Continued from Response to 'Average American' comment on comparing news coverage Part 1...
As for where a hate crime should be claimed, Ms. Megan Williams of West Virginia was kidnapped, raped, tortured, stabbed, had boiling water poured on her and had her hair ripped out while being called the N-word and other derogatory names for a week. There was no motivation for the prolonged crime committed by 6 people, comprised of men and women. The racial impetus for this crime is not questioned, yet the hate crime statute has been denied. I ask why has there been no coverage of this case, and the failure to apply the federal statute.
Back to the point at hand.
There was nothing fake about the nooses. And as a resident of the South that has been around long enough to recall the 70’s you know that a noose is a threat. It has every intention of implying a lynching and death. It is also, by definition a hate crime which has not been charged. In fact no crime has been charged, which at the least can be called disturbing the peace and criminal mischief.
All penalties for that threat of death were ignored, similar to how you brush off their presence. I assume from this comment that you are White, because I know of no Black American that does not see a noose in the same manner as a burning cross. There is no comparative image in White America, so I am not surprised that the impact it creates is not recognized immediately.
As for your comparison that a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King justified his murder, you make several fallacies. The first is that you assume I do not wish any criminal penalty against the Jena 6. That is untrue. A crime was committed, punishment is due. I want that punishment to be commensurate to the crime committed and equal to the punishments for the crimes of all the others involved. Lopsided justice is bad for everyone, no matter who is on the favored side. There are several crimes that whites have committed in this case from its start to conclusion, yet none have been punished. That I do not agree with. Nor do I agree with penalizing anyone with a crime more severe than what they committed. Lastly I do not agree that legal minor, who has not committed a serious offense, should be treated as an adult. That is the law in this nation, and as I do not see this as an attempted murder, they were wrongly accused and bail was severely over-charged.
Secondly, hate speech should not ever justify an attack. How can you compare words calling for compassion and understanding to threats and physical harm? Where do you see the connection? It was that same logic that caused the nooses to be hung from the tree creating this problem in the first place. You imply that speaking against an over punishment for a crime is the same as murder for seeking equality. I cannot see that logic forwards or in reverse. It’s simply illogical.
Continued in Part 3...
5 comments:
This Megan Williams case is a terrible story, this kind of crime should be delt with harshly!
At least this story has gotten national media attention... At least Megan is alive... Thank God she wansn't white, we would have neve heard of her or her story...
Don't believe me? Have you heard of the Newsome/Christian murders? Varify it at snopes.com with this link.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/newsom.asp
It would seem, Average American, that you feel this is some type of competition. There is not, and I admit that terrible crimes occur in this nation often. The question is not that they happen but the coverage and nature of the coverage in the media, and the legal system.
To address your comment that the Ms. Megan Williams case has received national attention, that is not exactly correct. It has received roughly a minute of coverage on Fox News, and to my knowledge little else. Other than the posts by myself and several other bloggers there has not been serious attention other than a single momentary flash that has yet to be re-addressed.
I am currently investigating further facts in the case, but I can say that at this time at least 1 national press release made by Mr. Malik Shabazz, lawyer for the Williams family, has gone basically unreported.
That dismissal and the scant attention is hardly what I call national exposure, especially when it has been reported that the intention fulfills hate crime statues (as did the hanging of nooses in Jena).
Further, while I had not remembered the Newsome case I did research it a bit. I do know, and recall after research, that this was addressed; incorrectly it appears, on the O’Reilly Factor by Ms. Michelle Malkin. I do not state that this was enough coverage, but unlike the Williams case there were multiple initial errors in what was reported in the Newsome case. Erroneous reports detract from credibility of the story and delay, if not stop, further coverage. That of course does not stop others from doing as I am. Research and write about it on your blog. Remind the media that they need to cover these horrible crimes.
By the way, according to Police Chief Sterling Owen IV
“there is no indication the crimes were racially motivated, and that the murders and assault "appears to have been a random violent act."”
and
“There is absolutely no proof of a hate crime," said John Gill, special counsel to Knox County District Atty. Randy Nichols.”
