JUSTICE FOR JENA? FORGET IT

Lately, there has been much in the news about the alleged injustices in "The Jena 6" case. What I am going to say about this case will probably result in accusations that I am a racist. As a matter of fact, I have been called a racist on many occasions. Is that because I hate minorities? Is that because I feel superior to minorities? Is that because I favor discrimination against minorities? The answer is a resounding "no" to all three questions.

Actually, I abhor all forms of racial and ethnic discrimination and intolerance. Because I call my shots as I see them, I am sure there have been occasions when my views on minority or religious issues have pissed-off some blacks and Hispanics, and lots of Muslims. In the past, I've been accused by white liberals of being a racist. They've even called me a Nazi. Call me insensitive if you like, but does that make me a racist? That aside, let's get to the administration of justice in the central Louisiana town of Jena.

Jena is a sleepy little Southern town of some 3,000 residents, 85% of whom are white. While its high school is integrated, students tended to cluster socially around their own racial group, as is the case in every high school in the country. There is a sort of voluntary resegration in which different groups stake out their own territorial domain. In Jena's high school, white students chose a shady oak tree as their domain.

Here is a synopsis of the events that heightened racial tensions in Jena. A black student asked for and was given permission by the principal to sit under the "white tree." White students then hung some nooses from the tree. That led to a number of fights between black and white students, as well as other incidents, some involving adults. Several weeks later, six black youths brutally attacked a white student, beating and kicking him into unconsciousness.

"The Jena 6" were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder, a charge which was subsequently reduced. Only one has been tried so far. Mychal Bell, 16 at the time of the unprovoked attack, was tried as an adult and convicted by an all-white jury on charges which could have sent him to prison for 15 years. An appeals court overturned the conviction, ruling that Bell, who had four prior violent crime convictions, should not have been tried as an adult. With his prior history of violence, he was denied bail and remains in custody pending juvenile court proceedings.

Let's look at the complaints of racial injustice by black activists, including those of Al Sharpton and Jessee Jackson. They complain that the three white students who hung the nooses from the tree should have been arrested and charged with committing a hate crime. The school authorities considered the incident a prank and sent the three to an alternative school for a month and then placed them on two weeks of in-school suspension.

In my opinion, as a prank the nooses were neither funny nor innocuous. They were offensive and painful to blacks because, as we all should know, the nooses are symbolic of a dark period in our history replete with the lynchings of innocent blacks. But a hate crime? I don't think so. Now, it would have been a hate crime had the students gone to the home of a black resident and hung a noose from the homeowner's tree. By the way, come to think of it, when "The Jena 6" attacked that white student, they were by law committing a hate crime.

The black activists complain that no white students were arrested for fights they got into with blacks, while "The Jena Six" were arrested and charged with a number of felonies. They contend that, like the other fights, "The Jena 6" incident should have been handled like a simple school-yard altercation.

Say what?!!! None of the other students were hospitalized. The victim of "The Jena 6" was brutally beaten, kicked and rendered unconscious by six assailants and had to be taken to a hospital where he was treated for a concussion, swollen shut eye, and other injuries to the face, ears and hand. Even though the victim attended a social function after his brief stay in the hospital, that was definitely not a simple school-yard altercation. It was what it was - a felonious assault.

The activists complain about the attempted murder charges, claiming that if the assailants had been white, they would never have faced any serious charges. I do not agree that the charges were racially motivated, but I do agree the authorities should never have charged the six with attempted murder. Nationwide, upon an arrest, it is not unusual for the police to pile on multiple charges on top of the most serious charge they can come up with, a practice I have never favored.

The acitivists complain that Bell was convicted by an all-white jury. That complaint is groundless because no blacks were excluded from the jury. Fifty blacks were included in Bell's jury pool but none of them bothered to show up for the juror selection proceedings.

I am sure that some of Jena's whites are racists because there are racists of all colors in every community of this country. So, were "The Jena 6" the victims of a racially biased justice system? Not at all. When Mychal Bell and his five codefendants started kicking the downed victim, a simple assault escalated into a felonious assault, their shoes becoming dangerous weapons, soft sneakers notwithstanding.

Jena has been unfairly tarred and featherd as a hotbed of racism because the felonious assault arrest of six black youths led to a distorted media frenzy which was pounced upon by black activists. Consequently, thousands of demonstrators and hundreds of police descended on Jena last week.

And who led the demonstrations in Jena? Those racist reverends, Al Sharpton and Jessee Jackson, the former shouting his trademark slogan, "No justice, no peace." The results? Whatever racial tensions there may have been in Jena have now been exacerbated. Any winners? Al Sharpton and Jessee Jackson, of course. Any losers? The town of Jena and its residents, both white and black. Justice for Jena? Forget it.