", I'd say the 6 guys had no intention to kill him, and really didn't even beat him all that fucking bad.

You are now making assumptions. In some cases what you say would be true on the face.

The charge was based on intent, not ability.

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Can't kids have a fight on the "playground" without somebody getting all pissy?? People like you are the reason why you can't even play friggin' dodgeball in school anymore. Candy ass.

I don't completely disagree with the sentiment of that statement.

However, it isn't people like me that are creating these situations in educational institutions. It is people just like you.

I think it is unfortunate what is going on in schools today. Another unfortunate byproduct of what is going on in schools is the administration and in some cases the curriculum is creating more racial tensions among students.

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Maybe you didn't know, but hanging up a noose to intimidate ain't legal, either. According to most state laws, that's, "Terroristic Threatening". Look it up. In Kentucky, hanging a noose on school property would violate section KRS 508.078, Terroristic Threatening in the Second Degree. It's a Class D felony.

I don't know the laws of every state. I am also not defending the act of the white kids putting nooses in trees. It was a stupid thing to do.

However it didn't warrant the response that unfolded afterwards. School administrators for the most part are complete assholes these days and do not handle these situations correctly.

I'm also not saying the kids should have been expelled. They should have been disciplined.

Would you be so upset if black kids put up signs or posters of former Black Panthers who advocated killing whites and a violent revolution in America? I don't think so.

You are part of the double standard that wishes to advance itself within this country.

You would probably think that posters of some Black Panther radicals who advocated violence was nothing but a display of "diversity" and "culture".

In some sense you are no different than the current education establishment that fosters further hatred among the races.

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I don't know LA's laws, obviously. But if something like this happened in Kentucky, the 3 boys that hung the nooses would be looking facing 1-5 years of jail time, and the 6 that beat up 1 of 'em would be looking at 3 months to 1 year of time. Hmm... Tell me again which one is the "greater" of the crimes?

You are sure about that? Hanging mock nooses from trees is illegal but the KKK, the New Black Panther Party, Palestinian terror groups and every flavor of hate group can have public rallies on school campuses and displays of hatred, all protected by the First Amendment.

College campuses are loaded with hate speech and numerous other things advocating hatred and sometimes outright violence and racism.

Yet, supposedly you claim there is a law preventing a bunch of idiot kids .... or anyone for that matter, from hanging mock nooses because a noose is somehow a symbol of racism against blacks and blacks only.

You would almost think that no white man or other non-black person has ever swung from a noose in all this nonsense.

Maybe Southern states should also consider outlawing retail outlets from selling white bed sheets if the levels of sensitivities are that bad.

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Ahh. I see you like to try people for things they may, or may not have done in the past, for current events. Hmm... Nice to see you're "fair and balanced" with your thoughts on this one... Last time I checked, juvy records aren't available to the public. How the hell do you know what "history" he does or does not have? Better yet, why does that even matter?

Who the hell is trying people for things they may have already done? I'm simply stating that previous convictions (that have already been tried and adjudicated) are indicative of character. This kid had a record of previous violent crime. That is a matter of record. It is not a matter of conjecture.

He also had a crap lawyer who didn't call a single witness in his defense. You don't hear the media making a big deal out of that do you?

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Evidently you think it's OK to hang nooses to intimidate people? Tell me something. Can you see well enough through those little slits in your hood when you're hanging up ropes, or burning crosses?

Don't put words in my mouth. I never said it was alright for the white kids to hang nooses from the trees. They were assholes for doing that.

That still doesn't give the black kids a license to go on a beating rampage.

There is plenty of things going on in so-called "black culture" that is completely and overtly offensive to white people. That doesn't give white people a license to beat black people either.

Your politically motivated ... or politically correct skewed opinions don't give you license to call other people racists just because they don't agree with you either.

On that level you are no better than the worst of the double standard race hucksters.

Often the act of kicking someone in the head brings attempted murder charges as the shoes are seen as deadly weapons.

There have been cases of martial arts experts and boxers charged with use of deadly weapons (feet and fists).

The only difference here is the race card has been pulled out and its getting distorted in the media. I'm not saying the noose thing was right but 6 guys beating 1 guy isnt right either.

The problem sure doesnt begin or end in Jena, LA
I would bet that if these kids white and black had a parent at home and some discipline growing up half this stuff would never happen.

You committed a cardinal sin Kodiak.

How dare you imply that a culture of out of wedlock births leads to any societal problems.

Ever since Cuba Gooding Jr. recited the modern American liberal bible in the movie "Jerry Maguire" stating..."A single mother, that's a sacred thing", you are not allowed to even question that ethos. That is now the rule. It is beyond reproach. That is the new standard of values in this country.

