Jena 6

blackascoal said:
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Press Release

Green Party urges dropping all Jena Six charges, probe racism in justice system

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Shawn Christy, Green Party of Louisiana Coordinating Committee, 318-218-7159, revolutionarylove@gmail.com

Greens urge Louisiana to drop all charges against the Jena Six, call for a national discussion of racial bias in criminal justice systems throughout the US

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders called on the State of Louisiana to drop all charges in the Jena Six prosecution, and urged a national discussion on the US justice system's unequal treatment of African Americans and other people of color.

Greens will be among the thousands rallying in front of the Jena, Louisiana, courthouse on Thursday, September 20, as the next Jena Six trial begins. Many Greens and the DC Statehood Green Party have contributed to the Jena Six defense fund. (For background on the Jena Six, see the article links below.)

The Green Party of Louisiana <http://www.lagreens.org>, at its September 8 statewide convention, passed a resolution by consensus declaring, "We, as the Green Party of Louisiana call for the justice and freedom of the Jena 6, the Angola 3, Gary Tyler, and all other political prisoners."

"Two things are obvious about the Jena Six prosecution -- first, that the extreme charges would never have been brought against the students if they had been white, and second, that if not for the national attention the case has drawn, the students would have already quietly been thrown in jail," said Malik Rahim, former Green city council candidate in New Orleans.

"We urge the Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to drop all of the charges against Jena Six defendants, but that's not enough. The case has focused attention on how the legal system treats black and brown people, and how poor Americans and people of color suffer more severe charges and harsher sentencing, inadequate legal representation, and plea bargain deals forced on the innocent. Let this be an occasion for a national debate on how to restore justice to our criminal justice system," added Mr. Malik, who is also co-founder and organizer of the Common Ground Collective <http://www.commongroundrelief.org>, which provides relief for victims of hurricane disasters in the Gulf Coast region and support in rebuilding affected communities in the New Orleans area.

Greens have called for an end to the war on drugs and abolition of the death penalty, both of which have been applied disproportionately against people of color. Green leaders also support the repeal of zero tolerance and mandatory sentencing statutes, which enlarge the power of prosecutors and erode judicial discretion. (See "Green Party says racially biased US justice system needs drastic overhaul," Green Party press release, July 25, 2007 <http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2007_07_25.shtml>. )

"In many towns and states across the US, lynch mobs and Jim Crow laws have merely been replaced with police, prosecutors, and judges who make a special effort to target African Americans. The result has been gross racial disparities in incarceration, with black people imprisoned at over five times the rate of whites and Latinos at nearly twice the white rate. Injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere," said Cliff Thornton, co-chair of the Green Party of Connecticut and co-founder of Efficacy, Inc. <http://www.efficacy-online.org>, which promotes major reforms in drug policy.

Greens cite the fact that the US also has the world's highest incarceration rate, with 5% of the world's population and 25% of all the world's prisoners, as evidence that the justice system needs drastic reform. Louisiana has the highest incarceration in the US. The Green Party -- unlike the Democratic and Republican parties -- has strongly opposed the expansion of the private prison industry, warning that the demand for corporate profits creates a national economic incentive to fill cells.

"An appeals court has overturned the conviction of Mychal Bell, one of the Jena Six, because he should not have been charged as an adult. This is a clue that Jena prosecutors were out for blood when they targeted black students, while going easy on white students who've gotten into fights. Jena will deservedly be the focus of greater national anger if the charges are allowed to stand; but we need to investigate and fix the criminal justice system throughout the US, wherever racial and economic bias is evident," said Alfred Molison, Green candidate for City Council in Houston, Texas <http://www.votealfred.com>, Co-Chair of the Green Party Black Caucus <http://gpblackcaucus.blogspot.com>, and keynote speaker at Louisiana Green Party's state convention.

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
o Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
o Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
o 2007 national Green Party meeting in Reading, Pa.: video footage, blog and media coverage http://www.gp.org/meeting2007/

"Tipping the Scales of Justice in Jena"
By Amy Goodman, TruthDig.com, September 18, 2007
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070918_tipping_the_scales_of_justice_in_jena/

"Apart from the noose, this is an everyday story of modern America: The racial tensions which flared in a small southern town have laid bare the bias infecting the nation's justice system"
By Gary Younge, The Guardian, September 17, 2007
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2170644,00.html

The Sentencing Project
http://www.sentencingproject.org
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There's a Green party in Mississippi. Unfortunately, the "Constituion" party often outpolls it...
 
In Mississippi, though, fusion voting exists and is rarely used. I wonder if a Democrat/Green could win? That ticket would certainly win just about all of the black votes. Then after that you'd only have to get like 20% of the whites to vote for you to win.

I'm kind of suspicious that that could happen though, sadly.
 
Watermark said:
In Mississippi, though, fusion voting exists and is rarely used. I wonder if a Democrat/Green could win? That ticket would certainly win just about all of the black votes. Then after that you'd only have to get like 20% of the whites to vote for you to win.

I'm kind of suspicious that that could happen though, sadly.
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I don't think that would happen. Many if not most white Democrats in Mississippi would oppose it immensely i imagine.
 
Well shit howdy then...........

blackascoal said:
Being Green makes a lot of sense.
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Cast your vote for Al Gore...he invented the internet...and Obama your boy was just a associate professor ...wannabee politician..either would work for y'all...then again maybe the idiot 'Dennis the Mennace' would work....since the Commie Lt.John Kerry gave up!
 
