Hello, Ed, did I miss something in that Jena 6 case? From what I have read, a group of black students gathered under a tree where white students usually hanged out. The next day some nooses were hanging from the same tree. The white students responsible for this were suspended from school for three days. Then six black students beat a white student so badly he may lose an eye. The pictures of his face were horrible. I’m not a racist, but let’s get realistic about this. Now thousands of blacks led by Rev. Jackson and Al Sharpton want these six black kids released unpunished. As far as I know hanging nooses from a tree is not a crime as long as there are no people at the end of those nooses, correct? Assault and battery is very serious crime, and in my book the perpetrators deserve be punished. I was surprised the law has already released five of these people and is holding only one for trial. Black, white or purple has nothing to do with my feelings. If they broke the law, they should be punished by a jail term.

Letter of the law

Perhaps you should try being black, then understand the history of lynchings and other atrocities, then live in a place where peers are using blatant references to those atrocities — such as a noose hanging from a tree — to intimidate you, before you write off the thoughts and feelings of thousands of activists. —Ed. Note