I'm wondering-all these "small towns" Mellencamp sings of, has he never encountered a town like Jena? I lived there for 3 yrs. w/my boyfriend. I know the Barker family personally and this young man still suffers the effects from being beaten SEVEN on ONE today! Before you go and write some song about something you don't really know a damn thing about, come experience it. True, racism is still alive in the South. But had 7 white kids beat a black kid, what do you think the outcome would be??
lol nobody actually understands what the jena six was about. So basically the nooses were a joke concerning a football game, it involved a slogan involving hanging the opposing mascot. The beating of that barker dude, i forget his first name, happened completely separately from the nooses. The guys were charged with attempted murder, and a jury was called. Jena, like most Central Louisiana towns, is pretty equally matched racially, however no blacks who were called to jury duty showed up.
@MrSmilash It's because this was bullshit. He's trying to cash in on some BS made up to make a bunch of thugs look like innocent victims. They were not. The dude they sent tothe hospital in a bloody heap was the victim, as were the numerous other people they have committed crimes against with little to no punishment.
What a dumb song. It’s funny how all of the criminals involved have all gotten in trouble with the law repeatedly since this incident. The truth is that they were thugs and the pathetic black leaders rallied around them and of course so did the multicultural leftist intelligentsia. And for what? They were nothing but a bunch of trouble makers. It’s so easy for people like Mellencamp and other disingenuous white liberal to preach yet none of them live near or with blacks like I do. Just pathetic.
Too bad that you are using old videos from another time that misrepresent what happened. Mr. Mellencamp is only trying to rebuild a DEAD Career. The white child was not the one who beat up a black child. And if Mr. Mellencamp is not trying to attack Jena as he says in his statement, why did he use the town name
Too bad that you are using old videos from another time that misrepresent what happened. Mr. Mellencamp is only trying to rebuild a DEAD Career. The white child was not the one who beat up a black child.
@postdesrapides dead career, LOL-he's been making some of the best music he's ever made. i don't think he's concerned w/ selling 10 million albums eatch time.
shittest song ever. 6 black teens beat on guy and it's ok cause some other hung a noose from a tree the media is a joke they did not beat the kid because of the noose they beat the kid cause 2 of the jena 6 were thrown out of a party
Mellencrap takes it up the azz...what a piece of crap this "song" is. Where are your little innocent darlings now jonny boy - what are these loser criminals up to lately??? Rot in hell mr cougar.
What happened to being charged with a hate crime, which any white man can tell you, will get you life in prison? Oh, right, I forgot, only white people are prejudiced and subject to the laws of this country that unconstitutionally prosecute people above and beyond what the law actually calls for. But good job yankee boy, nice song. Did you write one for the white boy who was nearly beaten to death by a hate-filled mob?
A pox on your house, John Mellencamp. You're darn tootin' that you're not a journalist. This is as much a work of fiction as Dylan's ridiculously biased account of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.
If your really want to know what happened in Jena, search this into your web browser:
Diz is from my Auntie, ---I wasthirty miles from jena as this was coming down. I am angry. There is such a thing as righteous anger. I followed what happened very closely; the black high school boys were threatened from the start because they dare go under the 'white' kids tree. This escalated to their being threated with a gun at a neighborhood gas station. They were continually taunted until a fight erupted in the stairwell at the school. Are you kidding me-Are you kidding me. nooses WHAT
A fight erupted, I think its been established six kids beat the shit out of one kid, leaving him concussed.
That district attorney is a coward, I'd have charged them all with attempted murder and requested they each got 50 years without parole if I were in his position.
This video is good because it carries a message. also 2 all that don't understand and who are ignorant you should either be quiet or know what your talking about. You need 2 know your history and some statistics. I' m not going 2 hold my breath though!!
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Mellecamp is one of the prime exponents of "White guilt." This racist doctrine is the same as anti-Semitism. "All whites" and "all Jews." Hey, Cougar, check the FBI crime statistics, and you will see that African-Americans are the kings of crime. Oh, and may your car break down in a black neighborhood.
You're one of the prime exponent of racism? Or at least you bother enough with your life to look at FBI crime statistics to find out that AFrican Americans are the majority of criminals? You know, if you care that much, you should probably do something about it instead of whining and complaining about it on YouTube, you fag.
i dont care what u guys think of john i think this a good song and the story behind it is a bunch of bullshit they shouldnt have been charged with 2nd degree murder they were defending themselves from the WHITE kid with the gun
So you're saying that boy they jumped had a gun? I don't think even they claim that, you're mixing up what happened later on when a man angry at the way the Blacks were behaving pulled a gun on them and they stole it from him and were accordingly charged with theft of a firearm.
They were not charged with second degree murder as nobody died, they were charged with attempted murder, it carries a punishment of up to 10 to 50 years without parole.
wow. what a ridiculous video. obviously, you haven't spent any time out in central louisiana, mr. mellencamp. but, i guess you needed a gimmick for people to notice that you're still making music. you and bono should team up, together you could save the world!
yes i agree with you on that but there was the bit where they were captured by the white people without the consent of any black ancestor but it is again very stereotypical of you using the phrase "chicken bone in your nose" because when i checked wikipedia it was the south americans *amazonians* who had cow foot in their hair and danced around fires and howled at the moon. Remember the simpsons sideshow mel had a bone in his hair and does he look black no..plz refrain frm typing stuff u dnt no
"but there was the bit where they were captured by the white people without the consent of any black ancestor"
The slave industry was very terrible, but we should be realistic about it. Very few of the Trans-Atlantic slaves were captured by whites. They were captured by other Africans & sold to whites.
The Europeans learned before they came to the New World that it was much more beneficial to trade for slaves rather than steal them & lose the trust of your African trade partners.
i read about the jena six on wikipedia and i decided to listen to this song..and it really touched a deep spot in my heart..it made me wonder what our ancestors have gone through and to overcome that..god,, it jus made me appreciate n be proud of my colour..and i would not trade my black color for no1.
No one is taking anybody's side. It's not about race it's about the difference between right and wrong. Beating someone half to death IS WRONG regardless of race and anybody (black, white, asian etc) who does this derserves a prison sentence.
dude did you see where the week before there was a black who got the same treatment in that same town? No 2nd degree murders down. Nice way to turn a person getting jumped into second degree murder. The DA's office would have never slept in normandy highschool in st louis were i went to school at
"the week before there was a black who got the same treatment in that same town"
That's a myth. A guy got attacked in his face by a person at a private party he crashed. The man who attacked him was arrested. Nothing like what happened to Justin Barker happened in that assault according to the guy who was attacked.
The DA lowered the Jena6 attempted murder charges that he made because of prior threats and the fact that they were kicking his bloody head while he was unconscious.
I think a black person who does this should get the chair, a mexican person, life in prison, a chinese person 10 years in jail and a white person 1 year probation
And the white child caused the problem by hanging little black dolls on a tree where only "white" students were allowed to be, may it have been the students set it because of racism, or if the school did so due to racism.
Was it wrong for the 6 students to fight? Yes. But the white student was in the wrong for pulling that stunt.
@GaaraBabyEater Putting little black dolls in a tree is hardly the same as beating someone half to death. Maybe they could've gone about it a different way, like telling the headmaster of the school about the incident or even the Police. Fighting fire with fire won't get you anywhere. Maybe they should think with their brains and not their fists.
I am not disagreeing with you that those students should get in trouble. What I don't agree with is that the white child did not get in trouble for causing the mess in the first place. Especially since the white child beat up one of the black kids for being black. The white child should have gotten charged for a hate crime. But we didn't see that happen. We saw the black kid getting charged for 22 years. Both sides were in the wrong. That is what I want to point out.
