Did You Wear Black Yesterday?

In the midst of gloating about Hispanic Heritage Month and stressing over what to wear to the Sean Paul concert tomorrow night, I forgot that in Jena, Louisiana, six black teenagers were on trial for beating up a white teenager. And that five (four?) of them were being tried as adults.

As I understand it, this goes back a year when a handful of black students asking the school's administration if the tree on the school's property, which is usually occupied by white students as a lounging spot, is whites-only. When the school officials said "Of course not" the black students decided to lounge under the tree.

Can you guess what happened? You'll never guess... Three students hung three NOOSES from the tree- in the school's colors, no less. So of course whatever racial tension existed at this school escalates, especially when the school's superintendent called the incident a "prank."

Prank. As in "got your nose" or placing a whoopee cushion on someone's seat? Right. Because lynching is so fucking HI-larious. A slew of fights/incidents occurred throughout the fall and winter of 2006, which eventually led to the beating of a white student by the six black students now known as the Jena 6.

Protests have sprung up everywhere, and the lead Democrats in the presidential race have weighed in on the issue, albeit in the usual non-committal sort of ways, but the question remains- is justice being served?

Now you know The Jaded NYer did not take the time to actually read any of the news articles all the way through, so she doesn't know much more about the issue than what is written here, but she does know that the charges the boys are facing- which will put them in jail until way past their 50th birthdays- seem rather harsh.

Yes OF COURSE they need to be punished for beating up that kid. Six on one is not only brutal but it's cowardly and just freakin' stupid. So yes, they deserve to be punished. Do they deserve to be in jail with hardened killers and rapists for the rest of their lives? I can't find the answer in my heart, but I tell you what, it doesn't help that Al Farton is down there organizing protests and shyt. That guy is like a scorching case of herpes on the genitals of society. In my humble opinion.

So, what's really going on here? What should be going on here? WTF, Louisiana?

You tell me...

*smooches...so glad I'm in NYC where WE outnumber THEM*
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its been way too long since i've been behind the wheel
headlights guiding me right through the dark i feel
dry eyed, trying hard to resist
sleeps first kiss
everytime i have time to think
i think of this