David Bowie has donated $10,000 to the Jena 6 defense fund. In case you've been hiding under a rock, this case involves 6 black teens in Jena, Louisiana. They are charged with attacking a white boy on December 4, 2006. The six boys in question were all initially charged with assault, but the charges have been raised to attempted second-degree murder. I won't go into all the details, but you can read more about it on Wikipedia. Suffice it to say that the trial of Mychal Bell, one of the 6 boys, was nothing more than a sham and a joke.
All of this has led to many people stepping forward to defend the boys including the NAACP, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and even rapper/actor Mos Def. A rally for the boys is scheduled for tomorrow. Rocker David Bowie was so moved by the incident that he donated to the defense fund.
"There is clearly a separate and unequal judicial process going on in the town of Jena," Bowie said Tuesday in an e-mail statement. "A donation to the Jena Six Legal Defense Fund is my small gesture indicating my belief that a wrongful charge and sentence should be prevented."
Though the conviction of Mychal Bell was overturned, Bell remains in jail because he cannot post the $90,000 bond required to get him out.
If you wish to get involved, you can find out how to help through the NAACP website.
bunch of cry baby bitches. i cant believe david bowie donated money to this * up cause. im ashamed to say that i live an hour from the manurehole town of "black" infested "people" as of thurday.
stop being a nigger and deal with life. you want everything handed to you for nothing. im sick and tired of supporting blacks because they are black. not my fault. pull a micheal jackson and turn yourself white
It is awful the way these teens are treated. Maybe they should be punished but not with a second degree murder charge that's something that could ruin them for the rest of thier lives. I can feel what they are going through, especially by been treated different because of their race. I'm a black single mother living in Memphis, TN but working in Southaven, MS and for two years I've tried to obtain a fulltime day shift position. When a day shift becomes available I do apply but its always given to someone of the white race. Six times I've been looked over and you would think Baptist-Desoto is the best hospital to work.
GUEST ( Guest ) 2007-09-19 20:36:42
(QUOTEbunch of cry baby bitches. i cant believe david bowie donated money to this * up cause. im ashamed to say that i live an hour from the manurehole town of "black" infested "people" as of thurday.
stop being a nigger and deal with life. you want everything handed to you for nothing. im sick and tired of supporting (QUOTE/)
Just finished reading the background story. Donation or no donation there's something really wrong at that school. Perhaps he could have givven another 10.000 for some student counseling - it's needed.
In a atmosphere like that things like this are bound to happen... sadly
Also, no bad words about the Bowie.. the man made it to Spongebob.
The Jena 6 story is a aweful human tradgedy for all Americans and each of the youth involved –black or white. These children are growing up in an enviornment where they are exposed to generations of degregation and hate which contributes to low self-esteem. The burden of having to be white and play that hate out on others as a matter of your geographical heritage. The burden of being black and wondering daily if a negative experience is born of reason or racism. The school should have called in GREIF COUNSELORS as a result of the initial tree incident. Racisim is so deeply rooted in the minds, hearts and behaviors of many Americans and ignorance prevails as non-blacks are disconnected from the pain and suffering of other human beings and find it easier to say that blacks are cry babies or playing the race card because they find certain events intolerable. The truth be known schools are investing in disaster plans to protect students from external terroristic treats; however, internal strife is a far worse CLAIMITY than foreign invasion has ever been. People of all races should watch the CNN documentry JUDGEMENT IN JENA and get involved, because a justice system run a mock has a way of coming back to visit each of us – “Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere” (Dr. MLK). The Jena 6 story has played out as a very insightful reflection of American History.
Many more Americans of all races should be moved enough to donate money to the Jena 6 defense fund so that the case may be appealed beyond the power of the State of Louisiana and they will have a chance to see that the world has moved on and left them behind.
Racisim is so deeply rooted in the minds, hearts and behaviors of many Americans and ignorance prevails as non-blacks are disconnected from the pain and suffering of other human beings and find it easier to say that blacks are cry babies or playing the race card because they find certain events intolerable.
Define non-blacks... (Between you and me I like the "Twisted transistor" def. best!)
Enfin, I think it's quite a statement to say that non blacks are disconneted from the suffering of other human beings and find it easier to say that blacks are cry babies or playing the race card because they find certain events intolerable.
I mean you rant about racism and at the same time you judge every non-black person? I think they have a word for that... ehmmm... racism??
Yes, I agree ythat there are a lot of ignorant people out there but we're all ignorant at some level and Americans certainly don't have the monopoly on ignorant behaviour.
Now as a former psychology student I also have to mention that rasicm actually is very normal and human behaviour. Not American or non-black behaviour but human behaviour as the brain perceives strange/mutated/different things as a potential danger.
Some tend to hang in caveman behaviour others can actually overcome their drifts - it's not all bad out there.
Also, I assume you are from African origin... Would it be to bold to ask how many people from non-african of more specific european decendance belong to your circle of friends - because if yes I even more wonder how you can make a statement like that?