I will be submitting your name for two weeks of re-education camp known as "Diversity Training".

To me, the problem is that many of the protesters don't want justice and aren't interested in the facts of the case or the real status of race relations in Jena or anywhere else. It goes without saying that having a "whites only" meeting place and intimidating people by hanging nooses in a tree are both unacceptable. But take the beating and reverse the races of the perps and victim, and the protesters would be down there insisting the "Jena 6" be locked up for life instead of freed. In fact, I wonder how many of the protesters actually even know the facts of the case.

I find it exhausting to live near Atlanta. EVERYTHING is about race here. It's frustrating because equality is what the civil rights movement was about, but it's the last thing the race-mongers are really interested in. For example, if they wanted justice, they'd have ridden their buses up to Duke to protest the travesty of the wrongfully charged lacrosse players.

Right on, BlueSky.. Race is such a bullshit issue down here, it's ridiculous. And no, I'm not saying it only applies to the South, Madman, but having lived in the northern Midwest and the central and southern parts of the East Coast, not to mention having a wife from up north, I can say with confidence that race manages to stick itself with many more issues down South.

I say fuck the Jena 6. I say fuck the white kids that hung the nooses. Apply any and all discipline applicable to them under the law, and move on. To me, what's sad is that three states over a man is still serving a much harsher sentence for having oral sex with a girl barely two years younger than him. That to me, is still the much clearer barometer of racism in the justice system down south than this waste of time.

Umm, he didn't. Why did you automatically assume these kids were born out of wedlock? Or that the society they live in Jena is one of a high rate of out of wedlock births? Careful. Everytime you speak you let your racism through just a little... Might want to consider keeping your mouth shut every now and again...

The "had a parent at home" *could* mean out of wedlock child raising, but not necessarily. It could easily also mean a DIVORCED family, a family w/ two working parents, etc. But nope. You jumped right up and decided these are bastard kids, and that's the root of the whole problem...

Whatever, man. Consider getting some help for that chip on your shoulder.

Here's my thing. Back when most of us were in high school, if something like a few white kids got beat up 'cause they hung up some nooses, there wouldn't be any police called out to the scene. There wouldn't be any charges brought up. It's a school-yard fight. Nothing more, nothing less. 10, 20 years ago, nobody would have cared. It's just one stupid kid getting beat up for something stupid he did. Please move along/nothing to see here.

But nope. Instead of disciplining the racist kids that hang out at the "white" tree, the school administration decided to turn a blind eye. And what happens? Some other kids that felt like nobody gave a darn about them decided to take care of business their own way. Was it a good way to do it? No, not really. Did it have the right effect? I don't know. But I'm betting there aren't anymore nooses being hung up in that tree, either...

Madman, FYI: yeah, I would be against someone hanging up Black Panther propaganda. As much as I'm against the KKK and their recruiting drives. Both of 'em serve no purpose other than to stir up trouble, and spread hate. For the same reasons, I don't care for, nor support Al Sharpton and his crew of meddlers. Out of state protestors being bussed in for ANYTHING always cracks me up...if the locals don't care to make things a big deal, why do carpet baggers from hundreds of miles away try to meddle? That never made sense to me.

I jumped on you, because you jumped on ONLY the 6, and not the original 3. This isn't football; the retaliation shouldn't be the only thing that gets a penalty marker flag. Some kids started the trouble, and some others escalated it. And now it's all blown out of proportion with attempted murder charges for cripes sake. It's ridiculous, and if you actually agree that attempted murder charges are warranted, you're friggin' ridiculous, too.

If all the kids that got into fights in high school were brought up on attempted murder charges...dyam, man, I bet there's a big majority of people that wouldn't be "free" nowadays.... Hell, at my high school, Senior year, our Valdictorian even got suspended for 3 days for fighting on a bus...

From what I've read at least, Porsche, your argument doesn't hold up:

1. The school administration did not "turn a blind eye." The students who hung the nooses were suspended though not expelled as the principal recommended. The local D.A. stated that no charges were filed because he could not find an applicable state law under which to charge them. Their act did not meet the definition of a federal hate crime because all 3 were under 18, had no prior record, and no hate group such as the KKK was behind their actions.

2. According to the U.S. Attorney who investigated, the student who was attacked was not one of the students who hung the nooses and there was no connection between the two incidents other than that both were racially motivated.

Dear God, there are actually intelligent people in the world that think violence is a good answer to non-violent acts? Really?

Like everyone else here positing theories, I don't really know what happened at that school, and I don't think we'll ever really know unless it was videotaped. With audio.

