a black girl

Race and Ageism

Thursday, July 06, 2006

My mother never has a good story to tell about her students. Today was no different. Every story goes back to the extreme poverty in Northern Louisiana--Primarily Ouachita Parish.

Three students at the school my mother teaches at will be tried for murder as adults after killing a 58 year old man and robbing him. One or two of these students was actually a student of my mother's. There are actually four related reports on the local new paper about it.

One of the articles say that the teens (all around 16 or so) engaged with sexual acts with the man before they murdered and robbed him. My mother says that she heard he was a "mentor" to many of the boys on the block. This makes me nervous. This is an example of not only racism but ageism. It is not just black males doing this that is most frightening for the people of Ouachita county. It is black youth whom are considered dangerous.

There is no consideration for the fact that these boys may have been systematically sexually assaulted by this man. The way that they killed him was so horrific that it was obviously personal. What mugger stabs a man 30 times and bludgeons him with a rifle so badly that it breaks in half? A mugger may not, someone sick and tired of being abused would. But of course this would not matter. These boys will be tried for murder as adults anyway. This is a county that locks up preteens for shoplifting, where other states and towns make them do community service or pay a fine.

There are many ditches that need digging in the state of Louisiana...

Other articles that talk about the incident:

3 teens held in slaying

Neighbor calls victim 'a good man'

uttered by a black girl at 11:45 PM. | 3 comments

3 Comments:

Hey ABG,

Your observation about the public opinion here is interesting.

So, the older people express their anti-youth prejudice through the action of assuming that the older victim was attacked for no reason although the overkill you mentioned was clear evidence to the contrary.

I do understand that this prejudice is most prevalent among young public schemas of young black males and young Hispanic males as noted by Angela Davis in her work; The Prison industrial complex (1999).

You might want to check that out, if you are not already acquainted with it. Davis addresses the issue of WHY young men of color are demonized on both a systemic and individual level.

By douglass, at 1:21 PM

I am a butcher of words

"... this prejudice is most prevalent among young public schemas"

should read:

"...this predjudice is embedded in publically normalized schemas"

By douglass, at 1:25 PM

wow, this hits really close to home. this just reiterates my sentiment that justice and united states law are hyper-distinct.

By zahira, at 2:36 PM

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