Anyway... my english.. could somebody please tell me if I spelled rasicm right... I have no spelling check on this computer... Sigh also tell me why I'm talking about something I can not even spell.
Also, I assume you are from African origin... Would it be to bold to ask how many people from non-african of more specific european decendance belong to your circle of friends - because if yes I even more wonder how you can make a statement like that?
WHOA! I think that there is definately something lost in translation here!
Uttam, I would have written the same statement describing "blacks and non-blacks", but I am your basic Caucasian female who has several African-American friends and my best friend in graduate school was black. (Sprout, I said graduate school...after graduate school was when my best buddy was from India).
I think that the writer was getting at the fact that racial tensions still exist in the US, but the root of the problem has shifted. While there is no longer legally mandated segregation, there is great tension between blacks, who maintain that there is still a great deal of covert prejudice, and generations of whites, who are too young to remember the civil rights marches, wondering why blacks are still angry because they won the right to do what they want. That is where the "crybaby" label is commonly used.
What this poster stated rings true to me. I was raised in a moderately affluent neighborhood in Missouri where middle-class blacks were welcomed and treated as equals. I never saw prejudice until college - and then it was black students acting out against white students. I'm not talking about one or two, either, I'm talking about large groups of black young males running around campus abusively yelling racial slurs in white kids' faces. I was shocked, how could these black kids that held the qualifications to attend a large public university be this angry at those of us who never did anything to them? We were all either not born or just babies during the civil rights marches.
If anything, I would guess that this writer is white, and from a part of the country that only has white/black racial tensions and not white/Hispanic or white/Native American tensions. Moving to Albuquerque was quite a learning experience for me. The racial divide was different - it was white/Hispanic/Native American. Surprisingly, the Hispanics and Native Americans also had strong racial bias against each other. Most blacks in NM are stationed at Air Force bases, and they sometimes are included with Caucasians in city/state statistics.
You were right when you said that prejudice is a part of human nature, and that some people are determined to return to the value of cavemen.
As far as I am concerned, the Jena school board is directly to blame for exacerbating racial tensions. If they really wanted to stop this crap, they would have chopped down the "white tree" years ago and taken a "no tolerance" policy towards anything that hinted at racism.
Shenova the Uttam-spanker said:WHOA! I think that there is definately something lost in translation here!
LOL! Ok.. what did I say again about we all are ignorant at some level. I read your piece and the guest piece several times and I think I can see where I went wrong.
I hate it that English is not my first language.
I hate it when I'm wrong. LOL!
Shenova said: Uttam, I would have written the same statement describing "blacks and non-blacks", but I am your basic Caucasian female who has several African-American friends and my best friend in graduate school was black. (Sprout, I said graduate school...after graduate school was when my best buddy was from India).
Firstlyieie. I have a slight problem with the term black or non-blacks as both terms seem so vague to me. I'm of Surinamese, Indian, Dutch origin so in which category I go? And if I'm a non-black could it really be true that I'm that uncompassionate and really are "disconeccted from the suffering of other human beings and find it easier to say that blacks are cry babies or playing the race card because they find certain events intolerable."
History doesn't have a colour and no matter from which part of the world you hail it sure is absurd not to feel or understand the frustration and anger for all that happened as pain and suffering don't have a colour also.
When I used the line "more specifick of European decendance" I was referring to the post-slavery period before our/your generation because like you said we were either to young or not even born to remember that period and to be blamed for something you didn't take part doesn't make sense but also being blamed for being disconnected doesn't makes sense as we all are human.
I'm not doubting the writers intensions but that specific line just triggered me.
Assuming that the writer was from african origin was just plain dum of me and perhaps indicates some prejudice myside.
Talking about the writer - honey you got me curious!
Shenova said: What this poster stated rings true to me. I was raised in a moderately affluent neighborhood in Missouri where middle-class blacks were welcomed and treated as equals. I never saw prejudice until college - and then it was black students acting out against white students. I'm not talking about one or two, either, I'm talking about large groups of black young males running around campus abusively yelling racial slurs in white kids' faces. I was shocked, how could these black kids that held the qualifications to attend a large public university be this angry at those of us who never did anything to them? We were all either not born or just babies during the civil rights marches
.
Yes, It happens both ways. Our/my generation have 9-11 that broke a lot of friendships and brought a lot of division. You can not not compare both situations but the aftermath of 9-11 have situations of prejudice alike.
Again that's why the line triggered me. It's not the same situation but the tension, the comments, the hostility, the confusion it's no diffrent. For us not be able to relate to that period or understand seems out of line to me.
Shenova said: As far as I am concerned, the Jena school board is directly to blame for exacerbating racial tensions. If they really wanted to stop this crap, they would have chopped down the "white tree" years ago and taken a "no tolerance" policy towards anything that hinted at racism.
Wholeheartedly agree with you!
Anyone?
Chop, chop!
~Uttam~
Before I speak, I have something important to say
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