What really aggravates me is a) any adult in the 21st century would suggest that violence is the answer to anything other than violence, and b) that race relations are still so incredibly screwed up in this country that people actually protest the legal system doing it's job.

Folks, hanging nooses in a tree, while grotesque, did not result in any bodily injury. The kids received punishment from the school, end of story. From what we know, they didn't "pretend" to actually hang anyone, nor did they threaten anyone directly with the nooses. One report said the nooses were even in school colours. Perhaps it was some sort of comment about the upcoming football season to their rivals. You never know.

Now, in what seems to be a completely unrelated event, six guys jump one guy, kicking him in the head. How is that an appropriate response? These guys were out of control and deserve to be tried as adults.

I am so sick and tired of Sharpton and Jackson getting riled up about ANYthing that has the hint of racial tension involved. What was it somebody said earlier about the Duke lacrosse team? I agree -- if they were really interested in fairness and objectivity and a colourblind legal system, they would have rallied behind those lacrosse players, or at least apologized for their behaviour afterwards.

Good God... I'm agreeing with Madman.

The students were suspended for only 3 days. You can get that sort of punishment by skipping school to go out to lunch. I don't see how that punishment is harsh enough.

From what I understand, there were a lot of racially motivated events for several weeks/months after the noose hanging event. I assumed the kid that got jumped was one that hung a noose. If he wasn't, what was his involvement in any of the other incidences that occured in the time between? I don't know; I don't live anywhere near there. But I'm guessing nobody is trying to say he was the perfect little angel, except his parents.

FYI: Louisiana does have a "Anti-Bullying" law. The original students that hung the noose would be subject to breaking it, as well as the 6 that jumped the guy. All of them could be kicked out of school for the punishment. So what's the problem with just following the laws that fit the crime, instead of pushing for criminal charges against the 6? It doesn't make sense to push severe criminal charges, when the end result of the beating wasn't even all that bad. The kid is fine; he was "fine" the very same day. Probably hurt his pride more than anything else.

Expell the 6 from that school. Expell the original noose hangers, too. A relatively "simple" case has been completely blown out of proportion, and by the time it's all over, my guess is there's a DA in Louisiana that's going to come out as a real jackass, and eventually lose his job over his racism.

Guess that means you don't like hockey, huh?

You know, I used to have the same sort of attitude. No really, I did. Before my parents adopted black kids, I went through life pretty vanilla. I was blind to what subtle things go on, on a daily basis.

But my eyes have been opened to all the racist crap that goes on, every day. I'm not black, so I don't get it directed at me. But my little brother (16 and a high school junior) has had tons of instances with garbage just like these nooses, and it makes my stomach turn. NOBODY should have to go to school and worry they're going to get jumped because of the color of their skin. That goes both ways.

However, I can COMPLETELY understand how, if you constantly berate a person because of something they don't have any control over (their skin color, for example), that eventually, they're either going to cower, or they're going to lash out. I don't know what it's like to be afraid at school because of my skin color. But I've gotten plenty of calls from my little bro', when he's scared shitless, because of something some jerk said or did to him because he's black. It's pathetic.

High School kids are mean. That's a simple fact of life. So when one kid, or group of kids, set out to intimidate another, at some point, somebody is going to get their arse beat. That's just the way HS politics work.

So, no, I'm not going to feel sorry for the poor white kids that hung a noose for, according to y'all, no apparent reason whatsoever... Because I guess in Louisiana, white kids just so happen to carry around nooses and hang them from trees on a regular basis, so it's not a big deal at all...

In this particular case, the white kids started something they couldn't finish. Tough titty. I hope it taught them to keep their racism to themselves. Is it a shame one of 'em got beat down by 6 guys? Sure is. Maybe if they had learned something growing up that didn't teach them to be racist, none of it would ever have happened in the first place.

Ignorance breeds ignorance, and unfortunately, being a racist isn't a crime. But acting on your racism is, even in Louisiana. What were the 6 kids, and all the other black kids at the school, for that matter, supposed to do when they see some (it couldn't be all) of the white kids at the school INTENTIONALLY try to intimidate them, and essentially get away with it? Are they supposed to just bend over and take it?

The system failed them, in this case. I can't honestly blame them for taking things into their own hands, when their own government wouldn't protect them. At the end of the day, nobody died, nobody ended up in the hospital. The kids should be thrown out of school for fighting; that was the wrong way to go about it, and they should face the consequences.

But having a fight at school shouldn't automatically qualify you for 10-20 years in the state pen... That's as ridiculous as allowing the intimidators off with only 3 day suspension.

If the issue is whether blacks and whites were treated differently under the law, then by all means invesigate and make whatever changes are necessary.

