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Further proof that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are windbags (as if we need more)...

King Kashue

By King Kashue
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King Kashue Newbie

King Kashue

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Some random stranger posted bail for Mychal Bell...

 

Wow, making speeches didn't get him out of Jail, but actually posting bail did? Amazing...I guess it's okay though, we know that neither Sharpton or Jackson actually have that much money to throw around...

 

Hrm?...they both make tens of thousands per speaking appearance?...Oh, nevermind then...:rolleyes:

 

 

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - When a 17-year-old at the center of a civil rights controversy in a small Louisiana town left jail, he had a stranger to thank.

 

Dr. Stephen Ayers, who lives about 135 miles away, said he felt compelled to help the family of Mychal Bell by posting the teen's bond and allowing him to go home for the first time in 10 months.

 

Bell is one of six black teenagers accused of beating a white classmate in the central Louisiana town of Jena, where more than 20,000 demonstrators gathered last week to protest what they perceive as differences in how black and white suspects are treated.

 

Ayers, 42, of Lake Charles in southwestern Louisiana, said Friday that he isn't politically active and isn't usually one to "get into things like this." But then a patient whose feet hurt after the march gave him a report on the event, in which Ayers did not participate.

 

"I was concerned about what was going on up there and thought the district attorney was a bit harsh in his treatment of Mr. Bell," said Ayers, who is black but added that his race was not his motivation. "I really thought it was overkill."

 

Bell was released from custody Thursday on $45,000 bail after District Attorney Reed Walters announced that he would abandon adult charges against him. Ayers posted $5,400, the required 12 percent bond set by a judge Thursday.

 

Bell was 16 when he and five other black Jena High School students were arrested in December and charged with kicking Justin Barker, a white student, after knocking him unconscious.

 

Five of the six students, including Bell, initially were charged with attempted murder, but the charges against Bell and three others later were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery. The case against the sixth youth is sealed in juvenile court.

 

Bell had faced as many as 15 years in prison on his battery conviction last month, but a state appeals court tossed the conviction out, ruling that juveniles can't be tried as adults on battery charges.

 

The teen is due back in court Tuesday for the first hearing in his juvenile case. Meanwhile, one of Bell's lawyers said she him to start looking for a new school and possibly a new place to live.

 

The attorney, Carol Powell Lexing, said that leaving Jena, where his parents live, is for Bell's "safety and welfare."

 

"Right now, it's not a good environment for him to be in," she said, adding that Bell's family members have received threatening letters.

 

Lexing, who called Ayers a "good Samaritan," said she thanked the doctor over the phone. Many people offered to donate money for Bell's bail, but Lexing said they accepted Ayers' help because he and a friend, Lawrence Morrow, were willing to handle the logistics.

 

Morrow, a magazine publisher and host of local radio and television shows, met Lexing when he went to Jena for Thursday's march. Morrow went home to Lake Charles with swollen feet, so he called his friend and family doctor for a prescription.

 

Ayers asked him about the march and offered to help Bell and his legal team. "He said, 'Whatever the cost is, go get him out,'" Morrow recalled.

 

Ayers said he isn't helping Bell because he thinks he is innocent.

 

"What he did was in no way right, and he should be punished for this," he said. "We're not condoning his behavior. We're just saying he needs to be punished appropriately."

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Crescent Seven Newbie

Crescent Seven

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So... wait... How is it cool to put bail up for some guy who beat the {censored} out of someone?


I, believe it or not, am not at all familiar with the story so forgive me ignorance if I got the wrong impression.

 

The next time I beat the {censored} out of someone, and someone posts my bail, I'll think they're pretty {censored}in' cool for doing it.:D

C7

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Mudbass Newbie

Mudbass

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So... wait... How is it cool to put bail up for some guy who beat the {censored} out of someone?


I, believe it or not, am not at all familiar with the story so forgive me ignorance if I got the wrong impression.

 

 

 

I think the point was that Sharpton and Jackson make a lot of noise about the poor down trodden black man and how black folks can't get any justice, but do they honestly care? {censored} no, they leave the guy sitting in jail.

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Craig Vecchione Newbie

Craig Vecchione

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I think the point was that Sharpton and Jackson make a lot of noise about the poor down trodden black man and how black folks can't get any justice, but do they honestly care? {censored} no, they leave the guy sitting in jail.

 

 

Well, how can they make that appearance money if there's no downtrodden to rant about?

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King Kashue Newbie

King Kashue

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So... wait... How is it cool to put bail up for some guy who beat the {censored} out of someone?


I, believe it or not, am not at all familiar with the story so forgive me ignorance if I got the wrong impression.

 

 

The bail (as well as the original charges and some of the current charges) seem grossly disproportionate to a lot of observers.

 

Look at the last line of the story, and that sums up a lot of people's opinions on the matter:

 

"Ayers said he isn't helping Bell because he thinks he is innocent.

 

"What he did was in no way right, and he should be punished for this," he said. "We're not condoning his behavior. We're just saying he needs to be punished appropriately."

