rambled Jena-6

My brother wrote and said:

As if life were not weird enough; the south rises again

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/132845

Jena. Louisiana -- The American National Socialist Workers Party anxiously awaits the release of the Jena 6 n-----s, responsbile for an unprovoked assault on a white high student, so the six can face true justice.

"If these n-----s are released or acquitted, we will find out where they live and make sure that white activists and white citizens in Louisiana know it," ANSWP Commander Bill White stated today, "We'll mail directions to their homes to every white man in Louisiana if we have to in order to find someone willing to deliver justice."

Make one glad to be alive, no?

my reply may be:
> "we will find out where they live and make sure that white activists and white citizens in Louisiana know it," ANSWP Commander Bill White stated today, "We'll mail directions to their homes to every white man in Louisiana if we have to in order to find someone willing to deliver justice."

There's a certain stench of cowardice here "in order to find someone willing", as in we'll poke the looney hive until a mad bee flies out and does something. Then we'll stand back and say "we didn't do it" citing the undoubtebly ANSWP anathemic "free speech" defense. The "back story":

http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/132825
The Jena story, according to what's been reported so far, began in August 2006 when a black student asked during a Jena High School assembly if it was all right for black students to sit under the oak tree where white students gathered for lunch. The next morning, nooses were dangling from that tree.

Jena High's principal wanted to expel the three white students who put up the nooses. The school board and superintendent disagreed. The students were suspended. There was an investigation, but no charges were filed.

A white student allegedly pulled a shotgun on a group of black students. The black kids took the gun away. The black student who took the gun home was charged with theft. The white student wasn't charged.

A black student was beaten by white students. No charges were filed.

Six black students -- the Jena Six -- beat a white student. They were charged with attempted murder. One of them, 16 years old at the time of the attack, was tried as an adult. An all-white jury convicted him of battery and conspiracy. An appeals court overturned that conviction, saying the student shouldn't have been tried as an adult.

So you have echoes of "Strange Fruit" and "My Hometown", "To Kill a Mockingbird" and ... August, 2006 somebody asks if it's alright if they sit under an oak tree? you'd ... I'd ... one'd want to say 'how in the Sam Hill could there be an oak tree like that" but there is and it's in Louisiana, for at least one place. And yet:
http://earlofarihutchinson.blogspot.com/

Mauffray [the judge in the Jena 6 case] seemed anything but the fair-minded, erudite jurist when he revoked the $90,000 bond of centerpiece Jena 6 defendant Mychal Bell. This brought howls of rage from Bell's family, attorneys, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and the thousands that flocked to Jena to demand his freedom. But Mauffray as a key juvenile judge in La Salle Parish, in fact virtually the only judge in the parish that hears juvenile cases, is certainly well familiar with Bell.

He has been involved with Bell to one degree or another when he was charged with four prior offenses. In the past two years, he was hauled into the juvenile court that Mauffray helps oversee on battery and property damage charges. The juvenile court and Mauffray did not toss the book at Bell after he committed those offenses. He was placed on probation in April 2006 until his 18th birthday. With the prior offenses that Bell had, he could have easily been held in juvenile jail for the two year period. That has been the fate of legions of other black teens in legions of juvenile courts throughout the country. Many of these youth that languish in juvenile or even adult jails with fewer prior offenses than Bell.

But Mauffray and the juvenile court gave Bell the benefit of the doubt and another chance. "

right, that one of a group of 6 who beats up somebody is troubled/involved in the legal system is not a surprise. Another post at the above notes that Bell's previous offenses were 'black on black' and that was the reason for previous leniency. Now David Bowie, among others, is going his bail. Yet, I want to say that this isn't a bad thing. Something like:
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/132825

Thursday, while tens of thousands of protesters converged on Jena, a much smaller protest was taking place nearly 900 miles away.

At least 85 of the 480 students who attend Radford High School wore T-shirts supporting the Jena Six. They signed letters they plan to send to LaSalle Parish, La., prosecutor Reed Walters and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

200 signed letters. Half the school. So, unlike, say Tony Snow

http://deadissue.com/archives/2007/09/23/lynch-the-jena-6/

Former White House press secretary Tony Snow on an October 2003 edition of Fox News Sunday: "Here's the unmentionable secret: Racism isn't that big a deal any more. No sensible person supports it. Nobody of importance preaches it. It's rapidly becoming an ugly memory."

