CNN lets neo-nazi air Jena6 death threats

[flashl]

The large civil rights rally in Jena, Louisiana called for equality in schools and law enforcement in addition to justice for 6 boys receiving outrageous charge for a school fistfight (some of whom hadn't been involved in the fight at all). This received very good coverage in the national media, with some cable news stations placing several reporters in the crowd of tens of thousands, and offering 10-20 minute blocks of airtime.

The next day, the focus of the story switched to the reaction or backlash of some people in the area. Particularly, a pair of teens was shown driving near the crowds with a noose hanging off their pickup truck. It was difficult to judge how widespread the sentiment was, or whether the stations were attracting to the most flashy and offensive.
Later on this day after the rally, CNN actually let on a prominent neo-nazi, Bill White, and allowed him to broadcast a specific threat or call for attack against the Jena 6. At his 'overthrow.com' site (creepily titled libertarian-socialist), they will be posting the home addresses of families in Jena along with a suggestion for any white person to try to bump them off.

Several questions arise here. First, was it ethical for CNN to do this? On one hand, the coverage of the Jena 6 issue was tremendous on Thursday, because this case which clearly has come to be supported by the large majority of the american population was previously only receiving coverage on Democracy Now and regional magazines. The large rally represented something larger than the specific case at hand, but indicated people's strong sentiment that racial injustice in the judicial system and schools is still too widespread and we still need to solve it. Part of full coverage of this issue would be to show both extreme racists, and moderate, stealth racists who wouldn't admit their behavior yet let this sort of case slide by.

At the same time, airing this neo-nazi with his death threats actually could have the effect of encouraging either raging or closeted racists to act on their beliefs and go to hurt some people next week. Is this legal?

Read more ...

[PDJane]

1. What the hell are these folks using for brains?

[izzybeans]

11. clearly a big steaming pile

[midlife_mo_Jo]

15. Ratings, not brains, my dear nt

nt

[Guaranteed]

2. Well, hey, you know it's just part of being "fair and balanced."

Gotta give the guy calling for people to be killed a chance to have his say, too.

/sarcasm

[struggle4progress]

81. I predict lawyers for the good guys will rake in big bucks if the thug's threats pay off

[fenriswolf]

3. hell

they do anything to further their racist, homophobic, redneck agenda

[SeattleGirl]

4. Giving time to the other side is one thing; giving time to someone issuing

death threats is quite another, and it's shameful that CNN did this.

When in the fuck did racism become so fashionable again? Is this 2007, or 1907?

[BlooInBloo]

5. I'm actually ok with letting this out in public... "Good whites" invariably claim...

... that it's "just a few bad apples". They pretend to be surprised EVERY SINGLE TIME these sorts of things happen. They're able to do with without cracking a smile because they take care to not let anyone see how typical it is. Let 'em all on the air, I say - the problem can't be dealt with until its mere EXISTENCE is acknowledged.

[treestar]

12. So you're saying there are no good whites, and that most of us

support this charge?

I thought I didn't but I guess I do and you can tell me what I think better than I can figure it out for myself.

Do you really think it is typical for most whites to issue death threats?

[BlooInBloo]

14. rofl! No, o-most-excitable one, I didn't say that.

[OzarkDem]

19. No, its irresponsible

Inflaming public opinion in this manner will only escalate violence. That's just plain stupid.

[BlooInBloo]

22. Let Americans see what Americans are like, I say.

[Canuckistanian]

27. Well....

Giving racists the chance to spew their hatred may indeed cause a backlash. The Civil Rights movement is widely accepted and it's ideals largely validated.

However, providing a megaphone for these extreme minority racist attitudes ALSO validates the idea that it's a reasonable viewpoint.

I think the latter overrules the former.

[BlooInBloo]

28. Thanks for providing an excellent illustration for me.

[Canuckistanian]

29. Thanks, Unfortunately, it's a delicate balance

When the media shows bad behavior by airing it, they run the risk of encouraging certain elements who APPROVE of the behavior.

The proper thing for CNN to do was to condemn the opinion BEFORE they aired the Neonazi segment.

This broadcast was NOT the time to report objectively as if it were even CLOSE to a majority view.

[hfojvt]

32. by that he means you are a bad example

because you naively assume that it's an 'extreme minority' opinion when, in fact, according to BiB, 99.44% of whites are racist a$$holes. Of maybe it's closer to 60% and only a degree of racism or a wilful ignorance among many. When somebody is posting mostly snarky one-liners, it's hard to tell with any precision.

[BlooInBloo]

38. :)

[Canuckistanian]

39. You mean I was "punk'd"?

If so, then obviously I can't deal with the level of cynicism around here.

[Guaranteed]

6. I'm going to give this a couple hours.

But, if after that this doesn't have at least 50 responses and 15 recommendations, I'll probably be taking a long break.

