Why the Nooses?

With the notion of inequal criminal justice raised to the forefront over an exacerbated incident between white and black students, it is inevitable that an "Idiot Facor" enters the equation. Two white youths, 16 and 18 years old, adorned their pickup truck with nooses, which were the popular method of lynchings in the 1950s and 60s. Combine this with the fact that there are still as yet unpunished persons held responsible for civil rights crimes in the 60s walking the streets today, is affirmation of the long-held mindsets of racism and segregation still in existence today.

Driving through the streets of Alexandria, LA, teeming with post-rally revelers is a prank only to the criminal minded. The sad reminder of the most brutal symbol of our not-so-recent past is a tragedy. As we look to the black leadership for a response to the unfolding outrage, we have Jesse Jackson calling out Barack Obama for acting "too white" and then recanting it, while Obama isolated the incident into a "right or wrong" issue. In other words, one side is too passionate, the other not passionate enough. This leaves the middle ground screaming for justice of some kind. Inevitably it comes slowly.