Link fest 2000
Hey. So I still haven't worked up the gumption to post that blog I've been thinking about (sorry Crystal). I was just sick of looking at the post I put up after consuming all those, um, prescription back pills.It's been pretty quiet 'round these parts lately, as it usually is. I'm done with traveling for a little while, which is good for my wallet but bad for my only-slightly-whetted appetite for getting outta Dodge. Been hanging with my man Paul a lot, which is great cuz I haven't seen that guy in a minute. I've been obsessed with Ratatat, Flight of the Conchords and BSG lately. The former makes me feel a little hep (as Raoul Duke would say), the latter makes Drew harass me nonstop.
And Flight of the Conchords...well, that just some of the most brilliant television ever.
I've also been trying to follow all this shit going down in Jena, La. (WARNING: Political rant to follow.) If this is, in fact, the "beginning of the 21st century civil rights movement" as the Rev. Al Sharpton and others have pointed out, it seems like it's auspicious at best.
While I whole-heartedly agree that there was injustice in the whole situation, and the legal system is CLEARLY completely and totally racist, the whole issue would be much clearer and easier to rally behind if the suspects hadn't committed the crime. They were treated unfairly, yes - they were unjustly sentenced and bail was set too high and the jury, judge and prosecutor were all 100% white - but they still beat up that kid. It wasn't bad - the white kid went to a school function the night he was beaten - but it was still six on one and a crime did happen.
This isn't a Parks/King/Lewis struggle, where the bad guys and good guys were clearly drawn out - the bad guys were using dogs and fire hoses, the good guys were organizing sit-ins and making speeches and calling on God to help them. It could be that, 40 years from now, we'll point back to Jena and say that we wish "things were that clear now," but part of me can't help but feel conflicted about the whole situation. On the whole, I come down on the side of the Jena 6 and (perhaps especially) their families. But I find it hard to believe that this could be the start of something as meaningful or important as what happened all those years ago.
posted by Werd @ 11:31 AM
4 Comments:
I had this same argument, er, discussion with someone a couple of days ago. I have no doubt that racism and discrimination are alive and well and maybe we do need to jump start a 21st century civil rights movement. But I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea of making heroes out of some kids who (probably justifiably) beat the shit out of someone else, with a 6-1 advantage.
On the other hand, you can't always wait for the perfect moment in history or perfect sympathetic character to make social change. Looking at it from an organizer's point of view, sometimes you just have to seize the moments that do come, no matter how imperfect, in order to advance your cause at all.
ps- you missed some tasty stir-fry
ALSO, you should post that interview you did with yourself. t'would be fascinating reading, I'm sure.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Oh hey, sup. I'm obvi not used to this as I accidentally deleted what I just wrote, but let's try again.
A)While I whole-heartedly agree that there was injustice in the whole situation, and the legal system is CLEARLY completely and totally racist, the whole issue would be much clearer and easier to rally behind if the suspects hadn't committed the crime.
I think it's worth pointing out that no one is saying they didn't commit the crime. The demands of the family are fair and equal treatment, removal of the DA, investigation into the nooses incident, workshops on undoing racism, etc. Isn't it more useful to focus on the racist legal system and say "THAT is an embarrassment and unacceptable, let's change it immediately" rather than to quibble about the boys who did something that normally gets chalked up to an adolescent fight and in this case was painted as conspiracy to commit murder...with tennis shoes?
2)But I find it hard to believe that this could be the start of something as meaningful or important as what happened all those years ago.
The amazing thing is not that six kids beat up another kid. The amazing thing is that all this organizing was done by the families. That it wasn't the ACLU or another well known group making decisions, this was purely the families being empowered and standing up for themselves. They had a campaign going long before the national media touched this story. The amazing thing is that over 10,000 people, mostly black, went to Jena for a day and and shut it down. That everyone was, even if just for a few hours, in solidarity saying 'this shit is fucked' and we're sick of it. I think we can look at that now, much less forty years from now, and say that's meaningful, and it rules.
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