Wampum

I know I've been MIA on the Jena 6, as I have on about every issue concerning Indians in the last month, but I have been following the situation both at Pam Spaulding's and Kai's places, as well as Black Prof. All have much to say on the issue, which is clearly a legal travesty, as well as proof there is hope, with the masses of Jena 6 supporters descending upon the town today, September 20th.

I hadn't realized that this wasn't being picked up by many of the big dogs in the "Progressive" blogosphere, because, frankly, I don't generally read the big dogs anymore. They don't speak to me and my issues. But Pam has some great insight on what might be going on here:

* "It's not my area of expertise". This is an old saw used to avoid discussing race -- it's uncomfortable for white folks and they want to avoid land mines. the easiest way to do that is to say nothing at all, which still speaks volumes. Just about anything can be viewed through the prism of race; in this case it's not solely about race, the story of the Jena 6 is about our system of justice and how it can be affected by color, class, power structure, and the almighty dollar.

* "It's not my issue": Sorry to say, this gets reinforced by the professional race-bating, blacker-than-thou crowd such as Jesse Jackson, who chastised Barack Obama for "acting white" on the issue. That only makes otherwise supportive whites further paranoid. The "black enough" nonsense is divisive and so reflective of old-school mentality often seen in the establishment civil rights set still clinging to power. Of course then Jackson and his ilk will then criticize the lack of diversity in the group of marchers. it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That said, it's not just the Jena 6. Sitting in the comfort of their bedrooms/offices/kitches (wherever), progressive bloggers got more riled up about a student at the University of Florida getting tased at a Kerry speech than an equal, no worse case up in NYC -- a young black man, the son of a police officer, who was tased four times at a community barbecue and beaten with a nightstick 15 times and choked. He wasn't even charged with a crime, btw.

As Chris also noted in his post, many of the top blogs have eagerly cited a WaPO story that suggests the GOP don't care about black issues as Giuliani, Romney, Fred Thompson and Sen. John McCain are skipping Tavis Smiley's forum at Morgan State University in Baltimore that's coming up on PBS (9/27).

It's disappointing, but not surprising to see this blindness. As you all know I try mightily to make the Blend a safe space to discuss race, and even then, threads on the topic, save the Imus debacle, garner few comments. The progressive community still has a long way to go on race when it comes to the rubber hitting the road.

Eric is currently driving back from LA, as having the charges officially dismissed against him in the case where he protected Jonah from vehicular assault actually required him to drive six hours to show up in person. He said the judge apologized, but that doesn't excuse the fact that they were willing to issue a bench warrant if he didn't spend time and money to make a five minute appearance. Justice for the poor, the brown, black, red, just about anyone without access to their own legal representation, is practically not obtainable in this country. But it still isn't, and probably never will be, an issue for the white, middle-class, educated liberal blogosphere. It's just the way it is.