[flashl]

8. I probably should have thrown in Hillary somewhere in the title n/t

[BlooInBloo]

10. See you when you get back from your long break then.

[MikeNearMcChord]

7. One tactic the RW is doing is concentrating

on the attack of the white student by the six, without acknowledging the other outrages committed by the white kids. There seems to be National Alliance type troll over at DailyKos who likes to rant about the six guilty blacks and the poor white kid. Never a word about the beating of the black kid at a white party or the shotgun welding 22 year old. I surprised these idiots didn't bring up the Wichita Horror

[OzarkDem]

23. Framing the issue in a really sick way

I hope people are calling them on it.

[MikeNearMcChord]

26. And they have, all good people of all races

have done a masterful job of doing that. B

[Common Sense Party]

75. Except that the other stuff might have ZERO bearing on THIS case.

What was THIS white victim guilty of? Did he hang a noose? Did HE pull a gun? What did HE do to any of the black kids, and did what HE did justify getting jumped by a gang of 6 kids?

I think we're trying to conflate too many separate events. There may have been an atmosphere of racial tension in the town, but that hardly justified 6 kids jumping another kid.

Nor does anything justify attempted murder charges for the 6 black (alleged) attckers and NO criminal charges for any of the whites in the other incidents.

[flashl]

76. Testimony has been given that Justin was struck once

then he fell onto a concrete barricade. The portrayal of stomping afterwards does not hold with known cases of stomping. The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology suggests that a victim of a vicious stomping will have facial fractures, patterned contusions, bodywide contusions, and abrasions.

[LisaL]

77. He had his eye swollen shut and blood in his ears.

[flashl]

78. And your point? n/t

[LisaL]

79. He had an injury to his face.

He certainly looked like someone who was beat up.

[flashl]

80. He was struck and fell onto a concrete object

He was conscious and standing when the ambulance arrived at the school, he had a CT scan, and was release 2 1/2 hrs later. Families who know about violent stomping have come forward to say that Justin's experience didn't come close to the months of convalescing that their family member undergone.

[rockymountaindem]

9. That's insane

but somehow I doubt the Parents Television Council is going to start beating their drums over this.

[SeattleGirl]

13. Nope. They only care about wardrobe malfunctions and such. n/t

[OzarkDem]

16. Throwing gasoline on the fire

doesn't sound like responsible journalism to me.

But then CNN isn't real news, either.

Is the GOP trying to get a race war going here?

[nebenaube]

20. You know it!

It's patently obvious that * wants an american insurgency so he can declare martial law.

[flashl]

36. I dont think these guys need any gasoline

from hatewatch ...

Jena Rally Sparks White Supremacist Rage, Lynching Threat

As tens of thousands of people were preparing to make their way to Jena, La., for today’s anti-racism rally, white supremacists were burning up the Internet with furious denunciations, bloody predictions, promises of future violence, and calls for lynching.

“The best crowd control for such a situation would be a squad of men armed with full automatics and preferably a machine gun as well,” is how one person put it on the Web forum hosted by the neo-Nazi Vanguard News Network. Added another hopeful VNN poster: “I’m not really that angry at the nogs — they are just soldiers in an undeclared race war. But any white that’s in that support rally I would like to … have them machine-gunned.”
Read more ...

[Richard Steele]

17. K&R

[Guaranteed]

18. Compare and contrast

This thread with this one:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1883540&mesg_id=1883540

Not even a mention of racial intimidation in this supposed thread on "authoritarianism." And 100+ responses and almost 30 recs.

Yet here we have CNN giving airtime to people making death threats against black people, and hardly anyone bats an eyelash. TAME.

Gee, ya think maybe we should write some letters or something? Or are we too caught up defending the person who walked into an airport wearing a blinking circuit board complete with battery and wires, while holding Play-Doh?

[flashl]

21. Same question asked here ...

Why the 'progressive' blogosphere silence about the Jena 6?

<snip>
The Jena 6 has become the main topic of discussion on countless black websites, radio stations and street conversations, inspiring countless activists young and old to take action.

But on this historic day for the most high-profile civil rights issue of the moment, where is the progressive blogosphere? I did a quick tour of the major "progressive" sites to see how they were covering it -- and was astounded to find a complete white-out of this historic cause:

* DailyKos features a handful of posts about injustice in Iraq today -- but not a single entry on its main page, or even its user-generated "diaries," about this important case.

* TalkingPointsMemo, a favorite of the DC wonk set, is similarly incensed about foreign policy, but apparently not about racial justice in the South -- nothing there either.

* Long-time progressive blogger Atrios doesn't have a lot of posts up,but found time to touch on Paul Krugman, Iraq and the state of the Euro -- but not this major issue.
Read more ...