I am from Australia and a couple of years ago Harry Connick Jr was outraged at an act on a family oriented talent quest where the white performers painted their face black and he told us that so much had been done in the US to change racism in the US. I think Harry needs to read these comments because racism is flourishing in his own backyard. I agree with you, it doesn't matter about your skin color, where you were born or your religion it's about who you are and what you do.
i love the message John Mellencamp had made soo all ya haterz can kizz ma A*s and no the white kids dont have to court wow this is just like the 1800 wow cant yall just get us a break what did all black do to you huh nothing just beacuse ur white dont mean you have to take the white people side and this song is nothing but pure joy i love it soo much it on my i pod
What are you talking about? You can easily say "just because you are black doesn't mean you have to take the black kids side". Take all of the evidence available, and the black kids look guilty as sin, and add that with theior criminal records and local reputation and you find a whole lot of people supported these guys just because they are black and didn't bother to find out that they were thugs with records.
I don't really understand what JM is trying to prove. It's almost as if he is saying violence is acceptable in certain circumstances when it's not. Fighting fire with fire is not the answer. A rock star as big as him shouldn't be putting out this kind of message. If it was 6 white guys beating up a black man they would have been locked up and the key thrown away but because they were black everyone jump on the same bandwagon and says racism was involved.
"don't really understand what JM is trying to prove"
Sadly, I'd be willing to bet that this has to do with lining his pockets. If he really cared, he'd have done some personal research and decided that he should take up a different cause. This is just an attempt to cash in on a buzzword for racism ("Jena") tht was unfortunately based on sloppy reporting and people's biases.
I don't understand why certain people think the Jena 6 were treated unfairly. The fact is that whatever colour you are(black, white, asian etc etc) you should be severely punished for carrying out this kind of assault on anyone. It's not acceptable in today society going around attacking people like that. They can't just use there race as an excuse for being unfairly treated, it's just a way of trying to get there conviction quashed. If you can't do the time don't do the crime.
Thüringer Farbe sind Rot-Weiß! Oh ja böser Rassismus...immer wieder in Verbindung mit Jena. Scheiß Kommunisten lernt es endlich: Ihr seit der Abschaum der Nation! Stasischweine, Ratten FCC !! !! !!
How can one go "home" to their respective country if they he neither born or raised there. That's very stupid suggestion to make IF you understand we are not indigineous people of this continent. A certain group of individuals came over here and nearly wiped them out in the name of "God and Countrty". Now that's progress...
It's was a ALL WHITE jury because the blacks who were summons didn't show up for court.This song lost me as a fan for John Mellencamp.The 6 black students waited for the white kid to walk out of the lunchroom and beat his as* in typical black fashion 6 on1.
I agree that if it was a bunch of white kids beating up a black kid, they would have been sentenced to the max for a "Hate Crime!" If any of y'all don't like John's song or video.....F U!!!!!! Don't watch or listen!!!!!
"Its a sad country the US, full of injustice and racism but some day it all will come to an end. We are millions watcing you over there."
You have no idea what you are talking about, posting a message like that on a Jena 6 site. These criminals are getting chance after chance after chance. There are a whole lot of countries that would not let them get away with what they have done.
There are more opportunities for more people of more different races here than anywhere else in the WORLD.
"The fact that the NAACP is defending these school bullies is sad. I want to scream this at their faces: BULLYING HURTS KIDS. IT SCARS THEM FOR LIFE."
Yep. You hit the nail on the head. People keep talking about these young men (Jena 6) being harrassed, etc, when some of them have long, documented histories of being terrible, dangerous bullies themselves. It's really sad how twisted things have become.
If six white kids beat up anyone they would have gotten off. I had 4 white kids jump me in the school bathroom and send me to the hospital
because of the way I dressed. They got detention and that was it. If you believe in justice you would want those racist pricks who hung nooses which by law is considered a death threat you would want those kids sent "up the river"
"I had 4 white kids jump me in the school bathroom and send me to the hospital
because of the way I dressed. They got detention and that was it."
Did that happen in Jena? If not, you have absolutely zero room to talk about what would or would not have happened. I hope you realize this (Jena 6) was a local law enforcement choice to crack down on repeat offenders, not some federal mandate, lol.
Thank you Mr. Mellencamp for your inspiration and dedication to fairness and justice. We need MORE PEOPLE WITH YOUR PASSION,TALENT AND COURAGE FOR WHATS JUST SIMPLY RIGHT. My sisters and I are truly some of your biggest fans. Peace
Keep on keeping it real, John. Some people think you can just say that slavery ended in the 1800s and the civil rights laws were enacted in the 1960s , so everything's ok. Fuck that. You cannot legislate morality nor can you elimiate racism through legislation. If people won't reject hate, we must force equality down their throats.
Carwyn Jones has been arrested twice in 08. Once for assault.
Bryant Purvis has also been arrested for assault in 08 (in Texas).
Mychal Bell was caught speeding in an uninsured vehicle through the town of Olla recently, though the terms of his sentence (he pleaded guilty to the assault on Barker) forbade him from leaving Monroe (where he lives in foster care and attends High School).
Court documents reference probation violations for Jesse Beard (as a juvenile, details were not given).
that has no meaning whatsoever, the matter is not wether they were criminal or comited a criminal action or not, it's wether or not they were charged acordingly to what criminal actions they comited. And the truth is they were definitly not, and surely they were not judged by a jury of their peers.
I used to work for the assistant DA. I can promise you had it been 6 white students against one black the six white would all be in jail for attempted murderer right now. Reed Walters throws the book at everybody regardless of color or social status. He always has.
Just so people know: Im from there I grew up there. Justin didn't have anything to do with the nooses and they all flat out admitted in court that there was no provocation, the nooses were unrelated, and they all have prior arrests for similar charges. Also the only reason there was an all white jury is because they were the only ones who responded to the court summons. I think its great that people show their support but I think getting all of the facts is equally important.
People making comments about slavery (which is totally unrelated to the song!), need to shut their mouths. Come on people, can't we get over it? How many years ago did my ancestors enslave black people? Actually, my ancestors might not have. My ancestors could've immigrated to America from Scotland after slavery. Anyway, my point is that my ANCESTORS might've. Not me. Not any white person alive today has hired a black slave (unless in secret). I am disgusted by lynching and slavery anyways.
nobody is acusing you of enslaving anyone. They are claiming the right to be treated as equals to everyone else in a country that was built and carried on the backs of their ancestors. That's why they bring the subject of slavery up.
Good open minded song.....free them...(which is old news) I know....but they just did what they felt was right...and honestly I agree.....they didn't kill anyone....they beat him....he lived....the nooses that were hung on that tree were SO wrong!...anyways...good song John Mellencamp - I read the story a few times..diff versions..and I still think...those 6 were just wrong accused....
They did NOT do what they felt was right. That is ridiculous. The beating had nothing to do with those nooses. The kid they beat didn't have a thing to do with those nooses from over 3 months earlier. That was an excuse they came up with well after the fact.
Actually, hurricanesly, I don't recall the Jena 6 EVER tying the noose incident to their reasoning for beating Justin Barker. Have you? People are tying the two together because if people can separate the two, it eliminates the ONLY emotionally-charged reason why they would do what they did. Then people may look at the eye witness statements (Google "Jena 6 documents" to see them) and find out the REAL reason they did it: because they were PLANNING on gang assaulting a white student that day.
I hate to jump into this discussion so late, but I think it would be valuable for you to know that Africans were selling each other to the Slavers. They didn't go over, knock out some poor kid, and bring him back with them, they went over and someone was more than willing to sell out their friends and family. So the only people deserving of blame for "stripping you of your language god and heritage: are yourselves.
You're full of shit. So you're basically saying that slavery is due to slaves selling themselves? WTF? Maybe they sold themselves to survive in a harsh world, but that's not the reason how slavery started. Maybe slavery started from your ancestors, who brought the blacks over here to pick cottons.
Actually slavery's pretty much been around since the dawn of time. Long before white people bought blacks to use in their cotton fields. And why does everyone I talk to on this video assume I'm white? But I digress my point is this, you people who keep bringing up racism which was abolished in America after the civil war need to take a look at the bigger picture. It was your brothers and sister's in Africa who sold you out to be slaves. Whitey wasn't some demonic conquerer who stole you from
your homeland. He sailed to a new land, and in a time period when it was perfectly acceptable to have slaves anywhere in the world, they bought what they saw as a valuable asset and left. That's all it boils down to. So you my friend are the one who's full of shit if you're gonna tell me that the white man "stripped you of your language god and heritage".
