There's White People, There's Dogs, And Then There's Human Beings Like Us

There's not much about West Virginia that I know. To me, it's one of those random states that folks forget about, only to be reminded of every year or so when folks get trapped and die in coal mine disasters. Ironically, I have some ties to the state. My great-grandfather was an economics professor at the then HBCU, West Virginia State University. As a result, my grandmother was born there (though she was a DC-girl til her death), and she then attended WVSU where she later met my granddad.

Back in 1934, my great-granddad published a book The Negro Citizen of West Virginia. Hard to imagine that was almost 75 years ago and we now see that some things haven't changed at all there.

While I do think that the goings-on in Jena, Louisiana are important and do require our sympathy and action, I think that the sister in West Virginia should be garnering more national attention, more outrage, and more legal action than those teenage boys in Jena. Because the fact of the matter is, although those boys have been treated unfairly, they did break laws (as well as some of the whites there) and will ultimately have to pay whatever the cost is for that. People need to realize that once you've broken a law, non-peacefully, can you not then try to negotiate or finagle your way out or around it.

This young woman in West Virginia was kidnapped, raped, sodomized, tortured, and forced to eat animal feces by six White men and women for almost a week. Read more about it here. The major injustice with this crime is that, although all signs point to a hate crime, folks down there have decided against pursuing the charge. Based upon the fact that this woman supposedly had a "personal relationship" with one of her assailants. Maybe, I can understand not pursuing a hate crime with the one person. What about the other 5? Moreover, the whole ordeal screams "hate crime", because, essentially, wouldn't you have to really hate someone to do something so horrific to them?

Forgive me, but after hearing this, I really could have cared less about some teenage boys sittin up in jail cells in Louisiana. I can't begin to explain how much the whole situation in Jena doesn't pale in comparison to what this woman has endured.

White folks, for an entire summer, jumped up and down screaming about Michael Vick being brought up on charges of dog-fighting. So much to the point, that even a Senator of West Virginia, Robert Byrd, threw in his 2 cents on the matter.

Mind, you that was just one minute of the 20 minute old man spat he gave on the floor of the Senate.

Here's what he had to say about one of his own state's residents being tortured.

...

::crickets::

...

::crickets::

Yea, Robert Byrd hasn't made a peep. And how ironic that this Senator was once a member of the Klan? Of course he doesn't have anything to say about it. Clearly he cares more about the welfare of dogs than one of his own human constituents, just like the rest of these other tired White folks.

Oh, I'm not done. Some of us Black folks are in the wrong too. Sitting up in a jail cell has nothing on being tortured for a week. Why aren't we wearing colors, calling radio stations, signing online petitions, and traveling to West Virginia to show that we care about our sister? Why is she being treated less important? Considering what she's been through, don't you think she should be granted all the love, care and attention that she needs?

All of us, Black, Whites, whatever need to see where our heads are at and get our minds right.