I read about the issues at Jena some time ago and was generally disgusted by the details I heard, but the one part I wasn't overly upset about was the fact that the six black youths who assaulted Justin Barker were being prosecuted. That seems to be the focus of today's protest, and by doing so, the protest, a truly amazing accomplishment of viral internet organizing, is not nearly as effective as it could be.

I see lots to be upset about here - a school where there is a "white tree" (actually, they cut it down now, but that it existed so short a time ago is disturbing enough), a school where students think it's okay to hang three nooses from the tree, a superintendent who says about kids hanging nooses: "Adolescents play pranks. I don't think it was a threat against anybody," rather than calling it a clearly racist threat, a police chief who thinks hanging nooses is an "innocent prank," and a school board that thinks nothing needs to be done about people hanging nooses in trees.

Protesting against criminals being sent to jail is never going to get people on your side, even some people who agree with you in principle. Rather than protesting an unquestionably correct move on the part of the DA, they would do better to protest the inherent racism in the community. There is something very wrong in Jena and it needs to change.