My point is that these protesters claim to be marching against injustice but never make a peep when the injustice doesn't involve a minority. That removes any credibility they have.

There's a remarkable double standard in this country. Incompetence and criminal behavior are defended by some people simply because the incompetent person or criminal is of the same race. I just don't understand that.

I bet if your mom looked at me crooked, I'd shit my pants. But then, how else could she look at me, the hunched over old bitch.

Fuck, I'm getting nauseous just thinking about it. I'd better take some time off from XOC again.

I love hockey, actually, because it's a GAME with certain expectations built in. And even then, it has rules. You take a guy off his feet and down on the ice and beat him, the refs move in to stop it and you get a penalty. (Or at least that's how I remember it. We don't get lots of hockey coverage on TV in Texas.)

Not that you can really compare life and hockey...

Listen, I understand high school intimidation and being scared whitless of going to school. I've hidden in the bathrooms and cried. I've feigned sickness to avoid it. Kids at my elementary, junior high and high school provided taunts, jeers, and threatened beatings for me. Daily. At one point, a girl actually smacked me around the head a few times with a full 3", 3-ring binder. In a crowded hallway. Completely unprovoked. You think anything happened to her or should have happened to her? Should all of those kids who taunted or teased me have been prosecuted or suspended? Or is it only if their motivations were racial?

Moreover, if I'd gone ballistic at school because of those few dozen kids who made my life a living hell for 12 years, do you think I'd be justified?

Is this a trick question for everyone? Congrats on your apples to oranges comparison though.

Once again, there will always be racism as long as we continue to treat everyone unequally. BET, all-black schools, affirmative action, press 2 for espanol, etc. all need to go. They are a result of out-dated philosophy. Now, all they do is continue to keep everyone divided. Once we start treating everyone equally (you know, like the constitution says), racism will slowly die out... from all sides. Unfortunately, those who fight for that will be portrayed as racists by the media. :rolleyes:

I'll wait until more comes out on the before I pass final judgement on this topic. Right now, I'm wishing there was a counter-march for something we all refer to as "justice". If you wish to turn to violence as your answer, be prepared to face the punishment from the laws that have already been set up in this country. Just like everyone else no matter of skin color and/or who started what.

I just wish topics wouldn't keep coming up that Shamalamadingdong and I are on similiar sides of the fence... Talk about making me sick to my stomach...

How are WE on similar sides of the fence? I ain't no Sharpton-lovin' negro sympathiser. I'm with Madman, all the way. You can keep your...what the fuck was it? Oh yeah, "Academy of Civil Rights"....whatever that is.

Guess you've got a short memory:

But that's ok... As long as you're back to disagreeing with EVERYONE, including yourself by NOW saying you agree w/ Madman, all is right in the world...

I'm not disagreeing with myself. That's a leftist tactic, and I'm surprised you're using it. Did you get that off the Sharpton propaganda hotline?

See? I'm not agreeing with Madman.

I am Madman.

You want mojo? I've got your mojo. I'm God.

Love,

The whole damn thing is blown way out of proportion. The white kids did something that, at best, was in extremely poor taste. They got in trouble, and one of them got his ass kicked for it.

That should have been the end of the story right there.

After school brawls happened all the time when I was in school in a small town. It was part of growing up and learning to defend yourself. The noose was very inappropriate, and it appears that was dealt with. While symbolic and racist, these are kids we're talking about here. I don't know how many of you have kids in high school, but I remember when I WAS a high schooler, I thought I was pretty mature, but now that I have kids that age and see how petty, idiotic, and fickle they are, I realize that they are still just kids and have a lot of growing up to do...even at 17 or 18.

The black kids aren't criminals for this. The white kids who hung the noose are dirtbags for doing it. Move on.

I'd think Sharpton and Jackson would have something much more productive to do than continue driving a wedge into this country's race relations. That's the only purpose they serve.

If only the powers that were or are had been as successful getting as many buses to get people the fawk out of Louisiana a couple years ago when Katrina hit as they were in getting the endless parade of them to head into Louisiana now......then maybe a few less folks would have died.

I'm just saying.

That's why I said I'll hold off on final judgment. There's a big difference between a school fight and a 6 on 1 fight. And even bigger difference between that and if someone was unconscious, especially after the first blow. How is that even considered a fight? However, after even the smallest fight, those involved know that there will be consequences that follow. So no, the fight itself wouldn't be the end that.

Quote

"But my eyes have been opened to all the racist crap that goes on, every day. I'm not black, so I don't get it directed at me."

This is fukking funny shit right here......
come on down to memphis, I've been here 8 years and I've been treated like the evil white devil more times than I can count.