Slaver has existed since the dawn of time, and African tribes did sell out their people.
But American slavery was one of the only, if not only, form of slavery where the slave was considered subhuman.
Most forms of slavery considered the slaves as a form of servant rather than chattel and they could usually earned their freedom. Slavery in America was more brutal than elsewhere.
I'm sorry, man but I just don't agree with your statement, that "racism was abolished after the civil war" Maybe institutionalized slavery was, and racism may now be condemned by most, but unfortunately it still exists in America.
I'm sorry it was a typo, I meant to say "slavery" not "racism". I am fully aware that racism still exists in America, and all over the world unfortunately. I'm sorry about any confusion my typo may have caused.
every time i click on this video it says,i need to confirm my age. I dont see anything offending to children under 18 here infact they should know well the pros and cons of this whole event its just a big huge mess in my opinion and neither on either side are right.
Well, mr. Mellancamp calims his song and video aren't really about the Jena 6 situation (he had to say this after confronted with the fact that most of what people were going on was BS) despite the name of the song, so there really isn't anything of eduational value. Just "Whoah, whoah" people have done bad things so let's complain "Whoah, Whoah". I think there are far better places for historical education/civil rights info than this propaganda piece/money making venture.
"The Jena six weren't victimized by an all-white Jury. They did have shitty lawyers, however"
Well, only one went to trial, and the second batch of high profile lawyers who came in gave him the exact same advise as the public defender: You have no case. Plead guilty!
{cont} stupid and heartless to not recognize another person not only as human, but as your brother or sister...and this is not coming from a black male (for those of you waiting to say something ignorant) but from an italian kid from Philly who sees this shit everyday and is concerned about what lies ahead for our future as a nation,cause honestly if we think Iraqi War is the problem w/our country then you need to take a stroll through any U.S. city and see the trap that *our government oversee*
I am completely in agreement w/ victornewman06. I cannot stand nor understand the complete ignorance and stupidity of people in this country. To actually think that after the unspeakable history of this country and how inhumane these people were/are who commited these crimes there still are people who really don't understand the "big picture" of the Jena 6. The fact is ( sad as it is) racism is still a huge factor in this country and it just does not make sense to me how people are so fucking...
stop listening to the lying MSM, old frauds like Johnny Cougar Mellencamp, Rev - He's not a Rev. Sharpton.
In Jena, the victim was the small White student, picked because of his race and jumped by 8 Black football player thugs, most with histories of doing violent thug crimes like beating up women.
Those who are for "Civil Rights" must understand that attempted murder is a "Civil Wrong" not a civil right.
The Truth is that Jena is just the same as the Duke Lacrosse rape hoax.
"In Jena, the victim was the small White student, picked because of his race and jumped by 8 Black football player thugs, most with histories of doing violent thug crimes like beating up women."
AMEN! Your "bigger picture" is fine. But PLEASE, use RAL examples for your point. NOTHING good can come out of scores of people branding an entire town or region racist based on the lies of multiple offense thugs. WAKE UP people. A VIOLENT CRIME OCCURRED. Get your "bigger picture" where it applies.
I am completely in agreement w/ victornewman06. I cannot stand nor understand the complete ignorance and stupidity of people in this country. To actually think that after the unspeakable history of this country and how inhumane these people were/are who commited these crimes there still are people who really don't understand the "big picture" of the Jena 6. The fact is ( sad as it is) racism is still a huge factor in this country and it just does not make sense to me how people are so fucking...
Well, the whites who hung nooses did a stupid thing, I think most would agree. Ignorance. However beating a white then is going way overboard again. If a White was killed is that justified? Unfortunately this is where we are. Call a Black the N word if you are white, again very stupid & ignorant, but then killing or beating someone for this is justified. Are we using these things as excuses to do what we really want to? Which is beat & kill Whites?
{cont} terrorism SOME of your ancestors have caused. This seed of hate was planted a looooooong damn time ago, whether it's face to face or subtle like certain laws that were passed by the government. I love all people, I can't stand ignorant assholes; black, white, whatever...If you have something stupid to say, don't reply to me. If you have a response that is with some intelligence, I welcome them.
{cont} inferior attitude". Once your "way of life" was brought into question of mental and physical enslavement, you took a "by any means necessary" approach to ensure your supremacist views and upheld them (Dred Scott decision, voting discrimination, job security, ect). Even with the American Indian...Wounded Knee, but WE ARE THE SAVAGES???? LOL I AM NOT A VICTIM, but you have to understand this...don't get pissed off because this is the result of years and years of mental and physical
Some of you people really amaze me. First of all, there are good and evil in ALL PEOPLE!!!! And for you to paint this broad brush on black people, thinking that all of us are savages that depend on handouts, you are sadly mistaken. Just as I don't think that all white men have sex with their sisters and farm animals to purify their race. What gets me, this is the AMERICA YOU CHOSE!!!! You chose to base your ideologies on elitist and fascist views. The whole "whites are superior, blacks are
It is a sad situation knowing that it doesn't much to put us back to the beginning. Nothing really has changed over the years. Same shit different day! Oh by the way John I like this video. Your music just keeps getting better and better.
i'd like to see any pc white boy who backs up mellencamp and the jena 6 go strolling so politically through a ghetto and see how "down with the brothaman" he really is.
spend some time outside the confines of your gated communities, high security parking lots and locked cars and uppie coffeehouse and you'll be forced to wake up pretty quick.
Racist punks hung nooses from trees to intimidate kids and assholes come on this site to bash John Mellencamp for this song. You jerkoffs need to clean up your own backyards before you go knocking on your neighbor's door!!!
he must have needed a new car so he decided to write this pandering crapola. just another mainstream wanker trying jump on the pc bandwagon and suck up to liberals with buying power. nothing more. nothing less. just the dullness of the song alone exposes his lack of true passion for the issue.
There is nothing politically correct about John Mellencamp or liberalism. Right wing fascism is the way to go for political correctness since the majority of the media are superconservative. The prize for doing the right thing is get called names by assholes on youtube.
What the fuck are you talking about? Make some sense, either that or stick to the subject. I'm referring to speaking out against racism as being the right thing to do. Stick with the same subject or shut up!!!
The song is called "Jena", asshole. NOT "Racism". If this clown wants to sing about racism, he can DO IT. Calling it "Jena" without ever acknowledging the facts of this matter that are known to us makes it seem like he supports the RACIST actions of the Jena 6.
And you can shove your self-righteous, "I'll dictate what we are allowed to talk about on this board" attitude up your prejudiced, hateful ass.
Wow, aren't we touchy. It was in JENA where smartaleck punks with political connections hung nooses from trees to stop blacks from congregating there. This song was never about the case, it's about racism, which is as common in Jena, Louisiana as naked women are in strip clubs. Fuck you, redneck!!!
And you still haven't bothered to know shit about Jena. Those kids didn't have "political connections". they are just punk kids. They run with black kids, too. You obviously don't know shit about what is going on there.
The only hate being spewed on this site is by insecure ignorant assholes like you. Its not hate when it's directed at repugnant people like you. People who are so obsessed with I'm white, the rules are against us. Fuck you!!!
Repugnant? Because I care about the facts and am not willing to believe BS from people who haven't even bothered to research the facts and have no first hand knowledge of what is going on? Okay.
Anyway, the first of the crew to commit ANOTHER violent crime was arrested in Dallas yesterday. 19 yr old Bryant Purvis was charged with "assault causing bodily harm" on a fellow student. Maybe he is trying to get another all-expense paid trip to the BET awards?