Okay that's old and he's Bush's former P.S. - but unlike that, you, er, I gotta see some hope here. It wasn't done - the press (yes, and the press seekers) showed up and, save the truly odious
http://podblanc.ath.cx/

the story was that this needs to be handled transparently. It's not simple, it's not easy, but it won't become a tragedy. William White (you got to believe it's a name change) won't see his idea of 'justice' done. He might even (or not:
http://balkin.blogspot.com/2007/09/when-are-websites-threats-jena-6.html

) get busted for this one. But while it's not 'no longer a big deal', it's not ignored. Does make you glad to be alive.

My family is involved in public education (fine joke - a nephew is reputedly the source of:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30911

) up here in mostly Nordic-land and they will say; yes, for the numeric minority there is a vastly skewed percentage of non-white kids in trouble w/ the system. Not a signifigant number (count 'em up, there's still more white kids in the principal's office) but ... I dunno. All the poking around and one of the more disturbing views:
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=556
http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S26304.shtml?cat=89

Maybe that's just my lack of perspective.

a

Garlic Mustard Cleansing

When I close my eyes, I can still see the plants, the little white flowers. Too small (luckily) to be table/vase pretty, but delicate and simple. Yet it's a plague upon the land, a destroyer of our native life, a threat to our very heritage. It must be killed, eradicated, the very roots pulled out and the bodies burned ... okay, maybe 4 hours in the sun will exaggerate certain aspects of a job.This is a thought that has occurred more than once, while cutting the grass (w/ the push mower - slow, but ineffective (you end up covering the lawn about 3 times) like a bad haircut w/ a butter knife ... quiet though) w/ the weed puller in my pocket. You spot yet another skunk weed patch or humoungous dandelion and stop to dig it out, striving for a vegative racial purity. Next door they apply chemicals, across the street they hire a gang of brownshirts in a white van, thugs to drop by and convince the weedy, unwanted - alien plants to go elsewhere, carrying the pile of carcasses off in black plastic bags. Still, the tide remains unturned, unstoppable; there's more of them and they just won't stop reproducing! Sure that yellow flower, the purest butter yellow is lovely but 3 days later the seeds are launched like a parachute platoon, an attack of spider-like insurgents that'll be killing grass w/i a month (okay 8-15 weeks) One *inch* of root will regenerate a new plant (Not "Alien", but The Blob maybe). Your 'rooting tool' is no match for that sort of fecundicity. Burdock, the vaguely rhubarb looking thing grow these preposterous roots and, again, if you don't get it all - back it comes. Thistles, creeping Charlie, mint, violets ....

And then there's garlic mustard. Last year, must of removed 8 bags of the stuff (on to the curb for the special trucks - something like "Bring out your dead" cart or the "Soylent Green" dumpsters) from the back yard and this year - its all back. 1000s of plants draped across the landscape like, er, a rug. New infestations by the mailbox, under the lilac bush and all along the fence line. Not to mention the other side of the fence, where my neighbor's yard is infested. I'll have to cleanse that area too, an invasion (by me) and pogrom or else the damn things'll be back in my yard like ... you know, one of those hordes. Hey, there are no pacifists in the garden, you're out there eradicating intruders by pulling their little bodies right out by the root (and, w/ luck, including the roots) and the sun, the heat and sweat and ants and those little tank-like bugs under the rotting wood and your back aches and fingers sore from unaccustomed activity and the hand w/ the rooting thingee is cramping and you look up and there another 1000 of them under the pine trees, the little 2 leaf starters and the 6 inch kids sprouting the little white soon to be a million more indestructable seed (5 years they'll wait and you can't even burn them sterile) flowers popping and taller rows intertwined w/ the lillys and "aaaaaahhhghh!" "You win," I want to say, "you win, take the yard, take the shade, take the native foliage, just leave me alone!"

