okay so i wrote most of this essay today, i like it a whole lot. it could probably use some editing, but i ran out of time. anyway it's about the whole ordeal with the "jena 6"
The Jena Six are not a Movement[/u][/b]
Racism is no longer the giant it once was. Even so, it still exists in the hearts of many. The controversy surrounding the “Jena Six” is a shining example of racism today. While segregation has been abolished for many years now it is still employed by many, though not in the same fashion. There are many other examples or racism on campuses nationwide.
It started long before the imprisonment of the “Jena 6” as the media and thousands of others call them. Tensions had been flaring for months before. The events leading up to the incident are believed to been started when several black students attending Jena High School sat under what was known as the “white tree.” Called the “white tree” due to it being a meme for white students to sit under it. This is not to say that there was not self-segregation going on as well.
There was the white alumnus that pulled a shotgun on three unarmed black students. This is something that needed some kind of news-spot. The black students were exiting a convenience store and stopped when looking down the barrel of a shotgun. The black students managed to get the gun away from the gunman. They would later be charged with theft. The former white student would not have any charges pressed. This is an example of racism on multiple levels. There is both the bias to the white student to the theft charge. This is an example of injustice. The “Jena 6” had been treated unfairly as well; the flaws of how the situation is being treated are gaping wide.
I do not look to the “Jena 6” and see heroes. A white male would automatically will almost immediately taken as a racist with such a standpoint. The actions of the Jena 6 were not in line with the teaching of many civil rights leaders. The Jena 6 beat another student. It was six against one. Regardless of race, this should not register as an act that can go without punishment. The student that was beaten was a racist bigot. As that he deserved every punch and kick thrown at him. As a human he deserved none of it. The Latino/African-American rapper known as Immortal Technique put it best during the spoken word session, “The Poverty of Philosophy.” “My enemy is not the average white man, it's not the kid down the block or the kids I see on the street…The generals of the armies that are mostly conservatives those are the real [people]… that I need to bring it to, not the poor, broke country-ass soldier that's too stupid to know [a thing]… about the way things are set up.” Perhaps not preaching non-violence, but preaching to at least direct the anger one has for the injustices they experience somewhere it will actually have an effect.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quite honestly would not approve of the actions of any of the Jena 6. He would see them as thugs that were ignorant of the idea he taught the most, non-violence. Dr. King would spend much time training groups in peaceful protest. They would be taught to do nothing while racial slurs would be screamed into their faces, only to continue marching. They would be taught to do nothing while they were sprayed with fire hoses, only to get up and keep marching. They would be taught to do nothing while the police forces would attempt, beat, mace, and brutalize them, only to keep marching. What did the Jena 6 do? They beat a boy down in hopes to dash racism, or at least not be bothered any longer.
The Jena six were arrested for attempted murder. This is an obvious overstatement, as the boy was able to attend an event held by the school the night of his now infamous beating. Protests began almost immediately; “FREE THE JENA SIX” would be on every button, tee shirt, and poster for weeks. In the heat of the moment they charges were lowered for all but one of the 6 to something of the effect of aggravated battery. The 6th is a seventeen-year-old male who plays on the high school’s football team. Due to his past criminal record he would be tried as an adult. He had been convicted of the attempted murder. It would later be overturned. All of the 6 are back on the streets, but they are merely out on bail, they will serve time. This is how it should be.
The entire world surround the Jena 6 is a façade. They cannot be the new civil rights movement’s poster children. They are thugs. These boys did not try to kill anyone. If they did, the white student would be long dead. The 6, did however, beat a boy with intent to severely hurt him, this is not the way to a new civil rights movement. It is a way to anarchy and this democracy falling. Rapper Immortal Technique also said that “Many of us are in the same boat and it's sinking, while these bougie [expletive] ride on a luxury liner, and as long as we keep fighting over kicking people out of the little boat we're all in, we're gonna miss an opportunity to gain a better standard of living as a whole.” The only way to abolish racism is through peaceful protest. There is nothing stronger than this.
