Eujena 6
A group (of white guys) has been distributing (actually selling for $10 a year) information regarding race tensions and social injustice in America. They had a number of provocative posters regarding political issues one of which read, “Free the Jena 6”. Needless to say, I was intrigued.
I walked up and engaged two of them in conversation:
Me: “So, what are you guys all about?”
Young Angry Kid: “Ending the social injustices of America and supporting black people in their plight.”
Me: “Cool, cool. Sounds good. I can support that, helping people is good. I see your poster there about the Jena 6. Isn’t the Jena 6 those 6 black kids who beat some white kid almost to death for insulting one of them with a racial slur?”
Young Angry Kid: “Yeah, and that little prick deserved what he got!”
Me: “Whoa, Don’t you find it hard to justify nearly murdering someone over a word.”
Slightly Overweight Old Man: “Nigger is more than a word, buddy. It has history and the Jena 6 are fighting their good fight.”
Me: “Hm… So do you guys think its just fine that if a black man calls me a crackerass honkey, I can go gather up my 5 buddies and we can stomp his face in?”
Slightly Overweight Old Man: “ No way, absolutely not! This isn’t some abstact question about right and wrong in your imagination. This is about the real world and real problems with real injustice. It isn’t the same!”
Me: “Wow. That’s crazy.”
No, aaron, you didn’t, because the communists already violated their principles by trying to make a profit.
But they may have the right idea about terrorism…instead of bitch, bitch, bitch about American and its oppressiveness and then flying a jumbo jet into a building, maybe they could have a big bake sale to ‘raise awareness’. That kind of shit seems to work a lot better here.
Vincent, you’ll be pleased to know that there was a booth of Iranian communists in a market square here in finland a few weeks ago. They were selling pizza to raise awareness and would ship the profits back to their Iranian comrades.
Did I just inadvertently support ultra-terrorism (Iran AND communism) by buying a slice of pizza?
The big deal in Jena, as far as I can tell, is the disparity in treatment of whites and blacks for the same or similar offenses.
You know, this whole Jena 6 thing has been blown way the fuck out of proportion. On the one hand, I can completely understand the desire to beat the shit out of some racist, redneck assholes. In some ways, I don’t feel too sorry for the “victims”. (I mean, they had a “whites only tree” … in the 21st century. Get the fuck out!) On the other hand, the Jena 6 (at least some of them) did brutally attack these redneck assholes, and that’s pretty hard to justify. (Yes, I understand that there were implicit threats of violence, like the hanging noose …) It is just a little disconcerting that some people are treating this like it is the greatest civil rights challenge of the new millennium.
Also, Guy: Not to sound like a moral relativist or anything, but I don’t think that “cracker-ass honkey” is comparable to “nigger”. Just sayin’ is all.
Oh, those must be the same guys who’re out there with their signs supporting the North Koreans and Iranians.
I thought the word was “cracka”.
But Guy… you are a crackerass honkey!