And you ought to figure out a way to erase the page after page after page of you spewing hate and insults (and lies about the Jena case) before you try to convince anyone that you are some innocent only going after the filth of the world. If you really cared about equality or justice, you'd do yourself a favor and learn about the facts in this case rather than spreading lies along with your hate.
i agree. hosswing, did you read john's statement dumbass? here for you: "The song was not written as an indictment of the people of Jena but, rather, as a condemnation of racism, a problem which I've reflected in many songs, a problem that still plagues our country today." see now "condemnation" means that you OPPOSE something. meaning.....HE DOESN'T LIKE RACISM! get some brains.
But my biggest question is wtf when I post a "reply" on youtube is it showing up at the top of the first page rather than under the comment I replied too. Damn yous intrawebz...damn yous.
Everyone's aregument here is seemingly that because Bell endured some sort of racial persecution that he is justified in his actions. But the issue is you bleeding heart liberals let your emotions cloud judgement. The fast is, many, many people in our history endured far worse racial persecution and never hit ANYONE. He broke the law. Period, end of story. There is no argument to be made.
yeah well guess what. if they had hit someone theyd have been killed. racism is still around. the Klan is still around. it will not go away and that is the very sad truth. getting punished for beating the kid up is just, yes, but not punishing the school or the kids that hung the nooses is not
Yeah, and the Jena Board of Education overturned the school department's disciplinary actions. Like I said, clean up your own backyards and stop worrying about what songs John Mellencamp sings.
They recieved the max penalty to avoid expulsion, which they would have recieved if they were not politically connected. Their punishment was altered because the schol dept weren't allowed to use their own judgment. Just by your name I can tell you're a redneck hillbilly who's still pissed off that people other than whites have rights. Jena is a good place for you to live!!!
Daddymak is wrong. The expulsion was overturned, ut they got the max penalty allowable by law, short of expulsion. Expulsion is not an easysentence to pass down in Louisiana. Ask Mychal Bell who was up for it numerous times, but was reinstated.
I think we need to look past the story now. At least one of us has to say that the song is beautiful, even if the subject matter is a rough one to bring up.
Listen, I apoligize to Necromortis61 for my comments. Yet at the same time every word John speaks is truth. We refuse to look back and say "yeah that haqppen". We simply turn turn the page. Great song Mr. Mellencamp!
You're a better man/woman than I am. On my job, I deal with the working poor who recieve assistance, not welfare or disability recipients, but the working poor. People who work 50 plus hours a week to take home $250. So I deal with ignorant bigots and imbeciles on a daily basis in the form of conservatives who decry our programs as wasteful spending.
John Mellencamp needs to be commended for the issues he is raising in America today. It hard for us as Americans to look in the mirror, too often we don't like what we see and its easier not to look at all. I love this video, Thanks John. Its time for America to look in the mirror.
How would you like getting beaten and tauted and theathen all in one day just because of our skin? You don't know what a great way to tell stories, trough music. Maybe if you cared about others and knew what the hell your talking about then you'd understand. Until then, Shut the FUCK UP!
Ooooh, Jena - take YOUR BLACK PANTHER BADGES OFF!
**** John Melloncamp - thinks he's being progressive by regurgitating all the libtarded bullcrap that gets spoonfed to everyone anyway.
Snesgamer 4 months ago
@crystalrandrops3~ because it shows depictions of lynching from the 50's and so on....
shadowzmom 4 months ago
I'm wondering-all these "small towns" Mellencamp sings of, has he never encountered a town like Jena? I lived there for 3 yrs. w/my boyfriend. I know the Barker family personally and this young man still suffers the effects from being beaten SEVEN on ONE today! Before you go and write some song about something you don't really know a damn thing about, come experience it. True, racism is still alive in the South. But had 7 white kids beat a black kid, what do you think the outcome would be??
shadowzmom 4 months ago
Why is this age restricted?
crystalraindrops3 5 months ago
lol nobody actually understands what the jena six was about. So basically the nooses were a joke concerning a football game, it involved a slogan involving hanging the opposing mascot. The beating of that barker dude, i forget his first name, happened completely separately from the nooses. The guys were charged with attempted murder, and a jury was called. Jena, like most Central Louisiana towns, is pretty equally matched racially, however no blacks who were called to jury duty showed up.
LeeHO6262 6 months ago 2
98 people cannot and dare not see the fact, cannot face it
ok silence John..corner him..would that solve the problem?
MrSmilash 8 months ago
@MrSmilash It's because this was bullshit. He's trying to cash in on some BS made up to make a bunch of thugs look like innocent victims. They were not. The dude they sent tothe hospital in a bloody heap was the victim, as were the numerous other people they have committed crimes against with little to no punishment.
mamacornettesmoney 5 months ago
It's so weird when you look up your name and here it is.
JenaBrissie 9 months ago
What a dumb song. It’s funny how all of the criminals involved have all gotten in trouble with the law repeatedly since this incident. The truth is that they were thugs and the pathetic black leaders rallied around them and of course so did the multicultural leftist intelligentsia. And for what? They were nothing but a bunch of trouble makers. It’s so easy for people like Mellencamp and other disingenuous white liberal to preach yet none of them live near or with blacks like I do. Just pathetic.
sammy1324 10 months ago 2
Too bad that you are using old videos from another time that misrepresent what happened. Mr. Mellencamp is only trying to rebuild a DEAD Career. The white child was not the one who beat up a black child. And if Mr. Mellencamp is not trying to attack Jena as he says in his statement, why did he use the town name
postdesrapides 11 months ago
@postdesrapides
DEAD career?
wake up man ...u had better listen to Shakira
this is no place for you.
MrSmilash 9 months ago
Too bad that you are using old videos from another time that misrepresent what happened. Mr. Mellencamp is only trying to rebuild a DEAD Career. The white child was not the one who beat up a black child.
postdesrapides 11 months ago
@postdesrapides dead career, LOL-he's been making some of the best music he's ever made. i don't think he's concerned w/ selling 10 million albums eatch time.
KOSMICKEN09 8 months ago
this is some BS!!
dirtysteve700 11 months ago
shittest song ever. 6 black teens beat on guy and it's ok cause some other hung a noose from a tree the media is a joke they did not beat the kid because of the noose they beat the kid cause 2 of the jena 6 were thrown out of a party
thesmithfamily99 1 year ago
Mellencrap takes it up the azz...what a piece of crap this "song" is. Where are your little innocent darlings now jonny boy - what are these loser criminals up to lately??? Rot in hell mr cougar.
CrapsAss 1 year ago
Fuck Mellenhead. All he's doing is aiding in the extermination our my race.
lastwhiteman23 1 year ago
Great song!
fandeplici 1 year ago
this is the dumbest shit ive ever heard
codeman318 1 year ago
What happened to being charged with a hate crime, which any white man can tell you, will get you life in prison? Oh, right, I forgot, only white people are prejudiced and subject to the laws of this country that unconstitutionally prosecute people above and beyond what the law actually calls for. But good job yankee boy, nice song. Did you write one for the white boy who was nearly beaten to death by a hate-filled mob?
cajuncharger 1 year ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
Ugh a nigger music video
jeredlittle1996 1 year ago
A pox on your house, John Mellencamp. You're darn tootin' that you're not a journalist. This is as much a work of fiction as Dylan's ridiculously biased account of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.
If your really want to know what happened in Jena, search this into your web browser:
"What Really Happened in Jena" "Jared Taylor"
Ken P.
kenp3L 1 year ago 2
What an asshole! I'll bet this liberal piece of shit hates himself for being white.
Easy to make statements like this when you're isolated for this kind of criminal
behavior. Wonder if he would written this if this happened to one of his sons?
liberty1866 1 year ago
mdnmfd
JenaNicole111 1 year ago
Yo John,what do you think of your buddy John Edwards now?
grgoldner 1 year ago
Bless you, John Cougar Mellencamp!!!!
GREAT SONG!!!
toonzguy 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
this video is so fucking gay
applebeans123 2 years ago
Why was this video flagged? Honestly?
purefired 2 years ago
Diz is from my Auntie, ---I wasthirty miles from jena as this was coming down. I am angry. There is such a thing as righteous anger. I followed what happened very closely; the black high school boys were threatened from the start because they dare go under the 'white' kids tree. This escalated to their being threated with a gun at a neighborhood gas station. They were continually taunted until a fight erupted in the stairwell at the school. Are you kidding me-Are you kidding me. nooses WHAT
trayvea 2 years ago
A fight erupted, I think its been established six kids beat the shit out of one kid, leaving him concussed.