This heinous act is not the same as what has been consistently and accurately reported in the Williams case.
If you feel that more needs to be said on this case, create a blog and discuss it or other such stories. If this is a cause for you, go for it. My focus is on issues affecting primarily African Americans and Hispanics or how various actions affect those groups. That does not invalidate other issues, they are just not my primary concern.
Lastly, I would suggest that in the future, to add credibility to your points you might want to seek out other sources for your references. I do not dispute the veracity of the link you provide other than the fact that it comes from a site that’s purpose is
“We are following the more expansive popular (if inaccurate) use of "urban legend" as a term that embraces not only urban legends but also common fallacies, misinformation, old wives' tales, strange news stories, rumors, celebrity gossip, and similar items.”
If you wish to further discuss this case you can contact me via email at your discretion.
**Oh, I should note that I see you did not respond or dispute any of the actual comments I made about your first reply. I presume that this means you concur with my conclusions.
M. Vass,
First I need to apologize to your site for my original post. While I feel strongly about it and remain steadfast in my feelings, I posted it without giving your site the pre-examination I should have.
My point of view receives so little coverage that I felt it incumbent upon myself to post on several sites a kind of generic post that conveyed my concerns. So it wasn't written in response to anything you had written yourself, but instead it addressed the bigger picture of the whole Jena 6 case. Looking at your response I became aware that you had taken much of my post personally, it was not, it was meant to some how present the view not otherwise represented to your audience. That being the view of the Average American, roughly 75% of our country, I figure that's average.
As for my second post, I was trying to demonstrate the great inequity that exists in national media coverage of what are hate crimes by any standard. When the average American sees a group of attackers consisting of one race assaulting a person of another race where racial tensions are known to exist, there is a fair presumption of race-based hate. So to the average American the black Jena 6 assault on the one white was a hate crime, as was the Newsome case, as is the Williams case, regardless of the spin/damage control placed into the equation.
The national media inequity that concerns me is this, as of the 2000 census around 12.3% of this country is black, it is clear that the national media devotes well over 12.3% of their efforts reporting black issues, that has created a huge misrepresentation that must be put into proportion if an accurate representation of our society is ever going to be portrayed.
If true equality is the goal racial preference has no place in our society, neither dose racial based hate crime, if it is allowed for one group then it is allowed for all. It must be dealt with harshly, and not allowed for any group, regardless of spin.
There now exist a great opportunity for a true black leader to create a since of brotherhood between the races which will be the next great evolutionary change in the race relations of our society. I say this because the people want it. People are tired of racial tensions and want to affect change. This was demonstrated by the turnout for the Jena 6 march. That march had a great turnout, however, I refuse to believe that so many people would show up in support of 6 thugs committing hate crimes! So where's the problem? In the leadership! The current black leaders want to keep us in the 1960's with daily strife to turn us against each other, claiming racial injustice even when the facts are clearly to the opposite to the average American. This is all they know, and it’s how they keep power. It’s time for a new mindset!
Now is the time for a true leader to sweep aside the old mindsets and step into the new millennium! If the black community wants change for the better then we need to stop creating separation and start working toward the same goals.
This wont be popular with current black leaders as it threatens their power base, but anyone should be able to see that the same old thing isn’t working, we need change. Stop preaching hate, preach tolerance, preach brotherhood. Find the right approach to fully characterize what is needed to transition out of the '60s and into a new era of brotherhood and mutual support working together for a better society.
The reason I think you may benefit from this perspective is the simple fact that as long as the black community has leaders stand up and make such crazy claims as they do now, there will always remain a great divide between the average American and the followers of these inflammatory leaders.
Average American,
I want you to know that I do not take any comment personally, unless the comment is a personal attack on me or any other group/individual, a religious rant, or an insult to America. While I am passionate in my responses that is due to my desire commit my best efforts to those who chose to write in response to my blog. I feel it is the least I can do, as they have taken time out of their busy schedules to place their thoughts and I feel strongly about the issues I present to the public. To provide less, while it may happen from time to time, is a personal failure on my part and I don’t want to let down my readers.