[BlooInBloo]

25. There's nothing new here. It's just not what white folks care about....

... Quite the opposite - talking about it would force white folks to acknowledge the problem. And nobody wants THAT. It would destroy all semblance of credibility when they call black folks "oversensitive".

[flashl]

30. I think its really about

being unable to relate. How do you converse about the similarity of an experience such as a noose? And, I realize that many today would not know either. Yet, somehow all races seems to understand what a swastika is suppose to mean.

[Gregorian]

24. WTF? There are limits on freedom of speech.

This is CNN. I remember this was Ted Turner's new station. Actual news. Now it's a neo-Nazi broadcast cell.

I can't even come up with words to describe what this is. I mean, these are supposed to be responsible people with a huge responsibility to use OUR airwaves in our interest.

Yank their license. And to think Janet Jackson was all the rage after her nothing exposure.

PUKE.

[yewberry]

31. This article suggests that CNN had this lunatic on air.

Did this actually happen, or is the article talking about the CNN story about the loons making the threat?

There's a story about the FBI investigating him & his site here, but nothing about him being on air. Am I just missing something?

[flashl]

33. Yes that what he is saying

It is hard to believe that the MSM would not portray itself in this way?

[yewberry]

35. I'm just trying to find a link to Bill White actually being on CNN.

I haven't found one yet.

If the article in the OP is actually about CNN reporting that the FBI is investigating White, then that's a whole different kettle of fish.

[flashl]

37. No the op had a link to overthrow.com

www.overthrow.com/lsn/news.asp?articleID=10585 which is Bill White website which is down. I guess the FBI forced it down.

[yewberry]

40. The link to indybay--that's the site with the article in the OP.

I'm trying to corroborate what the indybay article said--that CNN allowed Bill White airtime. I haven't found anything yet.

(And YAY for taking down a website calling for violence!)

[flashl]

44. He was supposed to be on CNN (Sept. 21) at 10:00 PM

It's Time for Bill White to Go (Commentary on Nazi's Threat against Jena Six)

Well, like we expected, Bill White is getting his time in the sun again because he posted the addresses of the Jena Six. He is supposed to be on CNN tonight (Sept. 21) at 10:00 PM as if he has something important to say. We will go after him now. This is something we have sent out to our supporters earlier today when we saw that Bill decided to inject himself into the Jena Six affair. Floyd Cochran of Eye on Hate was just out in Roanoke, Va. letting residents know this is how he operates, and now that he has decided to threaten minors, is all the more reason why the FBI should stop "monitoring" and "investigating" and nail this idiot the same way they would nail anyone else.

[entanglement]

34. Dear me! Isn't the media supposed to be 'liberal' or something?

[LisaL]

41. Is this story even true? Did CNN actually allowed this guy on air?

I haven't seen him. Did anybody see him on CNN?

[yewberry]

42. I've been trying to find out.

So far, nothing.

If you find some kind of confirmation anywhere, will you post it?

[LisaL]

43. If I did find some information, I would post it. But I have no idea

as to where I would even begin to look. CNN might have reported about this guy's website, and FBI investigating it, but did they actually let him on air?

[flashl]

50. He was supposed to be on CNN (Sept. 21) at 10:00 PM

He was supposed to be on CNN (Sept. 21) at 10:00 PM

[Catherine Vincent]

55. Yes, he was on the air.

I saw it on Friday, I believe. But it was a telephone interview where he spewed his racist crap.

[yewberry]

65. He was actually on the air?

Well, that clears that up.

Why would anyone give a sorry piece of crap like that publicity?

[Tim4319]

45. If something was done long before the march was planned

more than likely, this would not be an issue.

[flashl]

46. Are you talking about inside of Jena? n/t

[Tim4319]

53. I'm talking about someone with judicial authority

Whether it be the judge, DA, Mayor, Governor, President. Mychael Bell did not have get charged as an adult. He, his friends, and their families do not have to be put through what this so called justice system is putting them through. If the charges were lowered earlier, and he was at least released until his sentencing date, more than likely the march would not have taken place. The attention to this case would not be what it was. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would not get involved to the extend they did. And, these families personal information would not be plastered all over a white supremest web site. So, now these families not only have to worry about a racist justice system, now they have to worry about a racist organization. Now, if all of this was taken care of on the local or state judicial level, more then likely this would not have taken place.

[flashl]

56. It was the adults not the children who were irresponsible. n/t

[Tim4319]

58. So why do the black kids have to suffer?

[flashl]

71. Black kids are suffering all over the U.S.

there is an entire industry with investors (Diners Club, Chase Manhatton Bank, etc.) building prisons and facilities and filling them with black boys faster than they can build them.