That district attorney is a coward, I'd have charged them all with attempted murder and requested they each got 50 years without parole if I were in his position.
theporksicle 2 years ago
This video is good because it carries a message. also 2 all that don't understand and who are ignorant you should either be quiet or know what your talking about. You need 2 know your history and some statistics. I' m not going 2 hold my breath though!!
trayvea 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Mellecamp is one of the prime exponents of "White guilt." This racist doctrine is the same as anti-Semitism. "All whites" and "all Jews." Hey, Cougar, check the FBI crime statistics, and you will see that African-Americans are the kings of crime. Oh, and may your car break down in a black neighborhood.
flattilre 2 years ago
You're one of the prime exponent of racism? Or at least you bother enough with your life to look at FBI crime statistics to find out that AFrican Americans are the majority of criminals? You know, if you care that much, you should probably do something about it instead of whining and complaining about it on YouTube, you fag.
MehMehBear2 2 years ago
i could not have said it better myself!!
natetheamazingpp2 2 years ago
look at aunt vivi at 0:29 and momma edna at 1:23 my aunties love lousiana
daynaj09 2 years ago
i dont care what u guys think of john i think this a good song and the story behind it is a bunch of bullshit they shouldnt have been charged with 2nd degree murder they were defending themselves from the WHITE kid with the gun
kingmurphy90 2 years ago
So you're saying that boy they jumped had a gun? I don't think even they claim that, you're mixing up what happened later on when a man angry at the way the Blacks were behaving pulled a gun on them and they stole it from him and were accordingly charged with theft of a firearm.
They were not charged with second degree murder as nobody died, they were charged with attempted murder, it carries a punishment of up to 10 to 50 years without parole.
theporksicle 2 years ago
john cougar mellencrap can kiss my big black ass in the crack...fuck you johnny, you suck.
CrapsAss 2 years ago
Who the heck flagged this?!
SwingGirlBlues 3 years ago
wow. what a ridiculous video. obviously, you haven't spent any time out in central louisiana, mr. mellencamp. but, i guess you needed a gimmick for people to notice that you're still making music. you and bono should team up, together you could save the world!
cowpunk1978 3 years ago 2
No one listens to FRAUD Cougar Mellencramp so he plays the race card. Fk him.. Right in the neck.
NoMercyJustCruelty 3 years ago
and FYI i am black
Kandiikanez 3 years ago
racist motherfucker..hope you boiled in the deep pots of hell
Kandiikanez 3 years ago
yes i agree with you on that but there was the bit where they were captured by the white people without the consent of any black ancestor but it is again very stereotypical of you using the phrase "chicken bone in your nose" because when i checked wikipedia it was the south americans *amazonians* who had cow foot in their hair and danced around fires and howled at the moon. Remember the simpsons sideshow mel had a bone in his hair and does he look black no..plz refrain frm typing stuff u dnt no
Kandiikanez 3 years ago
"but there was the bit where they were captured by the white people without the consent of any black ancestor"
The slave industry was very terrible, but we should be realistic about it. Very few of the Trans-Atlantic slaves were captured by whites. They were captured by other Africans & sold to whites.
The Europeans learned before they came to the New World that it was much more beneficial to trade for slaves rather than steal them & lose the trust of your African trade partners.
virtualdynamo 3 years ago 3
jajajajaja c
cheryl4eva 3 years ago
u can have SO much fun ... with me P
lydzemz07 3 years ago
John Cougar MellenCamp. Love to you always.
dhup45 3 years ago
i read about the jena six on wikipedia and i decided to listen to this song..and it really touched a deep spot in my heart..it made me wonder what our ancestors have gone through and to overcome that..god,, it jus made me appreciate n be proud of my colour..and i would not trade my black color for no1.
Kandiikanez 3 years ago
I just wanted to say GOOD FOR YOU ! You shouldn't want to change your race or color just because of the way you are being treated :)
humanvampirewerewolf 3 years ago
100% agree with you there Virtualdynamo. It's good to see that someone on here has a bit of common sense.
AndrewSmith1979 3 years ago
No one is taking anybody's side. It's not about race it's about the difference between right and wrong. Beating someone half to death IS WRONG regardless of race and anybody (black, white, asian etc) who does this derserves a prison sentence.
AndrewSmith1979 3 years ago 8
dude did you see where the week before there was a black who got the same treatment in that same town? No 2nd degree murders down. Nice way to turn a person getting jumped into second degree murder. The DA's office would have never slept in normandy highschool in st louis were i went to school at
.
DCProductions77 3 years ago
"the week before there was a black who got the same treatment in that same town"
That's a myth. A guy got attacked in his face by a person at a private party he crashed. The man who attacked him was arrested. Nothing like what happened to Justin Barker happened in that assault according to the guy who was attacked.
The DA lowered the Jena6 attempted murder charges that he made because of prior threats and the fact that they were kicking his bloody head while he was unconscious.
virtualdynamo 3 years ago
I think a black person who does this should get the chair, a mexican person, life in prison, a chinese person 10 years in jail and a white person 1 year probation
mryjn420090 1 year ago
@AndrewSmith1979
And the white child caused the problem by hanging little black dolls on a tree where only "white" students were allowed to be, may it have been the students set it because of racism, or if the school did so due to racism.
Was it wrong for the 6 students to fight? Yes. But the white student was in the wrong for pulling that stunt.
GaaraBabyEater 11 months ago
@GaaraBabyEater Putting little black dolls in a tree is hardly the same as beating someone half to death. Maybe they could've gone about it a different way, like telling the headmaster of the school about the incident or even the Police. Fighting fire with fire won't get you anywhere. Maybe they should think with their brains and not their fists.
AndrewSmith1979 11 months ago
@AndrewSmith1979
I am not disagreeing with you that those students should get in trouble. What I don't agree with is that the white child did not get in trouble for causing the mess in the first place. Especially since the white child beat up one of the black kids for being black. The white child should have gotten charged for a hate crime. But we didn't see that happen. We saw the black kid getting charged for 22 years. Both sides were in the wrong. That is what I want to point out.
GaaraBabyEater 11 months ago 4
@GaaraBabyEater Yep, I'd go along with that.
AndrewSmith1979 11 months ago
@GaaraBabyEater thank you for shedding more light on the accident. Nothing could be worse than partial information.
The point John Mellencamp is making is not a thing of the past. It is a real problem. Things have improved and changed but much needs to be done yet.
Attacking John Mellencamp is like taking a pain killer when u know u r sick and u have to cure the disease but are content when only pain is gone...
MrSmilash 9 months ago
@AndrewSmith1979
I am from Australia and a couple of years ago Harry Connick Jr was outraged at an act on a family oriented talent quest where the white performers painted their face black and he told us that so much had been done in the US to change racism in the US. I think Harry needs to read these comments because racism is flourishing in his own backyard. I agree with you, it doesn't matter about your skin color, where you were born or your religion it's about who you are and what you do.
TheEagermaniac 1 month ago
i love the message John Mellencamp had made soo all ya haterz can kizz ma A*s and no the white kids dont have to court wow this is just like the 1800 wow cant yall just get us a break what did all black do to you huh nothing just beacuse ur white dont mean you have to take the white people side and this song is nothing but pure joy i love it soo much it on my i pod
cutieofdat614 3 years ago
What are you talking about? You can easily say "just because you are black doesn't mean you have to take the black kids side". Take all of the evidence available, and the black kids look guilty as sin, and add that with theior criminal records and local reputation and you find a whole lot of people supported these guys just because they are black and didn't bother to find out that they were thugs with records.
virtualdynamo 3 years ago 2
I don't really understand what JM is trying to prove. It's almost as if he is saying violence is acceptable in certain circumstances when it's not. Fighting fire with fire is not the answer. A rock star as big as him shouldn't be putting out this kind of message. If it was 6 white guys beating up a black man they would have been locked up and the key thrown away but because they were black everyone jump on the same bandwagon and says racism was involved.