As I pointed out earlier, the student that was jumped was NOT one of the noose-hangers. Investigators concluded that the noose incident was separate and unrelated to the beating, with the obvious exception of both being racially motivated.

Maybe he was just 'that kid' that everyone hates and wants to kick his ass. Remember back guys. Every school had one.

I'm not downplaying that there aren't a bunch of wrongs here, but this crap needs to quit getting national media attention. It's not news.

Good observation Brad. I saw a photo yesterday with Ray Nagin in the background at some protest.... :rolleyes:

Stone

Ding, ding, ding we have a winner!!! So what if the white kid went out a few hours later? It could have gone the other way with him dying. What then? Still have them go free?

A) Hanging nooses, in and of itself, is NOT a crime. The students were suspended. That should be the end of story. Not kicked out of school; not arrested. Get a grip people.

B) 6 on 1 is not a fight. It is an assault. This was not some after school fight. Their intent was to harm or kill this white kid.

C) One of the 6 animals has a criminal record. Not some "innocent" 16 year old as he is made out to be.

D) Al Sharpton wants all charges dropped? F*ck him. I wish someone would pull a MLK on him. He is nothing but a media whore and race baitor. Where was he to apologize to the Duke 3? Exactly.

E) Racism will NEVER die in this country. It is a human emotion.

Just like someone else mentioned here, racism will NEVER go away until there is no United Negro College Fund, no all black colleges (try having an all-white college!), no affirmative action, no BET, no Ms. Black America, and free government handouts.

Stone

I don't believe everything that I read on the net or watch on TV. However, in this case it appears that there is much more to the issue that we know. Wiki has a good article with plenty of references. I am not sure how reliable these things are, but here is a link for you.

According to the information found there, there was tons of stuff going on before the fight and one of the attackers had been beaten up before the fight. Another attacker did have a violent past, but the whole freaking argument that his shoes were deadly weapons is bunch of crap. Then there was an incident with a shotgun and bunch of other fights. Did you really expect that among all of this crap people would find common sense?

Look at XOC today. We have threads about hating illegal aliens and people are ready to cut throats because of political arguments and this is a fucking on-line forum. What do you think would happen if we started to argue in real life? Do you really believe that everybody would just go home and watch the Simpsons like nothing happend.

What the black kids did is not really acceptable and they should receive some sort of a punishment, but it looks like the white kids had a hand in all the incidents as well. I find it interesting that in the accident that involved shotgun, the black kid who took the gun away from the white kid was charged with several crimes:

"Bailey being charged with three counts: theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery, and disturbing the peace. The white student who produced the weapon was not charged."

White kids got nothing.

A little bit of injustice here and there and you end up with a mob that is ready to kick some ass. The white dude ended up in a wrong place at a wrong time and I highly doubt that he got his ass kicked because the other kids had nothing to do:

"According to reports, earlier that day Barker, a white student, bragged about how one of his alleged attackers, Robert Bailey, Jr., had been beaten up by a white man the Friday before.[3] Barker, who denies making the comments, was then knocked to the ground after being hit in the back of his head."

Again, this is all taken from Wiki and we may never find the truth. But if somebody bragged about one of my friends getting his ass kicked, I would that call that person out too. Do not run your fucking loud mouth if you cannot walk the walk. Simple as that.

Shame on us that we still allow this race thing to get into the way of life. If it were up to me, I'd force every marriage to be interracial so we could finally stop calling each other names and do stupid shit that does not really matter in the long run.

Who wins when people get hurt?

Out of the same mouth? Which is it? Pro-violence or anti-violence?

Since when does opening your fat mouth justify a beating?

Actually, I think you are the winner Stone.

Unfortunately, with that answer, you will not be getting a scholarship this year to the "Porsche996 Civil Rights Academy".

Whiterussian is now in the lead to win that scholarship.

My comment to Kodiak was meant to be both facetious and a bit of social commentary. You didn't see it so we will move on.

I think you are all mixed up. Not only about the facts and details involving this Jena 6 thing, but about race and racial issues in general and the current state of race and racial identity and demagoguery in this country.

You yourself and people just like you are a large part of the problem. You are a white guy who's first instinct is to yell "racist" at other whites who aren't clouded in the fog of "guilty white - feel good - do good" syndrome. Feel good, guilty white do gooders are actually largely responsible for destroying three generations of black families in this country. You will never admit it, but your own brand of racism through emotionalism has done tremendous damage to a large segment of the population of this country.

We'll move on and get back to talking about this particular case in Jena.

You are whining and moaning about the so-called racism involved in this case. Racism to you is a one way street.

