Not mere "Prank" - Reader comments at The New York Sun

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Exposing Bigotry

Submitted by John, Sep 20, 2007 16:46

I agree with most of what you said, but I disagree about the noose incident just being a prank. I think it can legitimately be viewed as a death threat, similar to holding a gun to a person's head. This incident took place in the rural South, where blacks were still being lynched from trees not much more than a generation ago, and the white citizenry stood around and posed for photographs with the hanging corpses as if it they were holiday ornaments. There were three black boys who sat under the tree in the triggering event, and the next day there were three nooses. The number of nooses was not an accident; it was specifically meant as a threat: "You three will be hanged if you do this again."

I am an Asian male, so perhaps I come from about a neutral perspective as you can on this whole story. But knowing the history of the region, I think you have to consider the view of the nooses from the black boys' perspectives. I think it is reasonable for them to see it as a death threat. If you hold an empty gun to someone's head, but he doesn't know it's empty, it is reasonable for him to be in fear for his life even though his life is not really in danger. In that incidence, the law would consider what is reasonable for the victim (the guy with the gun held to his head) to perceive in deciding what to charge the perpetrator with, and not what just that the gun was empty, or what the perpetrator was thinking.

High school kids have been charged for federal civil hate crimes for burning crosses on black people's lawns. The threat there is to make the blacks think the KKK is around and make the blacks fear for their lives. The DA has said he couldn't find anything under state law to charge the white kids, and he's right if he's just talking about federal hate crime laws. But if he's going to come down so heavily on the black kids to up their charges to attempted murder by interpreting the facts in the worst light possible, he should have also come down hard on the white kids by interpreting their actions in the worst light possible, and charged them with something like communicating threats.

But by viewing their actions as mere pranks, he, like you, totally ignored the message that the nooses were meant to convey to the black boys.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
Yes, racism is rampant in the United States with the Blacks receiving the short-end of justice. Be that as it... [MORE]	julia	Oct 17, 2007 12:07
This is not a case about black prisoners or black outh culture. This about a double standard and a DA... [MORE]	Mindy	Sep 23, 2007 21:39
I agree with most of your assertions, aside from your claim that six white boys would not have been punished... [MORE]	Tom	Sep 21, 2007 12:24
The idea that America remains racist is simply an excuse for minorities to claim victimhood. Institutionalized racism is a thing... [MORE]	Dan from Atlanta	Sep 21, 2007 12:13
In any society, the large majority of violent crimes will be committed by 1) men, 2) the poor, and 3)... [MORE]	D.J. Leslie	Sep 21, 2007 09:02
From the article: "The Jena story, it must be said, does not show the school's black teens in their best light.... [MORE]	David	Sep 21, 2007 04:26
The day after the nooses appeared, the principal of the school, the mayor, and the police chief should have gathered... [MORE]	Clifford Billions	Sep 20, 2007 23:41
One kid on the ground while several kids try kicks to his head is a serious assault which could be... [MORE]	guthriej	Sep 20, 2007 22:59
I agree with most of what you said, but I disagree about the noose incident just being a prank. I...	John	Sep 20, 2007 16:46
I don't know if Rev. Sharpton is going to help this cause. I don't recall him asking for a Congressional... [MORE]	Carol	Sep 20, 2007 16:44
What I find amazingly disturbing is the fact that the stunt with the nooses is even brought in to this... [MORE]	David	Sep 20, 2007 16:27
I am almost 68 years old and I have seen the whole spectrum of racial divisiveness this country can produce... [MORE]	Jim	Sep 20, 2007 16:08
Al Sharpton has zero credibility. He is a fraud and has no business in LA. The Tawana Brawley case will... [MORE]	Bob Henkel	Sep 20, 2007 16:08
Do you think one could dismiss the hanging of nooses in Jena High school as a joke especially given the... [MORE]	Siva	Sep 20, 2007 13:35
Mr. McWhorter has no problems exposing the Jena prosecutor as a bigot, based on the facts as he sees them.... [MORE]	Mike	Sep 20, 2007 13:18
What is the citation for this assertion? [MORE]	jonwash	Sep 26, 2007 16:34
As a member of a minority group (be it not an official minority) I can tell you that there is... [MORE]	Aryeh	Sep 20, 2007 12:41
I'm not buying it. I love how people jump to conclusions about what the justice system WOULD do if it... [MORE]	John Snyder	Sep 20, 2007 11:24
I take exception to this statement: "Beating another person is NEVER permissable" The notion that all manner of harms can be... [MORE]	Marty Lund	Sep 20, 2007 15:10
This article leaves out very important icidents that happened between the time the nooses were put in the tree and... [MORE]	Darrell	Sep 20, 2007 11:18
I wondered why the facts Darrell mentioned were omitted. All of the missing events were catalyst for the unfortunate outcome.... [MORE]	Toni	Sep 20, 2007 16:38
I don't consider hanging nooses on the tree a "prank". It was definitely sending a message. [MORE]	Celeste Dwyer	Sep 20, 2007 11:07
Okay, I agree that there was over charging in this case. So here's my question, Mr. McWhoter: Is it okay... [MORE]	James Skora	Sep 20, 2007 09:14
Hello John: Just a short comment to say that you are so correct in your commentary. This case is one where... [MORE]	David M. Bethune	Sep 20, 2007 08:53
I know it's not polite to mention, but black people are not 50 percent of the prison population simply because... [MORE]	Notashamed	Sep 20, 2007 13:18
Nooses and assaults are not pranks. One is a hate crime the other a felony. 6 on 1 could be... [MORE]	John Bailo	Sep 20, 2007 02:54
I'm glad I'm Asian because that means I won't conjure images of the Holocaust or southern racism when I see... [MORE]	Kit	Sep 20, 2007 14:02

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