The Democratic party in Mississippi is a skeleton of white migration to the Republican party. We might as well name our parties the "white party" and the "black party".
 
Dungheap said:
Fair enough. I agree that not all the south is racist and that not all southern are racist. It does seem, though, that the most egregious incidents occur in the south.

For Christ's sake there was a tree on school grounds in Jena that was reserved for whites only. A new kid in town that was black felt it necessary to ask permission to sit under it. I've never heard of anything approaching that in any part of the country other than the south.

Last year in the town of Ashburn, Georgia, the Turner County High School held it's first ever integrated prom. In 2007. First integrated prom.

I think that's why the stain is still on the south.
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Well, it "seems" that way for the same reason midgets "seem" short.

But no one ever said racism only occurs in the south. I encounter it myself all of the time, here in NY. I mean, just so I don't confuse SF again, I'm white, it's not directed at me. But as a white person, I'm in the white club, and it does happen that other white people give me the wink and the nod when making a racial slur, because being white, I couldn't possibly be offended.

You will find the most violent and brutal racism in the South. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist elsewhere, and do great damage too.
 
Dungheap said:
Fair enough. I agree that not all the south is racist and that not all southern are racist. It does seem, though, that the most egregious incidents occur in the south.

For Christ's sake there was a tree on school grounds in Jena that was reserved for whites only. A new kid in town that was black felt it necessary to ask permission to sit under it. I've never heard of anything approaching that in any part of the country other than the south.

Last year in the town of Ashburn, Georgia, the Turner County High School held it's first ever integrated prom. In 2007. First integrated prom.

I think that's why the stain is still on the south.
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I may be wrong here but my understanding is that is was not "reserved" for whites as in there was some policy but it was "known" that whites only hang out there. I'm not justifying that as ok just pointing out the difference in semantics.

I can remember in high school there were areas on the quad that only seniors were allowed to sit. A couple of juniors in my class one day tried to sit in a "seniors area" and they got thier asses kicked.

Now I'm not trying to say the two are related. The race issue has a long dark history that we're all aware of hence the response we're seeing.
 
I really hated the entire "seniors elitism" that existed in high school, even whenever I was a senior. Whenever it would benefit me I would always be kind of embarrassed. If a junior was ahead of me in line I'd never say anything about it.

A teacher asked me today "What would you do if you were the white person who was going to displace Rosa Parks on the bus?" I have the liberal gene built into me, I guess. I'd probably say it was OK and just go sit somewhere else, and I'd critiscize someone for saying anything about it.
 
blackascoal said:
The south does not make it easy for people to get past their violent and ungodly racist history.

Germany had the intelligence to get beyond it's own horrors by eliminating and outlawing any and all vestiges of hateful symbolism. You cannot fly the swaztiga in Germany today.

The protesters to Jena were met with confederate flags and its reported that confederate flags and nooses are being flown and hung all over the area today.

This madness will not stop until serious people stop making excuses for evil.
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LOL
I bet you're also one of the people who support flag burning.
So now you want to limit symbols?

Don't you know that when you react to racists, you reinforce the behavior by giving them what they want. If people could learn to ignore racists, they would give up. They would have no effect. It's only by reacting in a manner they intend you to react that you are giving thier racist behavior any meaning or power.

Oh, and sorry I'm white.
 
tinfoil said:
LOL
I bet you're also one of the people who support flag burning.
So now you want to limit symbols?

Don't you know that when you react to racists, you reinforce the behavior by giving them what they want. If people could learn to ignore racists, they would give up. They would have no effect. It's only by reacting in a manner they intend you to react that you are giving thier racist behavior any meaning or power.

Oh, and sorry I'm white.
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You don't have to tell people that you're white after a post like that. It's obvious.

The bullshit thing is that the Supreme Court recognizes a "fighting words" exception to the First Amendment that essentially means that certain types of speech, "fighting words" that are likely to bring about a violent response, are not protected under First Amendment. Yet racist speech, for which you should get your ass kicked, doesn't fall within that exception. Instead we're supposed to "ignore it." Fuck that.
 
Segregation, by choice, in schools is common. And it aint limited to race, but even what kind of music you listen too. Teens get in to that stupid clique thing.
 
Dungheap said:
You don't have to tell people that you're white after a post like that. It's obvious.

The bullshit thing is that the Supreme Court recognizes a "fighting words" exception to the First Amendment that essentially means that certain types of speech, "fighting words" that are likely to bring about a violent response, are not protected under First Amendment. Yet racist speech, for which you should get your ass kicked, doesn't fall within that exception. Instead we're supposed to "ignore it." Fuck that.
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Oh fuck you asshole. It's the same thing as "don't feed the troll"
 
RStringfield said:
Yeah, they should get rid of that fighting words nonsense.
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Not to make light but try walking into the Oakland Coliseum during a Raiders game and saying 'the Denver Broncos rule'. Those would be considered "fighting words" to many in attentendance.
 
RStringfield said:
Sure, and you have a right to say them. Should there be a law against saying that in McAfee.
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Hell no there shouldn't be a law against saying that. People having every right to make that statement, hopefully they know the type of response it may cause though.
 
Speech, even racist speech, is protected, but I believe that's only under the knowledge that such speech will likely be condemned. If we prosecute the defendant may become a martyr.
 
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