You and all those protesters in Jena, LA are now claiming some type of concern for this boy who was recently convicted. Where was your concern for this boy during the first 17 years of his life? Who helped this boy during his academic years and his athletic years in school? It was the white people in his life. His white teachers. His white coaches. His white friends and neighbors in the town. Where was the concern for this boy from the black community during his life?

Mychal Bell's father was NEVER a part of his life. He only appeared on the scene from Texas after the kid was charged in this crime. Where was this father when Bell was charged with his previous crimes? Where was the concerned black community when this boy was having other run ins with the law and developing a history of violence?

It is also beyond pathetic and disgraceful that you would compare or even categorize an intentional and vicious assault of six people against one innocent person as a typical "schoolyard fight". I am absolutely positive if the races of the perpetrators and victims were reversed, you would in no way try to explain it away as a typical schoolyard fight. It was nothing of the kind.

Some of the details of this case elude you regardless of how many times they are brought to your attention. That could be due to your one sided myopic view of racial issues.

Here is a summary of some details.....

-- The assault perpetrated by the six black kids against an innocent white kid happened 3 months after the noose in the tree incident.

-- The white kid that was beaten had nothing to do with the noose incident that occured months before. He was picked as a target solely because he was white.

-- A black U.S. attorney, Don Washington, investigated the Jena 6 case and concluded that the attack on Barker (white kid) had absolutely nothing to do with the noose-hanging incident three months before.

-- Bell's lawyer was a black man. He offered no defense for the kid and never called a single witness during the trial.

-- No black people responded to the jury summonses to serve at Bell's trial.

-- Bell had previous convictions and was still on probation at the time of his assault on the white kid, Barker.

This Jena 6 case has nothing to do with civil rights. These kids are not victims. The Jena 6 kids are filthy racist cowards who decided to gang together and attack a lone white kid. These cowards could have taken on a group of six white kids if they chose to do so, but that is not what they did.

There are a lot of people out there adding all types of other things and incidents that may have occurred in the town and trying to connect them to this case. It is all bullshit. It is all bullshit designed to create some type of sympathy for criminals.

That is what these kids are... they are criminals. They are not martyrs in a civil rights movement.

The people who are trying to turn this into some kind of civil rights issue are the real racists in our society.

Out of curiosity, why do you constantly refer to ALL people in authority figures in the town of Jena as being White?

Seriously.

Why do you think all these kids have ever had molding them were WHITE teachers, WHITE coaches, WHITE neighbors, etc... From your explanation, the kid ought to be white, and have some sort of complex as to why he's a little tanner than everybody else around him...

I guess it is hard for you to imagine that there are actually black teachers, black coaches, and black neighbors that *might* have had influences on him growing up, too. Honestly, from your posts, it's pretty clear that the only way you see a BLACK man is wearing stripes. You constantly have undertones in everything you say; you wreak with white supremacy bullshit. And what's sad, is that you don't seem to even know it.

Do really believe this kind of shit? Seriously... Do you really feel that white people that have sympathy, or white people that have actually opened their eyes to what's going on, are the ROOT CAUSE of the problem?? Wow. Just wow. You really are blind.

Yeah, it was a relatively "typical" schoolyard fight. The only thing a-typical about it was the kids are being prosecuted. How far removed from high school are you that you can't remember school-yard fights. Granted, I never saw any 6-1, but I saw plenty of 4-1, 5-2, etc. fights. And to be perfectly honest, it wasn't always the majority side that won.

Hell, we don't even know how many of the 6 were ACTUALLY actively participating. For all practical purposes, it could've been 2 or 3 of 'em doing the beating, while the others watched. For some reason or another, only 1 of them is being held, currently. Doesn't that kind of make you think maybe the news reports aren't exactly forthcoming on all the events?

I am against violence but everything has its limits. As I said, I highly doubt that a kid got beat up just because he was standing and listening to his iPod. He obviously did something to cause a reaction. Yeah, they kids might have overreacted, but what did anybody expect to happen in an environment that was so charged?

Porsche, I totally don't mean to deflate your big Sharpton-lovin' balloon or anything, but you're arguing....with this guy:



Just, like, sit on that for a second.

Thank you for reminding me of the "audience"...

You know, you're a lot more tolerable when you disappear for long stretches at a time... When you going away again?

I have never said that ALL authority figures in Jena, LA are white. Where did you get that shit? I have also never constantly referred to the authority figures in the town at all. You have reading comprehension problems.

If you want to talk about the demographics of Jena, then we will discuss them.

Jena is a town with a population of 2,971 according the 2000 Census. 85% are white and 12% are black. With that demographic makeup, how many authority figures in that town would you claim are black?

No black people even responded to their jury duty summonses to serve on the kid's jury.