[Catherine Vincent]

47. Well when you had all news (paper and internet) report with the following caption:

You're bound to get that type of reaction out of all the klanish out there. You have six blacks beating up a white kid and thousands making it to Jena, LA supporting just that. :eyes:

[flashl]

48. The six blacks beating up a white kid is an exaggeration

Its been said enough, so everyone just repeats it. Remember the Sago mine story?

[Tim4319]

57. That is only half the story!

I am not sure if you are aware of it or not, a few nights before this fight had taken place, one of the Jena 6 teens had a bottle broken over his head and jumped by a group of white people. When on of the Jena 6 teens went to report the incident to the police, the police refuse to file a report. A day or two later, the teen that was jumped by the white people was in a store with some of his friends, when they ran into one of the white people who jumped him. Now, the white person runs out to his truck, grabs a shotgun and confronts the black teens. He is then disarmed by the black kids, the shotgun is emptied of its shells, and the blacks leave the store. The black teens are charged with theft! Now, please tell me where is the fairness? I believe we do have a right to protest this is complete injustice!

[BlooInBloo]

60. No, no, no. The only important thing is the sound bite: six blacks beat up a poor little white boy.

[Tim4319]

62. Oh, my bad! I got you.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[BlooInBloo]

63. :) We'll learn you yet.

[Catherine Vincent]

74. Bloo in bloo is correct.

For folks that probably never heard of the Jena 6, they read that caption all over the news and that is what they will remember the most.

[flashl]

61. Jena is a very sick place

It had a Juvenile Correction Center that had to be shutdown because of brutality of the inmates, to put it midly. The DOJ sued the state, it was that bad. Then, New Orleans after Katrina took prisoners to the closed Juvenile facility, well, the same time happened again.

Now, the feds are going to open an immigration detention center there!

I forgot to add, Mychal Bell is NOT the person who struck Justin Barker, but he's in jail.

[Tim4319]

64. That' crazy!

[flashl]

66. Yes, its wild

when you think about him being in jail for 9 months. The person to identified him at trial as the person to hit Justin Barker was one of the noose hangers!

[Tim4319]

68. That's what so amazing about this case!

It really reminds me of those cases from the 1950's & 60's! The only person missing from the Jena 6 case is Bull Connor!

[flashl]

70. The really sad thing about this is ... this is NOT unusal

What happened in Jena is going on at break neck speed throughout the U.S. That is why many people do not think anything is wrong with the case.

[Tim4319]

72. That is such a true statement.

Also, that is another reason why I wish black kids would just wake-up and cut out the unnecessary violence towards each other. I wish our kids would channel that negative energy, turn it into something positive, and fight for some sort of change, so that Jena 6 won't happen so often.

[flashl]

73. This case caused me think a lot

Mychal Bell is being held to "roll" on the other five, that how prosecutors work and that how they succeed in sending a lot of boys off to jail. As a "correction" to the prosecutor putting pressure on one member, we are seeing sntiches being "taken out". Part of the black on black crime is because of the means that prosecutors use to make them "rat" each other out.

To end the growth of the prison industry complex, we have to end the arbitary and selective prosecution of black boys.

[UncleSepp]

82. "Six black kids defend themselves" doesn't sell papers

:-(

This is so rotten and sad I can't even think of anything to say that's worth saying.

[illinoisprogressive]

49. it's important to show there is still a problem and this country is in serious need of dialog.

[flashl]

52. There has been plenty of dialog

all over the internet and it was not pleasant it was as if there were a 1000 hate groups filing forums everywhere.

[renie408]

51. My son just asked...Isn't that illegal?

I thought incitement to violence was considered illegal. Or does somebody actually have to TAKE the suggestion before it is actionable?

Christ, this scares me WAY more than the Andrew Meyers thing. Every person in authority in that town should be investigated with a microscope. And CNN should be fined.

And my husband just said that where is the outrage in the Republican party for this? They are all worked up over an ad in a newspaper, but I don't hear anybody commenting on this situation.

[flashl]

54. Yes, it is

and thats what Justin Barker the "victim" did also, before the incident he used racial slurs and made references to the nooses. That's is inciting a riot, a felony charge.

Those families are WITHOUT protection in Jena. The Jena police said it didn't have the manpower to protect them.

[renie408]

59. Jesus Christ. This just gets more sickening with every thing I hear about it.

THIS is the kind of thing that makes me embarrassed to be an American.

[sleipnir]

67. Justice

Funny how he wants "justice" to be done by vigilante forces.

Right...really, is it that hard to believe in our established justice department? Didn't we give up the idea of lynching and self-styled vengeance?

It would seem that we haven't.

[flashl]

69. Thats why sometimes it hard to have a dialog

if someone like that is saying "justice" the word "justice" do not have the same meaning as it is used on Law and Order.