Jena 6 on CNN

Yesterday was the very first I had heard of this situation. Now, granted, I am not a news junkie, but I like to think of myself as well informed. I got sidetracked yesterday, and didn't get a chance to search it, but I did this morning. I paged through 50 articles about the march before I could even come across something mentioning the original crimes.
Now, for those who don't know what originally happened, here it is. There is a big 'ole tree that all the white kids sit under on the nice days. One of the black kids asked the principal if they could sit there too. The black kid was told, he could sit where ever he wanted. The next day he and several friends did. The day after that, there were 3 nooses hanging in the tree, all in school colors. After many racially charged incidents, yelling, screaming, fires, almost riot like in their intensity, 6 black kids beat up a white kid. The white kid, was antagonizing the black kid, about having the crap kicked out of him the week before. Hm mm, where was the charge of assault against the guy who beat up the black kid? Anyway, the apparent second degree attempted murder took place, and the white kid went to a party. The 6 black kids were arrested, and charged with second degree attempted murder.
Now, apparently the DA in this area, is claiming that it isn't a racial issue. However, the white kid who got beat up, wasn't really even injured. Why the hell were such heavy charged leveled against these kids? If it wasn't a racial issue, why were none of the white kids who hung the nooses up charged with hate crimes? Why? I am not a person who really gets into the whole "race" issue. I am a white girl, who spent the majority of my teen years, going to a predominately white high school, our "minorities" were Hispanic, not black. Now, I have come to the realization that, living in the south, it truly doesn't matter what the color of your skin is. I DON'T CARE if you're black, brown, yellow, pink, from the middle east, or Africa, Asia, or western Europe. Why does it bother other people so much? Because they think that (insert your chosen minority here) people are lazy, stupid, dirty, worthless? Well, ya know what, I know LOTS of white people that are worse. I know lots of idiot redneck assholes who are completely ignorant of everything, and everyone except themselves.
CNN is covering the protest march today, and I've been watching it since about 9 o'clock. I can express nothing but exasperation over the entire situation. We, in this country seem to jump on one bandwagon to the next. We can't make up our minds as to what is really and truly important to us as individuals. Thousands and thousands of people are attending this protest, all for reasons of their own. I saw that someone was interviewed by a local paper, the person was going down to the protest because they saw this march as the 21st century's addition to the civil rights movement. These boys' futures are at stake, and you think you're going to make history. These kids have been lost in the kerfuffle, and we need to remember that this is what it's all about. If they had really injured that white boy, or killed him even, would we rally around them then? Or would we shun them, and talk about how bad their parents were to them when they were little? Now we need to look at these kids, and thank their parents for raising kids who were proud enough to stand up for themselves, but not to take it too far. And we need to praise these parents because they are struggling everyday with every decision that they ever made about everything in their kids lives. These kids, KIDS, did nothing worse than get into an argument at school. If they were ALL white, would this be the circus surrounding them? Remember that, when you sit back and think, "but it was 6 on 1". Then remember that the white kid who got beat up, went out the same evening, swollen, but he did go out. So, if it truly were a 6 on 1 beating like the DA is making it seem, this kid should have died, or at least been more than bloodied and swollen.
I pity the people who keep saying this isn't about race. IF ever there were a case about race, this is it. These students were pushed to the brink, and shoved off at the cliff, and the so-called justice system is eating them alive. I hope that all of their convictions get overturned, and they all go on to become hard working professionals, or blue collar workers, all of them paying their taxes just like the neighbors. Sending these kids to jail would ruin them, and it would send the wrong message to America.