Quote:

I guess it is hard for you to imagine that there are actually black teachers, black coaches, and black neighbors that *might* have had influences on him growing up, too. Honestly, from your posts, it's pretty clear that the only way you see a BLACK man is wearing stripes. You constantly have undertones in everything you say; you wreak with white supremacy bullshit. And what's sad, is that you don't seem to even know it.

There you go again. Your only response to your complete emotional illogic is to call other people racists.

The kid is a criminal. He committed a criminal act. He has committed numerous criminal acts in his short life.

You refuse to admit that fact. You do nothing but ignore the facts and make excuses for this kid.

Quote:

Do really believe this kind of shit? Seriously... Do you really feel that white people that have sympathy, or white people that have actually opened their eyes to what's going on, are the ROOT CAUSE of the problem?? Wow. Just wow. You really are blind.

The white people and government bureaucrats that ruined generations of black people in this country didn't do it out of any sympathy. Prior to their intervention, the black family unit in America was largely in tact. Look at it today. It has been largely destroyed.

The topic is too big to get into in this thread. It's probably also a waste to discuss it with you. I have a feeling that you would have no comprehension of the topic due to your current state of delusion and denial.

Quote:

Yeah, it was a relatively "typical" schoolyard fight. The only thing a-typical about it was the kids are being prosecuted. How far removed from high school are you that you can't remember school-yard fights. Granted, I never saw any 6-1, but I saw plenty of 4-1, 5-2, etc. fights. And to be perfectly honest, it wasn't always the majority side that won.

Just the fact that you claim it is typical for 6 kids to randomly target one kid for a viscous assault and beating is indicative of your deluded senses.

I remember numerous fights from my teenage years. Never once did anyone that I know organize a gang to viscously attack and beat a single innocent kid. Your little group of martyrs did just that, only it was far uglier. They did it because of the color of the kids skin.

You are a disgrace the way you keep defending these racist cowards.

Quote:

Hell, we don't even know how many of the 6 were ACTUALLY actively participating. For all practical purposes, it could've been 2 or 3 of 'em doing the beating, while the others watched. For some reason or another, only 1 of them is being held, currently. Doesn't that kind of make you think maybe the news reports aren't exactly forthcoming on all the events?

We already know that all of them were involved. They were identified by witnesses and they have all been charged with crimes. Their trials are coming up in the very near future. Also... four will be tried as adults because they were over 17 at the time of the attack.

This kid Bell isn't even allowed out on bond because of his lengthy criminal record, yet for some reason the fact that this kid is a racist criminal somehow eludes you.

Fuck that shit.

Miss out on comedy gold like this little morsel of misguided hysteria?

I don't think so.

I'll leave when you stop worshipping Sharpton, you leftist.

Everything has its limits, I agree, but does that necessarily mean that there shouldn't be consequences? Where do you draw the line? For all we know, this was the fifth fight in a week involving these kids, and it finally went too far. Over the limit. Which means legal action.

Again, we don't really know what happened. These six kids could be a helluva lot worse than we all think. They could also be a helluva lot better.

For anybody here actually interested in the facts of the case, there's an excellent AP article in today's Atlanta paper that delves into what really happened.

Full article

Excerpts:

=====

In July, the first to be tried, Mychal Bell, was convicted after two hours of deliberations by an all-white jury on reduced charges of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit it.

(It was widely reported that Bell, now 17, was an honor student with no prior criminal record. Although he had a high grade-point average, he was, in fact, on probation for at least two counts of battery and a count of criminal damage to property. In any event, his conviction was overturned because an appeals court ruled he should not have been tried as an adult.)

=====

Consider:

-The so-called "white tree" at Jena High, often reported to be the domain of only white students, was nothing of the sort, according to teachers and school administrators; students of all races, they say, congregated under it at one time or another.

-Two nooses - not three - were found dangling from the tree. Beyond being offensive to blacks, the nooses were cut down because black and white students "were playing with them, pulling on them, jump-swinging from them, and putting their heads through them," according to a black teacher who witnessed the scene.

-There was no connection between the September noose incident and December attack, according to Donald Washington, an attorney for the U.S. Justice Department in western Louisiana, who investigated claims that these events might be race-related hate crimes.

-The three youths accused of hanging the nooses were not suspended for just three days - they were isolated at an alternative school for about a month, and then given an in-school suspension for two weeks.

-The six-member jury that convicted Bell was, indeed, all white. However, only one in 10 people in LaSalle Parish is African American, and though black residents were selected randomly by computer and summoned for jury selection, none showed up.
=====

Somebody sold a lot of people a bill of goods on this one. Take what you will from the article, but again, I'd like to see if even a fraction of those protesters could recite the facts of the case. My guess is no.

