Over the last month or so, the Jena Six trial has brought racial issues to the forefront of debate across the country.
When discussing the Jena Six trial with my mom a few weeks back, she said, “The soul and the spirit have no color, why can’t man see that? It isn’t color that determines one’s actions, but the heart.”
In my opinion, any form of racism is sheer ignorance. Do I think the Jena 6 should have been punished for beating a white student? Yes, I do. But I also think the white students who were involved in acts of racism and violence at the high school should have been punished accordingly. You see, I believe in equality.
I don’t think racial or morally wrongful acts should be punished according to the color of one’s skin.
I recently received an Internet link to a video posted on a Louisiana college student’s Facebook profile.
This video showed a re-enactment of the beating of a white student by the six black students in Jena, La. These white college students covered their skin with dark mud and laughed as they beat up a consenting student. The student recording the scene can be heard laughing in the background, even as one of the painted-black actors says “Niggers put the noose on.”
The student who posted the video supposedly tried to retract her actions by saying that she is not racist and that she has a lot of black friends.
While I cannot judge her or her intent, her actions were nonetheless seen as racist. This video can be viewed at: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/1002071jena1.html?link=eaf.
As a child, I grew up in a home where racism was not welcome.
My parents were always inviting over people of many different races. I have dined with many people, from Asians to African priests, and I just don’t see the fuss over skin color.
Over the summer, I was working at a clothing store in Sevierville. We had just hired a new employee and during her first week she went out back to take out the trash. She came back in and told me that some Mexican out there was staring at her. I said, “Oh, you mean Jose? I talk to him all the time.” I then explained to her that Jose, a husband and father who works as a janitor at the mall, was probably just wondering who the new girl was at our store. I further explained to her that in some cultures staring isn’t considered rude like it is in the United States.
I think one of the keys to overcoming racial troubles is to understand one another’s culture and history. I have a hard time understanding why people are racist in our country, the “melting pot.” We claim to be so forward-thinking and open-minded, yet we refuse to see past racial boundaries that are holding us back. It isn’t only white versus black either.
In our own region we are still fighting a battle long ago ended by the Civil War. The North won, let’s stop dwelling on this. If we as people fail to quit harboring resentment toward each other, we will never reach our full potential. Martin Luther King once said, “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
I think it is good to be proud of our heritage and remember our past, but I also think we can do so without reliving it.

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