Despite being a colleague of Greg Campbell’s with the Oregon Commentator, I find his commentary regarding the Jena Six issue to be largely misinformed. While only those that were in Jena, La., witnessed the trail of events firsthand truly know what happened in the last year, I think it’s clear that Mr. Campbell’s analyses of the situation are grossly skewed by his antecedent assumptions of race issues.
While Mr. Campbell does not believe that there is some massive racist conspiracy to persecute the six students, and the protesters for the Jena six might, it would be grossly ignorant to argue that racial tensions and differences simply do not exist. Sure, it is NOT the 1960s anymore, and civil rights ARE incomparably better than 40 years ago. However, as much as I hate using counterfactuals, I find it hard to believe that the Jena six are being treated exactly the same as if the situation had been flipped. The students that hung the nooses were not adequately punished for their insensitive, if not downright terrorizing ‘prank,’ and that is where the problem should have been addressed.
I hate to break it to you, Greg, but Oregon is not the liberal, progressive state you might think it to be. I would say that in the last 40 years, it has made some enormous leaps and bounds as to being more welcoming, but to say that it was always progressive is simply wrong. Up until the 1960s, only Caucasian people were allowed to own land in Oregon. Our own dear liberal Eugene was a huge hub for the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. Am I saying that I agree completely with Ty Schwoeffermann’s and Rachel Cushman’s remarks? No. All I am saying is when speaking on these issues, having a little perspective and knowledge of history is important.
I do agree that the Jena six should be tried for what they did. The protests calling for their release and acquittal are basically arguing that those six are above the law due to their race. They nearly beat someone to death, and need to be held responsible for their actions. However, in relation to the punishment handed out to the students that hung the nooses on the tree, no, the punishment and excessive imprisonment of the Jena six is not fair. If it is indeed the case that those nooses were a deliberate attempt to terrorize the black students of the school, the guilty individuals should have been expelled as initially recommended. Where the system went wrong is NOT where it is trying six black kids for the beating of a person, but where it failed to punish three white students for an insensitive and possibly deliberate act of hate.
My main appeal to respond to Mr. Campbell is the fact that the almost default response from the other side of the political spectrum is bound to be very emotionally charged and reactionary in nature. I am almost certain that any response to Mr. Campbell’s commentary will be just as antagonistic and confrontational as his, if not more so. While both sides may make valid points, the language and intent of both are neither meant to inspire understanding or communication, but to inspire anger and animosity. In discussing heated issues such as the Jena six, it is imperative that we keep our perspective and look at all sides of the story before making outrageous claims one way or another.
Sean Jin
Oregon Commentator Staff Writer