AndrewSmith1979 3 years ago
"don't really understand what JM is trying to prove"
Sadly, I'd be willing to bet that this has to do with lining his pockets. If he really cared, he'd have done some personal research and decided that he should take up a different cause. This is just an attempt to cash in on a buzzword for racism ("Jena") tht was unfortunately based on sloppy reporting and people's biases.
virtualdynamo 3 years ago
I don't understand why certain people think the Jena 6 were treated unfairly. The fact is that whatever colour you are(black, white, asian etc etc) you should be severely punished for carrying out this kind of assault on anyone. It's not acceptable in today society going around attacking people like that. They can't just use there race as an excuse for being unfairly treated, it's just a way of trying to get there conviction quashed. If you can't do the time don't do the crime.
AndrewSmith1979 3 years ago 2
Jena / Thüringen / Germany
FC Carl Zeiss Jena
jenagoth 3 years ago
Thüringer Farbe sind Rot-Weiß! Oh ja böser Rassismus...immer wieder in Verbindung mit Jena. Scheiß Kommunisten lernt es endlich: Ihr seit der Abschaum der Nation! Stasischweine, Ratten FCC !! !! !!
Yourong18 3 years ago
Who marked this as 'inappropriate'?
That doesn't really make much sense. This is a thematic video with a strong subject, but I don't see what calls for the censorship.
In b4 "LOLOLOLOLOL IT'S A CONSPIRACY BY THE RACIST YOUTUBE OWNERS"
revolutionaryluddite 3 years ago
How can one go "home" to their respective country if they he neither born or raised there. That's very stupid suggestion to make IF you understand we are not indigineous people of this continent. A certain group of individuals came over here and nearly wiped them out in the name of "God and Countrty". Now that's progress...
DJMentalBeats 3 years ago
It's was a ALL WHITE jury because the blacks who were summons didn't show up for court.This song lost me as a fan for John Mellencamp.The 6 black students waited for the white kid to walk out of the lunchroom and beat his as* in typical black fashion 6 on1.
MidnightNSavannah 3 years ago
I agree that if it was a bunch of white kids beating up a black kid, they would have been sentenced to the max for a "Hate Crime!" If any of y'all don't like John's song or video.....F U!!!!!! Don't watch or listen!!!!!
mauilunatweak 3 years ago
By they way, I'm NOT racist, a good friend of mine who came from Somalia took me to see John in Mankato! So yeah, you know what U can do!!!!
mauilunatweak 3 years ago
Mellencamp should've gotten the actual facts of what happened before he jumped on the Jena bandwagon and wrote this song.
Chrisdrumz 3 years ago
Its a sad country the US, full of injustice and racism but some day it all will come to an end. We are millions watcing you over there.
Glorytotheone 3 years ago
"Its a sad country the US, full of injustice and racism but some day it all will come to an end. We are millions watcing you over there."
You have no idea what you are talking about, posting a message like that on a Jena 6 site. These criminals are getting chance after chance after chance. There are a whole lot of countries that would not let them get away with what they have done.
There are more opportunities for more people of more different races here than anywhere else in the WORLD.
virtualdynamo 3 years ago
If six white men had tried to beat a small, young white man to death-- what would have happened? They would have been sent up the river.
The fact that the NAACP is defending these school bullies is sad. I want to scream this at their faces: BULLYING HURTS KIDS. IT SCARS THEM FOR LIFE.
revolutionaryluddite 3 years ago
"The fact that the NAACP is defending these school bullies is sad. I want to scream this at their faces: BULLYING HURTS KIDS. IT SCARS THEM FOR LIFE."
Yep. You hit the nail on the head. People keep talking about these young men (Jena 6) being harrassed, etc, when some of them have long, documented histories of being terrible, dangerous bullies themselves. It's really sad how twisted things have become.
virtualdynamo 3 years ago
If six white kids beat up anyone they would have gotten off. I had 4 white kids jump me in the school bathroom and send me to the hospital
because of the way I dressed. They got detention and that was it. If you believe in justice you would want those racist pricks who hung nooses which by law is considered a death threat you would want those kids sent "up the river"
mobilizenow86 3 years ago
"I had 4 white kids jump me in the school bathroom and send me to the hospital
because of the way I dressed. They got detention and that was it."
Did that happen in Jena? If not, you have absolutely zero room to talk about what would or would not have happened. I hope you realize this (Jena 6) was a local law enforcement choice to crack down on repeat offenders, not some federal mandate, lol.
virtualdynamo 3 years ago
I love this song and hopefully the world will someday come to terms with the meaning of it and grow out of the childish and hatred ways.
hsmanaama08 3 years ago
Thank you Mr. Mellencamp for your inspiration and dedication to fairness and justice. We need MORE PEOPLE WITH YOUR PASSION,TALENT AND COURAGE FOR WHATS JUST SIMPLY RIGHT. My sisters and I are truly some of your biggest fans. Peace
thefedrezerv 3 years ago
Apart from the theme, this is great rock music anyway. A twenty-five career at the top means something after all.
Go for a change America.
luigimuzii 3 years ago
i'm offended this is flagged...
purefire47 3 years ago 2
Keep on keeping it real, John. Some people think you can just say that slavery ended in the 1800s and the civil rights laws were enacted in the 1960s , so everything's ok. Fuck that. You cannot legislate morality nor can you elimiate racism through legislation. If people won't reject hate, we must force equality down their throats.
daddymak8 3 years ago 2
I agree. a friend of mine said intolerance of intolerance is the only intolerance tolerated.
mobilizenow86 3 years ago
Carwyn Jones has been arrested twice in 08. Once for assault.
Bryant Purvis has also been arrested for assault in 08 (in Texas).
Mychal Bell was caught speeding in an uninsured vehicle through the town of Olla recently, though the terms of his sentence (he pleaded guilty to the assault on Barker) forbade him from leaving Monroe (where he lives in foster care and attends High School).
Court documents reference probation violations for Jesse Beard (as a juvenile, details were not given).
hurricanesly 3 years ago
that has no meaning whatsoever, the matter is not wether they were criminal or comited a criminal action or not, it's wether or not they were charged acordingly to what criminal actions they comited. And the truth is they were definitly not, and surely they were not judged by a jury of their peers.
hadjy 3 years ago
I used to work for the assistant DA. I can promise you had it been 6 white students against one black the six white would all be in jail for attempted murderer right now. Reed Walters throws the book at everybody regardless of color or social status. He always has.
bebop458 3 years ago
Just so people know: Im from there I grew up there. Justin didn't have anything to do with the nooses and they all flat out admitted in court that there was no provocation, the nooses were unrelated, and they all have prior arrests for similar charges. Also the only reason there was an all white jury is because they were the only ones who responded to the court summons. I think its great that people show their support but I think getting all of the facts is equally important.
bebop458 3 years ago 5
or maybe only white ppl were summoned? Just like in the rodney king beating?
hadjy 3 years ago
But they weren't the only ones summoned. The black community in Jena refuses to support them because the Jena six have caused problems for years.
bebop458 3 years ago 9
People making comments about slavery (which is totally unrelated to the song!), need to shut their mouths. Come on people, can't we get over it? How many years ago did my ancestors enslave black people? Actually, my ancestors might not have. My ancestors could've immigrated to America from Scotland after slavery. Anyway, my point is that my ANCESTORS might've. Not me. Not any white person alive today has hired a black slave (unless in secret). I am disgusted by lynching and slavery anyways.
muzikmafia27 3 years ago 5
nobody is acusing you of enslaving anyone. They are claiming the right to be treated as equals to everyone else in a country that was built and carried on the backs of their ancestors. That's why they bring the subject of slavery up.
hadjy 3 years ago
Good open minded song.....free them...(which is old news) I know....but they just did what they felt was right...and honestly I agree.....they didn't kill anyone....they beat him....he lived....the nooses that were hung on that tree were SO wrong!...anyways...good song John Mellencamp - I read the story a few times..diff versions..and I still think...those 6 were just wrong accused....