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Brother Mango Newbie

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This article is hardly proof that Sharpton and Jackson are windbags.

 

I'm no apologist for these two, but here's one way to look at the situation.

 

No. Sharpton and Jackson didn't plan and execute a march in order to get the kid out of jail. Getting the kid out of jail could be silently done by wiring some money to the kids' parents.

 

If that had happened, would we be discussing the case? Probably not.

 

Does change happen by writing a check?

 

Sometimes the only thing that'll get someone's attention is, "Oh! Damn!! Busloads of angry Black folk are on their way here.

 

Next thing you know, a minister from the town is on NPR expressing his embarassment and trying to assure the nation that his city isn't what it's being portrayed as.

 

And what about the Dr. who's mentioned in the article? He wasn't up on what was happening until he was treating a patient who'd been on the march.

 

Shall we call it "strategic"? The kid stays in jail an extra week in order to intensify public reaction. The entire world is made aware of an injustice that continues to unfold, and warning is given to people who practice these injustices but haven't been caught yet.

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King Kashue Newbie

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This article is hardly proof that Sharpton and Jackson are windbags.


I'm no apologist for these two, but here's one way to look at the situation.


No. Sharpton and Jackson didn't plan and execute a march in order to get the kid out of jail. Getting the kid out of jail could be
silently
done by wiring some money to the kids' parents.


If that had happened, would we be discussing the case? Probably not.


Does change happen by writing a check?


Sometimes the only thing that'll get someone's attention is, "Oh! Damn!! Busloads of angry Black folk are on their way here.


Next thing you know, a minister from the town is on NPR expressing his embarassment and trying to assure the nation that his city isn't what it's being portrayed as.


And what about the Dr. who's mentioned in the article? He wasn't up on what was happening until he was treating a patient who'd been on the march.


Shall we call it "strategic"? The kid stays in jail an extra week in order to intensify public reaction. The entire world is made aware of an injustice that continues to unfold, and warning is given to people who practice these injustices but haven't been caught yet.

 

 

To my mind, if your view on Sharpton and Jackson's actions were correct, then after the attention grabbing, they would have been the ones to spring him...they weren't.

 

As for "talking about it", most of the folks I know knew about it before the good reverends got involved. I'm not sure they're even responsible for that.

 

 

Also, let's be clear on what the injustice is here. We should not make the "Jena Six" to be unjustly accused, which is how a number of people are treating it. They committed a crime that was violent and savage. They just didn't commit as serious a crime as that with which they were charged.

 

"Only" committing aggravated assault instead of attempted murder doesn't make you a civil rights hero, it makes you a felon.

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jasper383 Newbie

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To my mind, if your view on Sharpton and Jackson's actions were correct, then after the attention grabbing, they would have been the ones to spring him...they weren't.


As for "talking about it", most of the folks I know knew about it before the good reverends got involved. I'm not sure they're even responsible for that.



Also, let's be clear on what the injustice is here. We should not make the "Jena Six" to be unjustly accused, which is how a number of people are treating it. They committed a crime that was violent and savage. They just didn't commit as serious a crime as that with which they were charged.


"Only" committing aggravated assault instead of attempted murder doesn't make you a civil rights hero, it makes you a felon.

 

 

+1

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Brother Mango Newbie

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Also, let's be clear on what the injustice is here. We should not make the "Jena Six" to be unjustly accused, which is how a number of people are treating it. They committed a crime that was violent and savage. They just didn't commit as serious a crime as that with which they were charged.


"Only" committing aggravated assault instead of attempted murder doesn't make you a civil rights hero, it makes you a felon.

 

 

 

How do we get into a conversation about whether the Jena 6 are civil rights heroes????? This is just plain bizarre.

 

 

 

We have to step back and take a comprehensive view. The injustice is several events that started with, essentially, a "Whites Only" tree.

So, the injustice is not only that the charges were too harsh; it's compounded by the unequal treatment. The White kids were merely pranksters, making trouble that's to be expected of schoolboys. In contrast, Mychal Bell is tried for attempted murder for a fight that doesn't sound like it was all that savage. (Didn't the victim of this beating go out to a party or school event later that same day?)

 

 

Paying Mychal Bell's bail only brings focus to his case, and the chance of losing sight of all of the events that lead up to it. Rallying people to come & march, and cause major, minor, insignificant and international media outlets to descend on the town ... The story cannot be about a fight and a single case. It forces an entire town to step up onto an international stage and try to explain itself and its entire history.

 

Envision: a random Jena resident is caught outside trying to have a cigarette break and is shown on television screens in India, Germany, Singapore, Venezuela ... being asked, "What's the deal with all of these angry Black people and your "Whites Only" tree?"

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King Kashue Newbie

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No. I stated that the plan wasn't to get Bell out of jail. I cannot say what the strategy is behind the "why not." You'd need to ask Sharpton or Jackson, or someone who's familiar with such things.

