Thursday, September 20, 2007
Reality In Jena
John McWhorter explains why the "Jena 6" case in Louisiana is bigoted abuse of power correctly condemned.
The district attorney in the case, Reed Walters, strikes me as the mirror-image of now-former Durham DA Mike Nifong. Like Nifong and the Duke 3, Walters is happily brandishing power over the Jena 6 -- just because he can. ("I can end your lives with the stroke of a pen.")
Trust Jesse Jackson, of course, to try snatching moral defeat from the jaws of victory: He charged that Barack Obama was "acting like he's white" for not vociferously getting involved in the Jena case. He then said that he couldn't remember using that phrase. (Riiight...)
This summer, Obama addressed Genarlow Wilson's situation in Georgia. Yes, it was in connection with Scooter Libby's commuted sentence -- but certainly not a comparison that any of the other Democratic candidates had made.
Obama isn't required to get involved in every case involving racial injustice. Aside from it being politically unwise, but it's a simple fact: He's not running to become the president of Black America. Jesse did that two decades ago; Obama has larger aims (whether he achieves those this time around is another question.
Jesse should just accept that he might actually be in the right this time, leave it at that -- and otherwise STFU.
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The district attorney in the case, Reed Walters, strikes me as the mirror-image of now-former Durham DA Mike Nifong. Like Nifong and the Duke 3, Walters is happily brandishing power over the Jena 6 -- just because he can. ("I can end your lives with the stroke of a pen.")
Trust Jesse Jackson, of course, to try snatching moral defeat from the jaws of victory: He charged that Barack Obama was "acting like he's white" for not vociferously getting involved in the Jena case. He then said that he couldn't remember using that phrase. (Riiight...)
This summer, Obama addressed Genarlow Wilson's situation in Georgia. Yes, it was in connection with Scooter Libby's commuted sentence -- but certainly not a comparison that any of the other Democratic candidates had made.
Obama isn't required to get involved in every case involving racial injustice. Aside from it being politically unwise, but it's a simple fact: He's not running to become the president of Black America. Jesse did that two decades ago; Obama has larger aims (whether he achieves those this time around is another question.
Jesse should just accept that he might actually be in the right this time, leave it at that -- and otherwise STFU.
Labels: Barack Obama, Genarlow Wilson, Jena 6, Jesse Jackson