Jess - Walking Tall
Airhead1101 3 years ago
They did NOT do what they felt was right. That is ridiculous. The beating had nothing to do with those nooses. The kid they beat didn't have a thing to do with those nooses from over 3 months earlier. That was an excuse they came up with well after the fact.
hurricanesly 3 years ago 2
Actually, hurricanesly, I don't recall the Jena 6 EVER tying the noose incident to their reasoning for beating Justin Barker. Have you? People are tying the two together because if people can separate the two, it eliminates the ONLY emotionally-charged reason why they would do what they did. Then people may look at the eye witness statements (Google "Jena 6 documents" to see them) and find out the REAL reason they did it: because they were PLANNING on gang assaulting a white student that day.
FromJena 3 years ago 2
I hate to jump into this discussion so late, but I think it would be valuable for you to know that Africans were selling each other to the Slavers. They didn't go over, knock out some poor kid, and bring him back with them, they went over and someone was more than willing to sell out their friends and family. So the only people deserving of blame for "stripping you of your language god and heritage: are yourselves.
SuicideKing19 3 years ago
You're full of shit. So you're basically saying that slavery is due to slaves selling themselves? WTF? Maybe they sold themselves to survive in a harsh world, but that's not the reason how slavery started. Maybe slavery started from your ancestors, who brought the blacks over here to pick cottons.
wtfareusaying 3 years ago
Actually slavery's pretty much been around since the dawn of time. Long before white people bought blacks to use in their cotton fields. And why does everyone I talk to on this video assume I'm white? But I digress my point is this, you people who keep bringing up racism which was abolished in America after the civil war need to take a look at the bigger picture. It was your brothers and sister's in Africa who sold you out to be slaves. Whitey wasn't some demonic conquerer who stole you from
SuicideKing19 3 years ago
your homeland. He sailed to a new land, and in a time period when it was perfectly acceptable to have slaves anywhere in the world, they bought what they saw as a valuable asset and left. That's all it boils down to. So you my friend are the one who's full of shit if you're gonna tell me that the white man "stripped you of your language god and heritage".
SuicideKing19 3 years ago
oops typo. I meant to say bringing up slavery not bringing up racism. My apologies for any confusion that might have caused.
SuicideKing19 3 years ago
Slaver has existed since the dawn of time, and African tribes did sell out their people.
But American slavery was one of the only, if not only, form of slavery where the slave was considered subhuman.
Most forms of slavery considered the slaves as a form of servant rather than chattel and they could usually earned their freedom. Slavery in America was more brutal than elsewhere.
THECHEESEASD 2 years ago
I'm sorry, man but I just don't agree with your statement, that "racism was abolished after the civil war" Maybe institutionalized slavery was, and racism may now be condemned by most, but unfortunately it still exists in America.
amnesiac83 3 years ago
I'm sorry it was a typo, I meant to say "slavery" not "racism". I am fully aware that racism still exists in America, and all over the world unfortunately. I'm sorry about any confusion my typo may have caused.
SuicideKing19 3 years ago 3
I don't care about the story, I just want the track. Why is it so hard to find on Limewire?
picturethief 3 years ago
Thos kids where out of line, that is direct attack on the African American race anf their equality among all americans.
jewbacca13 3 years ago
every time i click on this video it says,i need to confirm my age. I dont see anything offending to children under 18 here infact they should know well the pros and cons of this whole event its just a big huge mess in my opinion and neither on either side are right.
shadowofayounglion 4 years ago
Well, mr. Mellancamp calims his song and video aren't really about the Jena 6 situation (he had to say this after confronted with the fact that most of what people were going on was BS) despite the name of the song, so there really isn't anything of eduational value. Just "Whoah, whoah" people have done bad things so let's complain "Whoah, Whoah". I think there are far better places for historical education/civil rights info than this propaganda piece/money making venture.
TechsasT 4 years ago
?? It is most certainly about it I have heard him say it in an interview..What he says is that he is not political, just a song writer!
dancenekkid1 4 years ago
Well, then he needs to renounce the song, because it's based on lies.
TechsasT 4 years ago
This should be the parents choice..And even John would agree with that...
dancenekkid1 4 years ago
The noose on the tree was not only racist, it was dated. Next time you want to make a statement, hang and electric chair from the tree.
That's where those six "victims" will wind up if they keep up their work.
MondoBeno 4 years ago
What about the White kid's civil rights?
The Jena six weren't victimized by an all-white Jury. They did have shitty lawyers, however.
MondoBeno 4 years ago
"The Jena six weren't victimized by an all-white Jury. They did have shitty lawyers, however"
Well, only one went to trial, and the second batch of high profile lawyers who came in gave him the exact same advise as the public defender: You have no case. Plead guilty!
The others haven't even been tried.
TechsasT 4 years ago
{cont} stupid and heartless to not recognize another person not only as human, but as your brother or sister...and this is not coming from a black male (for those of you waiting to say something ignorant) but from an italian kid from Philly who sees this shit everyday and is concerned about what lies ahead for our future as a nation,cause honestly if we think Iraqi War is the problem w/our country then you need to take a stroll through any U.S. city and see the trap that *our government oversee*
shlfsu 4 years ago 2
Well said sir.
victornewman06 4 years ago
I am completely in agreement w/ victornewman06. I cannot stand nor understand the complete ignorance and stupidity of people in this country. To actually think that after the unspeakable history of this country and how inhumane these people were/are who commited these crimes there still are people who really don't understand the "big picture" of the Jena 6. The fact is ( sad as it is) racism is still a huge factor in this country and it just does not make sense to me how people are so fucking...
shlfsu 4 years ago
Hey Shifsu,
stop listening to the lying MSM, old frauds like Johnny Cougar Mellencamp, Rev - He's not a Rev. Sharpton.
In Jena, the victim was the small White student, picked because of his race and jumped by 8 Black football player thugs, most with histories of doing violent thug crimes like beating up women.
Those who are for "Civil Rights" must understand that attempted murder is a "Civil Wrong" not a civil right.
The Truth is that Jena is just the same as the Duke Lacrosse rape hoax.
johnrobinsonh 4 years ago
"In Jena, the victim was the small White student, picked because of his race and jumped by 8 Black football player thugs, most with histories of doing violent thug crimes like beating up women."
AMEN! Your "bigger picture" is fine. But PLEASE, use RAL examples for your point. NOTHING good can come out of scores of people branding an entire town or region racist based on the lies of multiple offense thugs. WAKE UP people. A VIOLENT CRIME OCCURRED. Get your "bigger picture" where it applies.
TechsasT 4 years ago
Your a jackass!
dancenekkid1 4 years ago
Fo rwhat? Actually bothering to know the details of the situation? For condemning gang assaults?
TechsasT 4 years ago
I am completely in agreement w/ victornewman06. I cannot stand nor understand the complete ignorance and stupidity of people in this country. To actually think that after the unspeakable history of this country and how inhumane these people were/are who commited these crimes there still are people who really don't understand the "big picture" of the Jena 6. The fact is ( sad as it is) racism is still a huge factor in this country and it just does not make sense to me how people are so fucking...
shlfsu 4 years ago
Well, the whites who hung nooses did a stupid thing, I think most would agree. Ignorance. However beating a white then is going way overboard again. If a White was killed is that justified? Unfortunately this is where we are. Call a Black the N word if you are white, again very stupid & ignorant, but then killing or beating someone for this is justified. Are we using these things as excuses to do what we really want to? Which is beat & kill Whites?
elderfan 4 years ago
{cont} terrorism SOME of your ancestors have caused. This seed of hate was planted a looooooong damn time ago, whether it's face to face or subtle like certain laws that were passed by the government. I love all people, I can't stand ignorant assholes; black, white, whatever...If you have something stupid to say, don't reply to me. If you have a response that is with some intelligence, I welcome them.
victornewman06 4 years ago
{cont} inferior attitude". Once your "way of life" was brought into question of mental and physical enslavement, you took a "by any means necessary" approach to ensure your supremacist views and upheld them (Dred Scott decision, voting discrimination, job security, ect). Even with the American Indian...Wounded Knee, but WE ARE THE SAVAGES???? LOL I AM NOT A VICTIM, but you have to understand this...don't get pissed off because this is the result of years and years of mental and physical
victornewman06 4 years ago
Some of you people really amaze me. First of all, there are good and evil in ALL PEOPLE!!!! And for you to paint this broad brush on black people, thinking that all of us are savages that depend on handouts, you are sadly mistaken. Just as I don't think that all white men have sex with their sisters and farm animals to purify their race. What gets me, this is the AMERICA YOU CHOSE!!!! You chose to base your ideologies on elitist and fascist views. The whole "whites are superior, blacks are
victornewman06 4 years ago
It is a sad situation knowing that it doesn't much to put us back to the beginning. Nothing really has changed over the years. Same shit different day! Oh by the way John I like this video. Your music just keeps getting better and better.
