Anybody following the Jena 6 story?

[Ilovebigcats]

Just curious what your thoughts are.

http://www.whileseated.org/photo/003244.shtml

[Shellie]

I try to avoid this conversation.

If you are black and support the 6 boys, you are a racist.

If you are white and don't support the 6 boys, you are a racist.

I will say this. I was strongly disappointed in T.D. Jakes and his opinion of it.

[jessicacook]

I will say this. I was strongly disappointed in T.D. Jakes and his opinion of it.

What did he say?

[rough_rider]

September 2006, a group of African American high school students in Jena, Louisiana, asked the school for permission to sit beneath a "whites only" shade tree

Whites Only!

[Shellie]

Several of the students have said that there was no "whites only" tree. Truth or no...it has been denied.

[rough_rider]

I will say this. I was strongly disappointed in T.D. Jakes and his opinion of it.

What did he say?

So what did he say?

[pastorables]

Several of the students have said that there was no "whites only" tree. Truth or no...it has been denied.

In a small still mostly segregated section of rural Louisiana, an all white jury heard a series of white witnesses called by a white prosecutor testify in a courtroom overseen by a white judge in a trial of a fight at the local high school where a white student who had been making racial taunts was hit by black students. The fight was the culmination of a series of racial incidents starting when whites responded to black students sitting under the "white tree" at their school by hanging three nooses from the tree.

What about the noose in the tree? Has that been denied also?

pa

[pastorables]

I will say this. I was strongly disappointed in T.D. Jakes and his opinion of it.

What did he say?

So what did he say?

Bishop T.D. Jakes' Statement Regarding Jena 6

Jena, Louisiana. Like most of America, I had never heard of this small town of a little less than 3,000.

A few months ago, had you asked anyone outside of Jena if they ever heard of it, you would have been greeted with blank stares.

Today, the question is not if you have heard of Jena, Louisiana, the question is if you haven’t.

Jena, Louisiana is at the center of a heated controversy fueled by allegations of racism that carry an unpleasant reminder that the events and actions that brought so much shame to the South during the 50’s and 60’s still exist today.

The “Jena 6”, as dubbed by the media, has ignited a fierce debate over racism in America and has motivated busloads of Americans, from all across the country to make the journey to Jena, Louisiana and to do as our fathers and mothers did during the civil rights movements of the 60’s; to march, to protest, and to demand justice.

While I am a firm believer that marching and protesting raises awareness, our parents and the previous generation took that route because for most, that was their only option, their only way to voice their displeasure, their only way to fight. It is effective at raising awareness and showing support.

Today, many of us have the financial resources to support the fight against injustices by exploring other options. It is equally important that we help the families fight this very expensive battle. Helping can be done in many ways ....Those who have no resources can give time or volunteer to help. Most of us can do something.

I have decided to make a $6,000 donation to the "Jena 6" defense fund. Additionally, I will continue to monitor the case and will make additional financial contributions as I am led to do so.

I reach out and challenge those of us who can, to contribute financially to the defense of these young men. Perhaps you are unable to be there physically. Your schedule like mine may not always allow you to show up on a particular day or time.... However, I challenge those of us who can to give financially, not for publicity, not for fame, not for notoriety, but because it is the right thing to do.

There is an old saying, when you are searching for something, "It is better to light a candle and see, than to scream blindly into the darkness." Financial support combined with raising the awareness of an injustice by protest, is a powerful resource that can yield incredible results. I implore you to, after we have so vividly pointed out the injustice’s that still haunt our country, to provide the financial backing to allow them to fight the good fight.

It is our responsibility to ensure that justice is served and I challenge each one of you who can, to make a financial contribution so these young men will have the chance to stand up and defend themselves. If all of us do what we can, the job will get done.


Bishop T. D. Jakes
Senior Pastor/Founder
The Potter’s House of Dallas, Inc.

[pastorables]

Racism is real. It is real around the world, it is real in the U.S., and it is real in the church. This is a subject that infuriates and saddens me all at the same time. I've seen so much of this while serving as pastor in the south and now I see it from a business perspective. As a pastor, it usually involved a Caucasian dislike of African Americans. Now, it involves a Caucasian dislike of too many Hispanics moving into the south. Racism must stop. It's a cancer. No, it doesn't always generate from whites, I've just been closer to instances where it did. Racism is sin and the Bible is clear about that. This is the year 2007 and I am incensed that this has to be an issue. I am trying my best to raise my child to accept all nationalities of people regardless of color or culture. It's challenging enough without things like Jena, LA muddying the water. May the Lord help us.