As an individual that reads and comments at several blogs, I would have assumed that you know not to place generic statements to specific blog posts. It demeans the effort the blog writer has put into their work and makes your argument look foolish.
As for your being the average American, and representing 75% of the nation. I feel you are incorrect on both points. As I stated before, you do not represent the views of hundreds if not thousands of individuals I have met across the entire nation in my lifetime. Of those I know and see on a regular basis, not one White American that has read your comments has agreed – in part or in whole – with anything you have stated.
And I will correct a fact you misstate. White Americans are not 75% of the nation. Once the nation reached 300 million citizens (which it did over the summer), the current breakdown is that 1 in 3 Americans is a person of color. The estimate is that currently roughly 13% of the population is African American, 14% are Hispanic/Latino Americans, and the difference is made up of Native American Indians, Asians, and all other ethnicities.
While White Americans maintain a majority of America (including prisons, welfare, and unemployment and so on) it is not the amount you claim. I do not believe those levels have been accurate since the 1950’s, but I could be wrong on that point.
As for the lack of coverage in the media, I noticed that today was the 2nd day of coverage of Ellen Degeneris and the dog she adopted. There has still not been more than 2 ½ minutes of coverage on the Megan Williams case. I submit the case you are concerned about has not had coverage in the past several weeks, but 80% of news coverage – including missing children – ignores positive and negative news of African Americans and any person of color. The news that does cover these groups is roughly 95% negative. That is disproportionate and inequitable.
As for the Jena 6, you nicely package the entirety of the issue at hand into a highly simplified event of 6 Black kids against 1 White kid. Obviously you have not been reading my posts because you would realize this was neither a random act, nor was it unprovoked. You also missed the point that no one has said that the Jena 6 should be without punishment.
The fact is that the hanging of the nooses was a hate crime in and of itself, and could also fall under several other categories of crimes. The fact that a White child (prior to the fight) came to school with a shotgun, and was not reprimanded is also a crime, and the fact it was intended to at least scare the Black students is also a hate crime. And while the White boy in the fight was knocked unconscious, he was well enough to go to a dance that same day – thus charges of attempted murder are inaccurate and unfair. Equality is all that bloggers and protesters have asked for in Jena, and you have missed this point completely.
I agree that racial preference is not desirable. To that end the preferential treatment given to White Americans needs to be removed. The preference is the ability to live in any location without question, to have employment at any company, to not have a presumption of guilt when walking into a store because of the color of skin, to have the same access to school books and to receive an equivalent education, to be paid equally and to purchase items at fair prices (several studies have shown that cars and houses are routinely sold at higher prices to people of color – even more than those prices for White women. It was also part of an expose for either Dateline of 20/20 I don’t recall).
Those are the preferences I’d like to see removed. The ones that White Americans have the privilege of ignoring and having every day.
As for leadership, that really isn’t necessary. Who is the leader of White Americans? The President of the United States is the President of the nation, all citizens regardless of color. Yet you, like the media presume that African American must have a leader separate of the President. Why? Who is the leader of Asian Americans? Latino Americans? Native American Indians?
There is none, and there does not need to be. Nor do African Americans need a figurehead to help guide us. In the 1960’s there were multiple leaders in taking actions to ensure that the God-given right of life was respected. There was no one leader, but rather political guides that helped focus the mass opinions for the better of the nation. Today there are media leaders that serve little purpose overall, but are given attention at the discretion of the media on subject they deem important.
But I digress. And I have covered this far more in depth in the posts found on both of my blogs, and the several others I write to, that you chose not to read apparently.
The people who showed up at Jena wanted equality. They wanted fairness under the law for all people. If one group of children could commit hate crimes and other crimes without recompense, they all should. If justice is to be mete out, then all should be punished, equally and appropriately.