I found my soul mate!

MY Boycott against BET and Black History Month

Ok, besides being extremely hot, she said basically the same thing as I've been saying:

The simple question you have to ask yourself is if the beaters were white and the beaten was black, would you support them being in jail? If you answer "Yes" to that question, then you can't say that the "Jena 6" should be released from prison.

This is at least second degree battery, definitely assault, and the argument could be made for attempted murder. You don't kick a guy in the head repeatedly because you're hoping he'll be around tomorrow...

This article by the District Attorney of LaSalle Parish (which includes Jena) appeared in The New York Times. It really clears things up for anyone interested in the law as opposed to rhetoric.

Justice in Jena

THE case of the so-called Jena Six has fired the imaginations of thousands, notably young African-Americans who, according to many of their comments, believe they will be in the vanguard of a new civil rights movement. Whether America needs a new civil rights movement I leave to social activists, politicians and the people who must give life to such a cause.

I am a small-town lawyer and prosecutor. For 16 years, it has been my job as the district attorney to review each criminal case brought to me by the police department or the sheriff, match the facts to any applicable laws and seek justice for those who have been harmed. The work is often rewarding, but not always.

I do not question the sincerity or motivation of the 10,000 or more protesters who descended on Jena last week, after riding hundreds of miles on buses. But long before reaching our town of 3,000 people, they had decided that a miscarriage of justice was taking place here. Their anger at me was summed up by a woman who said, “If you can figure out how to make a schoolyard fight into an attempted murder charge, I’m sure you can figure out how to make stringing nooses into a hate crime.”

That could be a compelling statement to someone trying to motivate listeners on a radio show, but as I am a lawyer obligated to enforce the laws of my state, it does not work for me.

I cannot overemphasize how abhorrent and stupid I find the placing of the nooses on the schoolyard tree in late August 2006. If those who committed that act considered it a prank, their sense of humor is seriously distorted. It was mean-spirited and deserves the condemnation of all decent people.

But it broke no law. I searched the Louisiana criminal code for a crime that I could prosecute. There is none.

Similarly, the United States attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, who is African-American, found no federal law against what was done.

A district attorney cannot take people to trial for acts not covered in the statutes. Imagine the trampling of individual rights that would occur if prosecutors were allowed to pursue every person whose behavior they disapproved of.

The “hate crime” the protesters wish me to prosecute does not exist as a stand-alone offense in Louisiana law. It’s not that our Legislature has turned a blind eye to crimes motivated by race or other personal characteristics, but it has addressed the problem in a way that does not cover what happened in Jena. The hate crime statute is used to enhance the sentences of defendants found guilty of specific crimes, like murder or rape, who chose their victims based on race, religion, sexual orientation or other factors.

Last week, a reporter asked me whether, if I had it to do over, I would do anything differently. I didn’t think of it at the time, but the answer is yes. I would have done a better job of explaining that the offenses of Dec. 4, 2006, did not stem from a “schoolyard fight” as it has been commonly described in the news media and by critics.

Conjure the image of schoolboys fighting: they exchange words, clench fists, throw punches, wrestle in the dirt until classmates or teachers pull them apart. Of course that would not be aggravated second-degree battery, which is what the attackers are now charged with. (Five of the defendants were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder.) But that’s not what happened at Jena High School.

The victim in this crime, who has been all but forgotten amid the focus on the defendants, was a young man named Justin Barker, who was not involved in the nooses incident three months earlier. According to all the credible evidence I am aware of, after lunch, he walked to his next class. As he passed through the gymnasium door to the outside, he was blindsided and knocked unconscious by a vicious blow to the head thrown by Mychal Bell. While lying on the ground unaware of what was happening to him, he was brutally kicked by at least six people.

Imagine you were walking down a city street, and someone leapt from behind a tree and hit you so hard that you fell to the sidewalk unconscious. Would you later describe that as a fight?

Only the intervention of an uninvolved student protected Mr. Barker from severe injury or death. There was serious bodily harm inflicted with a dangerous weapon — the definition of aggravated second-degree battery. Mr. Bell’s conviction on that charge as an adult has been overturned, but I considered adult status appropriate because of his role as the instigator of the attack, the seriousness of the charge and his prior criminal record.

I can understand the emotions generated by the juxtaposition of the noose incident with the attack on Mr. Barker and the outcomes for the perpetrators of each. In the final analysis, though, I am bound to enforce the laws of Louisiana as they exist today, not as they might in someone’s vision of a perfect world.

That is what I have done. And that is what I must continue to do.

Reed Walters is the district attorney of LaSalle Parish.