<p>Some will read it and applaud, some will read it and weep. </p>
<p>Did you read the comments, datdude?</p>
<p>lol self owned</p>
<p>i love how a story that’s actually has indeed been floating around in major media outlets for months now has ‘finally reached the mases’</p>
<p>I did indeed read the comments. What about the points McMillan made about Bonds, OJ, Vick? Mainstream media drags blacks through the mud daily and you all know it. The problem is, the media is as biased an entity against blacks as there is (next to big business and the legal system). It’s OK for them to portray us in the most negative light, but let the shoe be put on the other foot and you get comments like those made about McMillans article.</p>
<p>I’m not sure this is the right forum for your concerns, but read this piece by Prof. Orlando Paterson in the NY Times:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/opinion/30patterson.html?em&ex=1191470400&en=ed136b8ea0426d33&ei=5087 [/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/opinion/30patterson.html?em&ex=1191470400&en=ed136b8ea0426d33&ei=5087 </a></p>
<p>Blaming the press is shooting the messenger - you have to get your own house in order before you point your finger in other directions. It’s hard to be positive about someone who takes 'roids, kills dogs or beats people into unconsciousness. Would MLK have anything nice to say about these folks? Would he have marched to defend the right to kick an unconscious boy?</p>
<p>First off, this article was in yesterday’s DP and last time I checked this is primarily where the Penn community discusses school issues. </p>
<p>If blaming the press is shooting the messenger, then what were those responsing to McMillan’s article doing? </p>
<p>And it is hard to be positive about those who hang nooses from trees, pull out guns on other students and beat up on other people, especially when the penalties against them are pitifully lenient. The degree to which the white student got beat compared to the black student may differ, but wrong is wrong, both ways. Also, is it not important that the white kid was “conscious” enough to go party afterwards? If you alleged that you got hurt at work and brought up a lawsuit against your employer, a jury would find it hard to beleive you if it was discovered that immediately after your alleged injury, you were seen out doing the merengue and Cha Cha. Do I support anyone beating up anyone else? Of course not. But by focusing on an isolated incident in a series of unchecked incidents, you show absolute bias. </p>
<p>Funny you brought up MLK as an example. When he was marching he was marching for peace, but that didn’t stop angry white mobs from throwing bricks, bottles and much worse at he and his followers. Just remember this one thing Percy, he lost his life for his cause. And no, he wasn’t able to go “party” after the violence struck him. You can lie to yourself all you want, but we all know just how racist America is, particularly to black men. The major difference now is that it is perpetrated through the media so consistently.</p>
<p>That link you provided, I’d read already. But seriously, do you think that story is supportive of your argument?</p>
<p>You’re not seriously making a complaint that a trial for 6 nobody teenagers didn’t get as much coverage as trials for OJ, Vick, or Bonds? Those people were major public figures before they went on trial, and for the most part, race didn’t have anything to do with it, (okay, maybe with OJ it did, but not the others).</p>
<p>Americans just love to watch when our celebrities get caught in the legal system. Black or white. Just look at the coverage of Paris Hilton.</p>
<p>How are the teenagers nobody’s?? They’re young black men who deserve better justice than what they got and I’m sure no matter what nationality they were, members from their respective nationality groups would stand behind them. It kills me how black people come together to fight racial injustice and not only white’s but other cultures ridicule us over it. Is it because we’re the designated recipients of injustice in America? I guess we’re just all wrong about racism? </p>
<p>It’s the facts behind the case that deserves the attention, not the teenagers themselves. Some or most of them probably aren’t of the legal age to have their names printed anyway. Black people want justice, period. Why is it so hard to understand that?? No matter how many times guys like you meet our protests with minimalization, that will not deter us from seeking justice and equality. It’s not just about Jena for crying out loud, it’s about the racism that is ingrained in every fabric of our society, particularly aimed at black males. </p>
<p>“You’re not seriously making a complaint that a trial for 6 nobody teenagers didn’t get as much coverage as trials for OJ, Vick, or Bonds? Those people were major public figures before they went on trial, and for the most part, race didn’t have anything to do with it, (okay, maybe with OJ it did, but not the others).”</p>
<p>Please, consider how naive that statement sounds. </p>
<p>White America loathes Vick, OJ and Bonds. Bonds and Vick were hated long before they (allegedly) did anything wrong (how many years have you been reading sports pages and watching Sportscenter, because then you’d know what I’m talking about?).</p>
<p>They are as much nobodies as you or me.</p>
<p>Honestly, datdude, I agree with you and Simeon about most of this. What that town did to those black students was incredibly messed up and wrong, and it pains me to know that small towns like that still exist in our country. And yes, racism is still a huge issue in our country and still a huge factor.</p>
<p>The only issue I have with what you said is that you are so quick to jump to “the media hates black people”, instead of “the media has an unhealthy obsession with celebrity.”
I honestly did not know anything about white America loathing Vick or Bonds, because I don’t follow either football or baseball closely enough, so please explain. I know enough about either of them to say that Vick is quite the amazing quarterback and with a great running game too, and Bonds broke some sort of home run record and is being investigated for steroids. And OJ was really before my time.
