The "Jena 6."
A term which has sparked so much debate and controversy over the past couple of weeks since making its way to national attention. Six kids punished heinously for an altercation where the victim walked away with a few bruises and cuts. After the incident, he then attends a school function.
Yep, sounds like attempted murder to me.
We should begin trying all children across the nation in school yard fights as adults.
Give me a break.
Both sides took wrong steps which inevitably led to such a conclusion. However, wherever there is hatred, bigotry and sheer simple-minded thinking, what else do we expect to occur?
So here we are, dissecting a situation that has drawn a line in the sand again between races in our nation. One has to ask, haven't we been here before? Small southern states displaying obvious displays of racism and bigotry through the law? Isn't this a thing of the past?
It is a clear and crying shame to see six promising high school students with the opportunity to change the world through their intellect, athleticism and character, stripped from their American right to pursue a dream in society because of a dislike based on appearance. Because in actuality, that is what it is. It is the year 2007. Our nation is slowly coming to realize that.
We've made tremendous strides as a nation embracing unity and brotherhood. Nonetheless, in the discovery of the "Jena 6" story, one must ponder how long has this been going on? Is it still going on? Where is it going on? And most importantly, how do we change it?
The "Jena 6" will be that mirror to help our nation move forward by answering those questions, finally, leaving racism in the past.