The leadership, as designated by the media (there was no vote and never has been), did exactly what they are known for and good at. Drawing attention to an issue that the general media had ignored for months without concern. Similar to their attempts to bury the Megan Williams case, the Sean Bell Case, and the Jonathan Riches case (all of which I have covered in various posts).
But I find it interesting that an unaverage American, which has never felt a day of the challenges I have grown up with from what you state, believes you can state what the Black community needs in terms of a leader and direction of change.
You state that today there is a preaching of hate, by whom? You state there is a need for brotherhood; it’s been stated for years. That tolerance has to be lauded, that’s been a call by Black leaders to the Black community and White Americans since the 1960’s.
You claim I can learn from your perspective, yet in not reading my posts you nullify my own. You interject your ideals on me and expect they are better than my own. How dare you.
If you are the average American as you claim, then I feel there is the problem. You cannot recognize the benefits you receive everyday. You nullify arguments you dislike, and shove your own answers without regard to the answers posed. You accept only the parts of facts you want to focus on, and reject the surrounding facts as fluff. You want the focus to be on the aspects you are willing to deal with and no other.
Now I enjoy open commentary. I like to hear other views. I accept that not everyone will agree with me. But that is where someone has taken the time to review and understand what I have said. It seems you have not.
I have addressed every misstatement of fact, misunderstanding of context, and misinterpretation of my comments you have made. At every turn you have sidestepped and obscured the issue at hand. The issues are that the Jena 6 were unfairly treated by the media and the legal system. The other issue is that Megan Williams has been tossed into a trash bin by the media and they refuse to address the horrific actions there, and the legal system has again failed in not having hate crime charges made. The issue is that these things are not unique or extraordinary.
Those are the things I have written about and am concerned in addressing, in the posts you have referred to and commented on. I may or may not address other issues you have skipped across, but that is not what my posts were about.
Again, this is not personal. This is me standing by the issues I believe in and seeking to not be distracted into letting those issues fall by the wayside.
M. Vass,
I do thank you for your careful consideration in conversing with me.
Just for clarification, the 75% issue is based on the findings of the 2000 census, in other words, 3/4 of the country is not black. And my assertion that I am an average American stems from my being part of the largest ethnic population in our country as well as being a person who holds personal beliefs that are not extreme in nature.
Looking at your last response I have realized that you and I hold very similar concerns and conclusions about the same issues. Your characterization of my feelings and beliefs are almost exactly the same way I characterize those very same concerns about the greater black community. It is apparent we both hold these beliefs closely. Who knew?
I think this is an important dialogue. It has already revealed our astonishingly similar views over the same issues, we differ only in that we both feel it is our ethnicity that is being disadvantaged in these various situations.
Seeing that you think the average American has such a privileged life in comparison to your own, I'll touch on a few personal experiences. I have a college education, not because I could qualify for federal loans or grants, no national endowment and no parents to pay the way. I joined the USMC and fought in the Gulf War in order to get access to federal and state funding for education. In my previous career of 15 + years I worked in the state and federal prison systems as both a correctional officer and supervisor of correctional officers. This means, to those not privy, that I have vast experience dealing with inter-racial relations in the most challenging environment that exists within our society. This level of racial interaction would require several life times to achieve in most careers. I have been supervised by, worked along side and supervised all other races. I’ve been extensively trained in cultural diversity as I have also conducted said training. I have been assaulted both verbally and physically, more times than I can remember because of my race alone. Additionally, I've been on the disadvantaged side of Affirmative Action more than once, and as a matter of routine official policy. I've been told by a state recruiting officer that because I was the wrong race and gender I was undesirable for the job of DPS Officer according to the then Democrat Governor of the state... I could go on but what's the point. My only point here is that blacks hold no monopoly on racial discrimination in today’s society by any stretch of the imagination.
I would only hope that you may see the same similarity I have found in our feelings about our respective positions. Additionally, I’m sorry you have chosen to take offense to some observations I’ve offered, they stem from my life experience, as do ours all. Whether or not you give me credit for being an average American, I am, as disappointing as that apparently is to you. The views I’ve offered are heart felt and intended to give insight to a perspective you may not otherwise get, if you value that kind of thing.