So explain, how does white america loathe Vick and Bonds?</p>
<p>EDIT: I think the reason for a lot of the comments on the Simeon article is because they really don’t know much about the event, and the events leading up to it. About the black student who was beaten, and the white kid who got off scot free for it. The white kid who pulled a gun on a group of black teens and when they wrestled the gun away from the white kid, they were the ones charged with a crime, and the arson.</p>
<p>Well thank you for bringing up the facts in your edit, cause they are sorely being overlooked in all this, as evident in the comments over McMillan’s article. </p>
<p>And if you don’t watch sports or Sportscenter, or consistently read sports headlines, than you wouldn’t know how sports personalities continually tear these athletes down. I’v been around a little longer than you Phat, trust me, my views are from experience. I wasn’t always this quick to speak out. It has nothing to do with what has transpired with these people over the last few years. It’s on the web, in newspapers, TV and radio…the black athlete gets lynched with the pen every night. That’s not to mention the “nobody” blacks who have to deal with racial profiling, biased legal system, the “marble ceiling” in corporate America and unfair practices in the workforce and housing market. </p>
<p>If you read print media, listen to radio, read the internet, watch film and TV and don’t come up with the conclusion that they can’t stand black people, then you are just not going to ever empathize with our plight. One of the best points made in McMillan’s article was the lack of diversity among the protesters. Why do white’s always think contrary to blacks in these situations when we are the one’s who got wronged?</p>
<p>Could you provide some specific examples of “the black athlete gets lynched with the pen”.</p>
<p>Links to “lynching” articles and explanations of why you label them as such please.</p>
<p>You certainly rate that PA. Here are just a few and I’ll provide brief reasoning with my problems for each.</p>
<p><a href=“MLB News, Expert Analysis, Rumors, Live Updates, & more - Yahoo Sports”>MLB News, Expert Analysis, Rumors, Live Updates, & more - Yahoo Sports;
If Wille Randolph deserves to be fired, I deserve to be the new dean of admissions at Penn.</p>
<p><a href=“NBA News, Rumors, Scores, Standings & Stats | FOX Sports”>NBA News, Rumors, Scores, Standings & Stats | FOX Sports;
Another black man suspended from sports? Suspend all of them, why don’t they.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/02/people.winfrey.halleberry.ap/index.html[/url]”>http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/02/people.winfrey.halleberry.ap/index.html</a>
Read the article, then tell me if it were say, Nicole Kidman and she was just having a baby with some non-descript black guy if this article wouldn’t **** white people off to death. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1191300425116980.xml&coll=1[/url]”>http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1191300425116980.xml&coll=1</a>
Wow! In the Jena case nobody died. Seems a little light to me.</p>
<p>Because you seem genuinely interested to see where my source of frustration comes from (without acting like many poster’s on this site act) I’ll drop these to you from time to time. I could have given you 10 more easily.</p>
<p>Datdude,
I totally agree with your views on how the Jena case was handled. People do not consider that the “victim” was seen partying the same night of his escape from “attempted murder”. Of course beating up the white guy was wrong, but the charges were to harsh for the crime and shows how blacks and whites are treated differently under the law.</p>
<p>But can you elaborate on this:
“Read the article, then tell me if it were say, Nicole Kidman and she was just having a baby with some non-descript black guy if this article wouldn’t **** white people off to death.”</p>
<p>Please correct me if I am wrong, but are you saying that whites or the media have no problem with black women and white men (yeah I know Halle Berry is mixed, but she’s still black) but have issues with black men and white women? If so, then how does this relate to the Jena Six.</p>
<p>Note: Off topic here, but does anyone else think that Halle and Gabreil will have the cutest baby ever because they both have such attractive features?</p>
<p>threedays,
I’m saying that the media and white people have a much-less problem with black women dating white men than the other way around. The article was not harmful, just sleazy and antagonizing. Just read it again. Didn’t they already make her suck-off Billy Bob Thornton just to get her coveted Oscar?? That infuriated the black community. How do I know this? Cause that’s where I’m from and I’m in tune with what the pulse is. Not only that, but I could meet a black guy from Antarctica and, if he saw Monster’s Ball, he’d say the same thing.</p>
<p>I’m happy for Halle cause she’s been in some crappy relationships (she’s considered somewhat of a “drama queen”), but the article just seems to celebrate the white male’s conquest over her. If you don’t think it appears that way, than hey, few agreee with me anyway. When it comes to race, my arguments are simple - put the shoe on the other foot and see how it feels.</p>
<p>Did you watch the Oscar De La Hoya/ Mayweather fight? Mayweather beat the living crap out of De La Hoya, so badly that I was surprised he stayed on his feet. The commentating during the fight was biased and messed up, downright racist. Larry Merchant needs to have his head chopped off for being such a sleaze-bag. They tried to insinuate that it was a close fight, and tried to say Mayweather’s performance was sub-par. But after the fight, Mayweather’s uncle, who is his trainer, said vehemently, “He whooped his ***!” The fight was not close by a long shot. Even Max Kellerman, Merchant’s partner, had to admit that it was a “virtuoso” performance by Mayweather.</p>
<p>And yes, their baby will probably be adorable. And yes, that’s WAY off topic.</p>