Okay... off my soapbox for the moment...

Actually, we even had a truck come by the store today with a huge 3 x 5 rebel flag flying from the C.B. antenna. I wondered what kind of statement was being attempted?

pa

[TW]

Let's remove the race card from this and examine the verifiable facts.

Fact number one- Three people did something that offended other people.

Fact number two - Those three people received the maximum punishment allowable for their offense, as there were no laws broken they could not be charged with criminal charges.

Fact number three - Six of the offended group attacked another person, knocking them unconscious and then continuing the assault by repeatedly kicking the unconscious victim.

Fact number four - The six were charged with criminal charges.

Fact number five - The one defendant that remained in jail was denied bail because he was on probation for two previous assault charges at the time of the attack.

By leaving the race card out of the mix I see no problem with the way in which this case is being handled.

I must ask if the races of the people involved were reversed would there be the kind of response that we are seeing? In all likelyhood we would be seeing the press and the civil rights activist shouting "HATE CRIME!"

Does prejudice exist? Yes, but it exist within both camps.

Just some food for thought.


TW

[Poimen]

Let's remove the race card from this and examine the verifiable facts.

Fact number one- Three people did something that offended other people.

Fact number two - Those three people received the maximum punishment allowable for their offense, as there were no laws broken they could not be charged with criminal charges.

Fact number three - Six of the offended group attacked another person, knocking them unconscious and then continuing the assault by repeatedly kicking the unconscious victim.

Fact number four - The six were charged with criminal charges.

Fact number five - The one defendant that remained in jail was denied bail because he was on probation for two previous assault charges at the time of the attack.

By leaving the race card out of the mix I see no problem with the way in which this case is being handled.

I must ask if the races of the people involved were reversed would there be the kind of response that we are seeing? In all likelyhood we would be seeing the press and the civil rights activist shouting "HATE CRIME!"

Does prejudice exist? Yes, but it exist within both camps.

Just some food for thought.


TW

That sounds like righteous judgment to me.

[pastorables]

Let's remove the race card from this and examine the verifiable facts.

Fact number one- Three people did something that offended other people.

Fact number two - Those three people received the maximum punishment allowable for their offense, as there were no laws broken they could not be charged with criminal charges.

Fact number three - Six of the offended group attacked another person, knocking them unconscious and then continuing the assault by repeatedly kicking the unconscious victim.

Fact 2 and half - The District Attorney, Reed Walters, was called in to directly address black students at the school and told them all he could "end their life with a stroke of the pen."

This seems to be nothing more than the spirit of white supremacist power at work. This seems to have added fuel to the fire.

I hope I'm wrong.

pa

[TW]

Fact 2 and half - The District Attorney, Reed Walters, was called in to directly address black students at the school and told them all he could "end their life with a stroke of the pen."

This seems to be nothing more than the spirit of white supremacist power at work. This seems to have added fuel to the fire.

I hope I'm wrong.

pa

A small correction is in order here. DA Walters addressed the entire student body of Jena High School at an assembly. It has been reported in the liberal media that he addressed the black students with this remark, however those reporting it were not present in that assembly.


TW

[Shellie]

TW,

Thank you for making my point. This is why I try to avoid this type of conversation. If you stand up and say you feel these boys are properly charged, you are a racist.

I listened to the parents of the black boys say that the ones who hung the nooses should have gotten harsher punishment. I don't disagree that they should have been punished and from what I understand, they were. However, no one was actually physically hurt.

Then, I heard these exact same parents say that "if" their children beat this boy, they should receive a lighter charge then what they are. They think the boys are being charged with attempted murder because they are black. No, how about they are charged with attempted murder because 6 boys jumped on 1 boy and beat him to the point of being unrecognizable.

I guarantee that if 6 white boys jumped 1 black boy, these same parents would want them charged with attempted murder AND a hate crime.

[Shellie]

I think that TD Jakes asking people to donate to these boys defense funds is the same as supporting them for what they did. He calls it an injustice.

I do not deny that racism is real. What I fight against is that these boys being charged for this crime is an issue of race.

THEY DID IT. THEY BEAT A BOY TO A PULP. 6 OF THEM ON ONE.

Being charged with attempted murder is an injustice? It saddens me that to find that ridiculous is likened to racism.