In the Valley of Elah and Eastern Promises

I've seen two really good movies this weekend. _In the Valley of Elah_ and _Eastern Promises_.

_In the Valley of Elah_, directed by Paul Haggis, was very moving and disturbing to me. Much more so than the movie _Crash_, which I felt ended up reinforcing white privilege as much as challenging racism. One review called the movie "lacerating." That's a great word to describe it. I can't really say much about the film because just describing it will give too many spoilers. Apparently it is based on a true story, however. One of the themes of the film is how the young soldiers in Iraq deal with their stress and the lack of mental health care they get as they transition from Iraq to home. It makes me think of all the young people I have in my classes who have been "over there." What kind of transition issues are they facing? I have no idea. I mentioned the movie to one of my students from the military and he disagreed that there were issues. Have we as a culture become so cold through a combination of video games, dehumanizing racism, and Neo-con stupidity that these kids really -don't- have issues? _In the Valley of Elah_ is based on a true story. It's bone-chilling.

The other movie I saw this week was _Eastern Promises_ starring the hunky Viggo Mortensen, who gets totally nekked! in a brutal fight scene. This was a very body-oriented movie as are all of Cronenberg's movies. I really dislike Cronenberg because he's so misogynistic, but he wasn't so bad in this movie. Tattoos are really central to the plot and apparently it was Viggo's idea to incorporate them in the movie. I thought that was cool. And it illustrates how deeply he does research and immerses himself in his roles. Anyway, there was lots of Viggo eye-candy amidst a really suspense-filled tale. I could go on and on about the gross body-stuff of this film, but I won't. It's a great movie and worth the fresh tomato from Rottentomatoes.com.

I'm very scared

According to this recent poll, Guiliani is favored over Clinton and Obama. I know it's really early to worry, but if we have ANOTHER REPUBLICAN president, I swear I'm moving to Canada along with the rest of the radical left.

Jena

I really wanted to go to Jena today. I mean I -really- wanted to go. I have class and I have a faculty meeting. No real excuse, though, is it. My white liberal guilt is plaguing me. I watched a clip of the rally from CNN. There are so few white faces there. But the town is packed and there's tons of news coverage and I'm really glad about that.

The Jena Six

At Jena High School, students of different races customarily seldom sat together. Black students traditionally sat on bleachers near the auditorium, while white students sat under a large shade tree, referred to as the "white tree," in the center of the school courtyard. During a school assembly on August 31, 2006, a black male freshman student asked permission from the principal to sit in the shade of the "white tree." The principal told the students they could "sit wherever they wanted." The following morning, three nooses were discovered hanging from the tree. What follows below is a chronology of racial violence in Jena over the past school year, copied from the BRActionForJena6 website.

Chronology of Racial Violence in Jena over the Past School Year

Aug. 31, 2006: Two black youths, after talking to the school principal at Jena High School, sit under a tree traditionally reserved for white students on the school campus.

Sept. 1, 2006: The next day, three nooses are hung from the tree. After initially being expelled by the principal, the three white students responsible are given three days of “in-school suspension.” The school superintendent is quoted as saying, "Adolescents play pranks. I don't think it was a threat to anybody."

Sept. 5, 2006: A group of black students gathered and sat under the tree in protest. White students' parents called the police, and LaSalle County's white district attorney stormed the campus with armed police and gave an impromptu lecture to the black students who had gathered under the tree. "I could end your lives with the stroke of a pen," he reportedly told them. Black students say that he was looking directly at them.

Sept. 8th, 2006: Jena High School was placed on full lockdown. Most students, black and white, either stayed home, or were picked up by parents shortly after the lockdown was imposed. The Jena Times suggested that black parents were to blame for the unrest at the school because their September 5th gathering had attracted media attention.

Sept, 10, 2006: Several dozen black students and parents attempted to address the school board concerning the recent events but were refused because the board was of the opinion that "the noose issue" had been adequately resolved. Racial tensions in Jena remained high.

Nov, 30 2006: Arson destroyed Jena High's main academic building. Local law enforcement cannot prove the fire was connected to the noose-hangings or the subsequent racially-motivated attacks. This further escalated racial tensions in Jena as whites blamed blacks for the fire and blacks blamed whites.

Dec. 1, 2006: Robert Bailey, one of the student leaders of the Jena High protests, was invited to a party attended by mostly white students. At this party he was attacked by a 22-year old man wielding a beer bottle. He was further attacked with bottles and blows after being knocked to the ground.

Dec. 2, 2006: Robert Bailey and two friends went to a convenience store where they ran into a young white man from the previous night’s party. After exchanging words with him, the trio entered the store. The young white man greeted them with a pistol grip shotgun upon their exit. The African-American boys wrested the gun from him and ran away.

December 4, 2006: A white student, Justin Barker, was allegedly using racial epithets and celebrating the beating of Bailey at Friday night’s party. A fight broke out, and Barker was knocked out. He was kicked by a several black students after he hit the ground. The police were called, and after speaking with several witnesses six boys – 17-year-old Robert Bailey, Jr. whose bail was set at $138,000; 17-year-old Theo Shaw - bail $130,000; 18-year-old Carwin Jones - bail $100,000; 17-year-old Bryant Purvis - bail $70,000; 16-year-old Mychal Bell, who was charged as an adult and for whom bail was set at $90,000; and a still unidentified juvenile – were arrested and charged with aggravated 2nd degree assault and conspiracy to commit the same. District Attorney Reed Walters intervened to increase the charges to attempted second degree murder. In the meantime, Justin Barker was treated at a hospital and released. He attended his high school ring ceremony later that evening. Bailey, Shaw, and another friend were also charged with theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery and disturbing the peace in connection with the incident at the convenience store. Furthermore, the six were immediately expelled from Jena High. The normal punishment for a fight at school is a three day suspension.