Bearing in mind my recent understanding of our similarities I’m not sure where it leaves our society, if I represent my segment and you represent yours… It would appear we are at an impasse, socially speaking.
This brings me back to my original concern, why are black issues so prevalent in the national media if that demographic group only represents 12 to 13% of our population? It is even more confusing when you look at a larger minority group, how much time is spent on Hispanic issues in the national media? They are almost silent within the national media, other than the large lobbying efforts on behalf of illegal immigration.
The continued support within the national media of this discrepancy is especially concerning when the current black leaders (sorry), spokespersons, make such ridiculous claims such as “these 6 black kids (most of which have previous criminal records demonstrating their propensity to this type of attack) attacking this one white kid is not a racial hate crime” all the while claiming the hanging of 2 nooses several months before should be prosecuted as a hate crime. It appears that any type of inflammatory language uttered by these black “spokes persons” is reported as being news worthy. Why, because they are milking along some social creditability they gained during the 60s?
When the average American watches the national news and continually sees what appears to be a strong bias in favor of such a small minority you must ask what the intent is? It appears the liberal national medial has been conducting their own social experiment, a sort of social re-engineering effort to further their own agenda.
It is not uncommon to see this type of skewing of the facts in the U.S. media. For example, with the objective observation from a southern perspective one can always see “south-bashing” in many different forms, remnants of the Civil War and just another form of discrimination the average non-black southern American faces. From the Carpet-baggers of the past to today’s Liberal Media, there exists the signs of an occupying army exerting it’s oppression over its defeated enemy. I suggest the war is over, it’s time to re-vest power into parts of the country from which it came. Until this occurs, true social reconciliation will never take place, how could it?
At a loss for a more likely explanation, and with a life time of south-bashing oppression, I suggest the Agenda of the Liberal Media taking place here is a form of regional based hate-discrimination in itself. The decision makers controlling this social experiment are still fighting the Civil War. It is unfortunate, but it is true that the victor writes the history books. To prove the point here, most people today would suggest that war was fought to end slavery! The facts of the matter are very different, the primary reason was over state’s rights mostly regarding trade. The slavery issue was later in the war and minor at best, in fact President Lincoln only freed the slaves in enemy states. There were a number of Northern States that maintained the institution of slavery up to 4 years AFTER the war ended. Not a popular discussion in today’s media. I too digress.
The common manifestation of the Media’s Agenda concerning our discussion is counter-intuitive to the average American. It creates the perception of a double standard which the black community wants on their behalf. It is an inequity. More importantly, it has the greater and much more damaging effect of further dividing our races in the minds of both populations. I feel it is unfortunate, and clearly counter-productive to our social evolution as a country.
I want to better understand as well as further the understanding of the situation and do what I can to help redefine our social concerns in a manor beneficial to us all, if it is possible.
We as members of different demographic groups (legally in this country), require an equitable stake in the social environment of our country, and rightly so. We need to feel we are being treated fairly and not disadvantaged in favor of another group. We need to stop comparing notes on wrongs and find how we can work together. Mr. Vass, if you choose to dismiss my efforts here by saying I’m dismissing yours, you are wrong. I am telling you that the average American will always keep a social distance between you and I as long as your community continues with their current public relations direction. I realize it can’t be easy to hear something like that but it should be clear to you that something needs to change and I’m offering you information strategic to your decision making in this regard, I pray you can see the truth in this.
I haven’t taken this response in a point-by-point approach, but in an open dialogue type of discussion on the issues at hand. I hope that isn’t too frustrating and it is no attempt on my part to avoid your points. I read your responses and re-figure my understanding of the situation with a more informed knowledge base trying to work through these issues while seeing the bigger social implications. I now know this type of discussion between our respective groups is crucial to finding common ground from which to stand.
Again, thank you for your time and effort. I think we both want the same thing, a better America. We just have to figure out how to get there.
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