 

Their "plan" could very much be pure self-aggrandizement. You're chastizing me for assuming they have selfish motives but you just as much assume they don't, except you can't even speculate as to the nature of their altruism? How does that work?

 

However, it's the pure definition of 'cynical' to say that Jackson and Sharpton helping themselves by masquerading as civil rights activists. Cynicism is too easy. There is an underlying strategy that's more complex than self-indulgent attention-grabbing. That strategy may be wrong, right, successful or a miserable failure. But there's more going on here.

 

And that would be? :confused:

 

You're assuring me that something more than self-serving publicity is what's being gained here, but can't tell me what it is...How can you at all be confident that is where their motives lie given the nature of their behavior (particularly Sharpton)?

 

The injustice is several events that started with, essentially, a "Whites Only" tree. So, the injustice is not only that the charges were too harsh; it's compounded by the unequal treatment.

 

In a discussion regarding systematic injustice, the "white's only tree" doesn't come into play, since that was one group of students and another. As wrong as we may think it is, students are under no obligation to treat one another fairly, the justice system and the school board, on the other hand, are.

 

 

As for the centrality of the "Whites only tree" and how it spurred this sequence of events, that's awfully questionable. Not a single one of the forty people who gave statements regarding the attack connected it to the nooses, and during the investigation, no one suggested it. It's been put together after the fact by the media in trying to provide a narrative, and it's become a retrospective impetus...

 

In contrast, Mychal Bell is tried for attempted murder for a fight that doesn't sound like it was all that savage. (Didn't the victim of this beating go out to a party or school event later that same day?)

 

He was hit in the back of the head and stomped (literally) by six people. He was out numbered and prone, and was beaten into unconsciousness. He suffered a concussion and his eye was swollen shut (he did not regain vision in that eye for weeks). He also suffered injuries to his hands (along with other facial injuries).

 

He attended the school's "Ring Ceremony" because he, in his words: "I waited 11 years to go to it. I wasn't going to let that get in my way". He ended up leaving early because the pain was too much and he needed medication.

 

Paying Mychal Bell's bail only brings focus to his case, and the chance of losing sight of all of the events that lead up to it. Rallying people to come & march, and cause major, minor, insignificant and international media outlets to descend on the town ... The story cannot be about a fight and a single case.

 

Even if the "events that lead up to it" really didn't? Even if this whole "causal line" of dominos is nothing more than a construction in the benefit of hindsight?

 

Essential to justice is an unswerving dedication to the truth. The American Justice System departed from that in the beginning of these trials. The attempt to balance the scales should not take the form of a error in the other direction...

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Craig Vecchione Newbie

Craig Vecchione

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This article is hardly proof that Sharpton and Jackson are windbags.


I'm no apologist for these two, but here's one way to look at the situation.


No. Sharpton and Jackson didn't plan and execute a march in order to get the kid out of jail. Getting the kid out of jail could be
silently
done by wiring some money to the kids' parents.


If that had happened, would we be discussing the case? Probably not.


Does change happen by writing a check?


Sometimes the only thing that'll get someone's attention is, "Oh! Damn!! Busloads of angry Black folk are on their way here.


Next thing you know, a minister from the town is on NPR expressing his embarassment and trying to assure the nation that his city isn't what it's being portrayed as.


And what about the Dr. who's mentioned in the article? He wasn't up on what was happening until he was treating a patient who'd been on the march.


Shall we call it "strategic"? The kid stays in jail an extra week in order to intensify public reaction. The entire world is made aware of an injustice that continues to unfold, and warning is given to people who practice these injustices but haven't been caught yet.

 

 

 

You're talking about all these events transpiring while the young man, the person who could directly benefit in real time, sits in jail. You make my point for me.

 

Yes, call it "strategic". While Sharpton's strategizing, and "busloads of angry black folk" are heading in, the young man sits in jail. It doesn't matter whether his actual motives are good, bad or indifferent. He gets up on a soapbox at every, and I mean *every* opportunity, but I've yet to see him actually *do* something helpful. And IMO there's an analogy between this and the state of blacks as a whole. Lots of words, lots of strategy, not much useful forward motion. The overwhelming majority of America is NOT preventing that motion. Look at the makeup of those busloads (they weren't just "angry black folk, not by a long shot) as some evidence. My point: Sharpton hurts more than helps.

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hawkhuff Newbie

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I think the point was that Sharpton and Jackson make a lot of noise about the poor down trodden black man and how black folks can't get any justice, but do they honestly care? {censored} no, they leave the guy sitting in jail.

 

 

True, but they DO scare the be-Jesus out of local officials and corporations.

 

Then, they shake 'em down. It works every time and no one will recognize what a scam they are.

 

 

 

KK, c'mon tell us how you really feel.

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Undead Sycip Newbie

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Al, Jesse and their ilk's big secret agenda is to keep the black man down. By perpetuating the blacks as victims mentality amongst the community, they keep themselves relevant and most importantly, employed. AS and JJ's biggest fear would be racial harmony and equality.

 

Disgusting folks IMO.

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