June 28th, 2007: Mychal Bell, the first of the six to go to trial, was convicted of charges of aggravated 2nd degree assault and conspiracy to commit the same. His court-appointed attorney did not challenge the composition of the all-white jury, did not ask for a change of venue, nor did the lawyer call witnesses or introduce evidence on Bell’s behalf. He will be sentenced on September 20th, and faces up to 22 years in prison for the schoolyard fight. “Aggravated second degree assault” requires an assailant use a potentially lethal weapon. The D.A. successfully argued that the black youths’ tennis shoes were lethal weapons.

July 10th, 2007: Two white men were arrested after they ran over a sign outside a black church in Jena that had just held an NAACP meeting. The two have been charged with “criminal damage to property.”

LINKS:

Action:

The Wiki for Baton Rouge Action for Jena Six has the above chronology of events, talking points, links, and a signup list for ridesharing to the Sept. 20th rally in Jena. You can donate to the Jena Six Defense fund here at colorofchange.org and you can sign the petition at colorofchange.org here or at the NAACP here.

News:

Democracy.Now's 6 part coverage of the Jena Six:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

A video of Al Sharpton on the Jena Six

* NPR: Case of 'Jena Six' Tears at Small Town's Harmony
* BBC: 'Stealth racism' stalks deep South
* Bill Quigley's "Injustice in Jena" has made the rounds on the net: The Black Commentator's countercurrents.org and Truthout.com CommonDreams.org

A bizarre quote from Bill Quigly that reflects how fucked up this situation is:

Whites in the community were adamant that there is no racism. "We don't have a problem,” according to one. Other locals told the media "We all get along," and "most blacks are happy with the way things are." One person even said "We don't have many problems with our blacks." (ital. mine)

* Washington Post: LA Town Fells "White Tree" (The "White Tree" has been cut down to give the town a "clean start")
* Chicago Tribune: School Bans Shirts in Racially Tinged Case (Free the Jena Six t shirts were banned at Jena High School)
* Whileseated.Org: A photo of the white tree and a pic of a free the jena six t-shirt.
* Counterpunch.org: White Supremacy and the Jena Six

More Ramblings

Today I taught supporting material in the public speaking classes. The students were falling asleep. I have slipped back into cover the material mode. A good 1/4 of the students still do not have the books, however, and the other 3/4 still aren't reading. A good third of the students don't even take notes. I know I sound like a crusty old teacher who needs to retire, but I just don't understand how to connect to these students at BRCC. I really think the Osborn textbook is inappropriate for this audience. I'm frustrated.

Cats and sweets

Randomly, I wondered whether or not cats can taste sweet things. According to this link, they cannot. Apparently they lack the gene and the taste receptors, whatever that means. Actually, my wondering wasn't so random. My cat keeps trying to get my grapes, but when I finally offer them to her, she turns her nose up at them. I suspect it is because there is still water on them from when I washed them. Or perhaps she just wants to play with them. In ane event, there is my random thought for the day.

On blogging and other Misc.-ish type thoughts

It seems that this semester my blogging has dropped dramatically from last semester. Most likely, it's because I no longer have a stretch of FOUR HOURS in a row for office hours. I miss blogging and I think I am going to make a commitment to becoming more active once again. I keep checking my widgit and site meter stats, but how can I expect people to surf if I don't provide fresh content with any sort of regularity.

But, such is my boring life.

When I was an undergraduate, my friends called me "Apocalyptic Laura" because EVERYTHING was a crisis. I was constantly in crisis mode and my life was filled with drama. I don't know if it's age, drugs, or Steve's influence, but my life is calm and steady now. I suspect it's all three, actually. But a steady, drama-free life doesn't leave me much to blog about.

I finally finished reading _Breach of Faith_ (by Jed Horne) for the One Book One Community dialogues that are going on. The man is an amazing writer. His ability to evoke images is impressive. One of the librarians here said in regard to the BRCC book club discussion of the book that most people found the first part of the book compelling but they didn't like the second part. The second part is where he gets political. Not in a ranting sort of way, but in a narrative style that shows how Kathleen Blanco was set up by the Bush administration again and again. And he's pretty even-handed in depicting the various political fiascos that were responsible for the Katrina fiasco.

I was supposed to facilitate a community dialogue about the book last night at the Intercultural Center at LSU, but hardly anyone showed up. I expect that the dialogues on Katrina and race will be standing room only, though. (The discussion questions can be downloaded from here.) I'm looking forward to the discussion in Baker in a couple of weeks.

Anyway, class is calling, so I'm off.

But first, three gratitudes:

1. I am grateful for the great staff at BRCC. The library staff gave a wonderful presentation for my class and the library scavenger hunt that Patsy Kay Turner (my office mate) and I wrote. Also a staffer from facility services was helpful above and beyond the call of duty today regarding my office key. People are so nice here.
2. I am grateful that I have a better teaching schedule this semester and I hope I'm as lucky next semester.
3. I am grateful that people still come by my blog even though I'm not really blogging.