Thankfully, a beer and a bottle of water and one can start again. Tomorrow.

rainy days and chain lubes

yeah yeah, a week of cold rain. Not a big deal, though I did get the long johns out of the drawer (all but two pair of the winter wear had been boxed off but last week or so we got snow and this week its just in the 40s for the morning ride) for the last couple days. Nonetheless the plant life has exploded - grass is green, every weed ever planned is growing the Lilies of the valley are coming up between the bricks of our back porch. The peonies grow about 3 inches a day, its a shock - you don't want to think about plants moving that fast (what was that lame movie about the attack of the plants triffids?no, Dr Terrors house of horror) but they do. If you ever talk to Northern folk and they say they don't bother about the weather, what they mean is: long johns. A pair of them, from the flimsy, one layer Jockeys to fuzzy, polyprop mega-fiber Patagonia Cadillacs under your jeans will change the way you deal w/ cold. Er, chain lubes. Don't know much about them, my bike guy says "buy the cheap 3n1 stuff and wipe the chain off, now and then" which works pretty well. The whole cleaning/fancy lub stuff seems unlikely - cheap is a buck an ounce. How fast *can* you ride? Did want to bring up the 60-80 cents
cost of driving per mile recently - SUVs are up to 80 cents and that's at 2.25/gallon (ever slow boil a lobster?). So, this makes the 3.60 latte and 2.75 piece of Sofia's Raspberry chocolate cream cheese a bargain compared to 10 miles (RT) of driving and parking and health issues (my own and the rest of you'all) leaving aside the fact that I'd have the latte and cake even if I drove. Hmm, maybe, smug and all, I should get, er, maybe I *deserve* two pieces of cake ...

Showing my self-righteousness

Okay - the other morning I was riding to work, after a "climate change" snowstorm here, which dropped 8" though, due to the 30+ temperature, only stuck on the grass etc. and cars. That is, the roads were clear w/o any plowing. Now, lets be frank, I've been called a self-righteous bastard (in so many words) for many years now, but I've also ridden my bike to work, year round, for close on 20 years. Its not a big deal - they do a much better job of plowing the bike path (or at least my bike paths) than the streets and, while, yes, many's the morn I ride past the main drag now a "parking lot" (or a "mule race") of commuters inching thru the snow w/ a "Oh, aren't I clever?" grin, its still just a nice 20-30 minute pedal into the coffee shop and there I am, at work w/ a warm latte, ready to start reading email. My current bike is (ah, the scent of lavender here) a 1937 (so the guy tells me) "Sterling Sports Tourist" (Westfield Mass - "Built like a watch" un-google-able though) one speed, a sweet, sweet bike. The great thing about one speeds - you just can't go any faster. This looks a lot like the wicked Witch of the west's bike, while still in Kansas.


Right, so I'm coming down a residential street and this white Caddy backs out of the drive, 3 of the four sides of windows completely covered in 4" of snow, the windshield clear only where the wipers had been active. Its a soft easy snow, you could clear the windows w/ your hand and not be cold, so I say (okay, the driver's side window is down 4") "You should scrape your windows ..." and, as I ride past (after making sure he's not going to run me over) turning and shaking a school marm finger at him. Yes, snotty etc but geeez. So, the block and a half to the stop sign (ignoring a honk) and then left and a half a block to the next stop sign at a school crossing (the school being right there) and he pulls up and mid-intersection, yells "your self-righteousness is showing!" Oh, I wish I were able to make snappy retorts - "yeah, but you couldn't see it", "for all you know I'm a Catholic priest, but you still need to clean your windows!", "it took you 3 block to think of that?" hmmm, maybe I'm retort challenged here. I did ride over and bicker, trying, I'd like to believe, just to point out that he was backing out of driveway w/ no possible view and driving down the street w/ no peripheral vision. "They give out tickets for that, you know" His reply; he had a sick child at school to pick up.

Yeah, so ... no justice (a cop car came the other way a half a block later and I just barely didn't hail it and explain the white Caddy needing a ticket just around the corner), no peace and I'm left riding to work stewing over the whole shebang. There was a couple crossing guards there, even, I could of appealed to them, "should this guy clean his window?", its a school zone etc but something about being wrong, making a mistake was so overpowering ... funny thing is, yes, I know I do this but our son, just 8, he's always done this. Like Chomsky's grammar here, the necessity of not being wrong requiring the "accuse the messenger" thing ....