October 2, 2007

Students in 'Blackface' Re-enact Jena Six Incident

The 'New South' appears to be endorsing the 'new Jim Crow'. Is there any other conclusion you can come to when you find educated folks making fun of the racial turmoil that is boiling just beneath the surface here in America? Some students down at the University of Louisiana of Louisiana posted a Facebook video reenacting the stomping incident in Jena, LA. The footage shows three students in blackface, playfully acting out the racially motivated assault on a fourth white student. In the background others can be heard yelling out racial epithets.

Shot on the banks of the Ouachita River, the minute-long video and a number of photos of the white students covered in mud and showing the number "6" with their fingers was posted on the Facebook page of Kristy Smith.

Ms. Smith is quoted saying "I'm not racist," but things "got a lil out of hand." However, she had time to think about it. It was a few days after the taping that she was bold enough to title the video, "The Jena 6 on the River".

Villagers, I just do not understand the mentality of people that think that race relations is a joking matter? When will we learn?

8 comments:

FreeBeing said...

It's not about people letting things get out of hand. There are always going to be willfully ignorant people in the world. Sometimes I think that we have not so much progressed in race relations as we have learned new ways to be racist.

Unknown said...

Free - We need to find new ways to fight racists. I imagine that our blogs are one way as we can shine light on this ignorance without depending on the mainstream media.

Unknown said...

The white girl in the video is crying the blues in public places as a result of the shame and tension that entered her life when she posted her Jena Six satire on her Facebook account recently.

She is young ... and someone should have taught her better.

Woozie said...

Why should something be off-limits for comedy? What's the point of life if you can't take a break and have a laugh at something serious and depressing?

Anonymous said...

"Why should something be off-limits for comedy? What's the point of life if you can't take a break and have a laugh at something serious and depressing?"

Because the noose thing isn't funny!

Unknown said...

Woozie - There is a time and place for everything. This is not the time or place for comedy about lynching.

Old White Guy - Amen! I notice that the young lady who posted the Facebook satire was ashamed of herself. She wasn't looking for a First Amendment defense. She was crying out of shame for her insensitivity.

Woozie said...

By themselves nooses aren't funny but anything can be made into comedy, and I'm well aware of the history of lynching.

Unknown said...

Woozie - Anything can be made funny. However, I think that these young people at the ULM campus made this Facebook video out of a sense of white supremecy and not out of a sense of comedic literature.