The Jena Six

Obama was apparently talking white on this case, according to Racial Authenticity Expert Jesse Jackson, which is what has pushed it into the national media spotlight. They did such a good job of burying it before few heard of it so now we all have to play catch-up on the New OJ/Duke Racial Narrative Case.

Apparently the media didn't want to cover it because the narrative was too muddy. True, there was palpable racism in Jena; but also true, a gang of six black athletes cold-cocked a white student apparently at random and proceeded to beat and stomp him. And also true, the black thugs seem to have been overcharged originally with a hard-to-defend attempted murder rap. (Correction: Kaspar tells me the white student wasn't picked out "at random" but was in fact baiting the blacks about a black student who'd been jumped the day before. I'm not sure that's true, as I really only know what Bryan's written, but Kaspar seems well-informed.)

What lessons can we draw from this? Well, not terribly many, or at least not very simple ones; the case, alas, has little to say about George Bush or Iraq, and does not support simplistic slogans about Rich White Athlete Privilege.

It's all more nuanced than all that, which you think would make it our very nuaced media's preferred sort of story, but not so much.

Anyway, I thank Bryan for finally explaining this all to me. I was waiting for the MSM to do so, but they were asleep on the job so a blogger took care of it.

UPDATE (Jack M): RELEASE THE SENA 6!

Loving Suzanne Sena should not be a crime! Fight the Power! No Justice, No Peace! We shall....

What?

Ohhh...J-ena 6. Not S-ena 6.

I stand corrected.

posted by Ace at 12:45 PM

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