Sheilafarmer 4 years ago
i'd like to see any pc white boy who backs up mellencamp and the jena 6 go strolling so politically through a ghetto and see how "down with the brothaman" he really is.
spend some time outside the confines of your gated communities, high security parking lots and locked cars and uppie coffeehouse and you'll be forced to wake up pretty quick.
phillipzernst 4 years ago
I'm white and I grew up in the projects. I was the only white family in my unit. Try again.
daddymak8 4 years ago
Racist punks hung nooses from trees to intimidate kids and assholes come on this site to bash John Mellencamp for this song. You jerkoffs need to clean up your own backyards before you go knocking on your neighbor's door!!!
daddymak8 4 years ago
he must have needed a new car so he decided to write this pandering crapola. just another mainstream wanker trying jump on the pc bandwagon and suck up to liberals with buying power. nothing more. nothing less. just the dullness of the song alone exposes his lack of true passion for the issue.
phillipzernst 4 years ago
There is nothing politically correct about John Mellencamp or liberalism. Right wing fascism is the way to go for political correctness since the majority of the media are superconservative. The prize for doing the right thing is get called names by assholes on youtube.
daddymak8 4 years ago
Yes, cowardly attacking someone from behind and denying you did it is "the right thing to do." Hate on, hater.
milessaban 4 years ago
What the fuck are you talking about? Make some sense, either that or stick to the subject. I'm referring to speaking out against racism as being the right thing to do. Stick with the same subject or shut up!!!
daddymak8 4 years ago
The song is called "Jena", asshole. NOT "Racism". If this clown wants to sing about racism, he can DO IT. Calling it "Jena" without ever acknowledging the facts of this matter that are known to us makes it seem like he supports the RACIST actions of the Jena 6.
And you can shove your self-righteous, "I'll dictate what we are allowed to talk about on this board" attitude up your prejudiced, hateful ass.
hosswing 4 years ago
Wow, aren't we touchy. It was in JENA where smartaleck punks with political connections hung nooses from trees to stop blacks from congregating there. This song was never about the case, it's about racism, which is as common in Jena, Louisiana as naked women are in strip clubs. Fuck you, redneck!!!
daddymak8 4 years ago
That's YOU being touchy. I've read your thousand posts. Don't act like people are too stupid to see the BS you've been spewing for months.
TechsasT 4 years ago
And you still haven't bothered to know shit about Jena. Those kids didn't have "political connections". they are just punk kids. They run with black kids, too. You obviously don't know shit about what is going on there.
TechsasT 4 years ago
Aren't you going to be late for your Klan meeting? Don't forget your white pillowcase.
daddymak8 4 years ago
The only hate being spewed on this site is by insecure ignorant assholes like you. Its not hate when it's directed at repugnant people like you. People who are so obsessed with I'm white, the rules are against us. Fuck you!!!
daddymak8 4 years ago
Repugnant? Because I care about the facts and am not willing to believe BS from people who haven't even bothered to research the facts and have no first hand knowledge of what is going on? Okay.
Anyway, the first of the crew to commit ANOTHER violent crime was arrested in Dallas yesterday. 19 yr old Bryant Purvis was charged with "assault causing bodily harm" on a fellow student. Maybe he is trying to get another all-expense paid trip to the BET awards?
TechsasT 4 years ago
And you ought to figure out a way to erase the page after page after page of you spewing hate and insults (and lies about the Jena case) before you try to convince anyone that you are some innocent only going after the filth of the world. If you really cared about equality or justice, you'd do yourself a favor and learn about the facts in this case rather than spreading lies along with your hate.
TechsasT 4 years ago
i agree. hosswing, did you read john's statement dumbass? here for you: "The song was not written as an indictment of the people of Jena but, rather, as a condemnation of racism, a problem which I've reflected in many songs, a problem that still plagues our country today." see now "condemnation" means that you OPPOSE something. meaning.....HE DOESN'T LIKE RACISM! get some brains.
booguttenberg 4 years ago
Yeah. But he still named it Jena. So he's full of shit.
TechsasT 4 years ago
But my biggest question is wtf when I post a "reply" on youtube is it showing up at the top of the first page rather than under the comment I replied too. Damn yous intrawebz...damn yous.
incubus022 4 years ago
Everyone's aregument here is seemingly that because Bell endured some sort of racial persecution that he is justified in his actions. But the issue is you bleeding heart liberals let your emotions cloud judgement. The fast is, many, many people in our history endured far worse racial persecution and never hit ANYONE. He broke the law. Period, end of story. There is no argument to be made.
incubus022 4 years ago
yeah well guess what. if they had hit someone theyd have been killed. racism is still around. the Klan is still around. it will not go away and that is the very sad truth. getting punished for beating the kid up is just, yes, but not punishing the school or the kids that hung the nooses is not
yamaharider58 4 years ago
The kids who hung the noose WERE punished.
milessaban 4 years ago
Yeah, and the Jena Board of Education overturned the school department's disciplinary actions. Like I said, clean up your own backyards and stop worrying about what songs John Mellencamp sings.
daddymak8 4 years ago
They received the max penalty the School Board allows, short of an expulsion. That is STILL getting punished, whether you like it or not.
hosswing 4 years ago
They recieved the max penalty to avoid expulsion, which they would have recieved if they were not politically connected. Their punishment was altered because the schol dept weren't allowed to use their own judgment. Just by your name I can tell you're a redneck hillbilly who's still pissed off that people other than whites have rights. Jena is a good place for you to live!!!
daddymak8 4 years ago
very true daddymak. milessaban, they were punished huh? well not very severely. and like daddymak said it was overturned
yamaharider58 4 years ago
Daddymak is wrong. The expulsion was overturned, ut they got the max penalty allowable by law, short of expulsion. Expulsion is not an easysentence to pass down in Louisiana. Ask Mychal Bell who was up for it numerous times, but was reinstated.
TechsasT 4 years ago
I think we need to look past the story now. At least one of us has to say that the song is beautiful, even if the subject matter is a rough one to bring up.
jykcjy 4 years ago
Listen, I apoligize to Necromortis61 for my comments. Yet at the same time every word John speaks is truth. We refuse to look back and say "yeah that haqppen". We simply turn turn the page. Great song Mr. Mellencamp!
jykcjy 4 years ago
Why should you have to apologize? He/she's an ignorant asshole. Let them show their ignorance and stupidity.
daddymak8 4 years ago
It just makes me feel better, like a monkey of my shoulders, if I do. Cleansing the soul.
jykcjy 4 years ago
You're a better man/woman than I am. On my job, I deal with the working poor who recieve assistance, not welfare or disability recipients, but the working poor. People who work 50 plus hours a week to take home $250. So I deal with ignorant bigots and imbeciles on a daily basis in the form of conservatives who decry our programs as wasteful spending.
daddymak8 4 years ago
I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks!
jykcjy 4 years ago
John Mellencamp needs to be commended for the issues he is raising in America today. It hard for us as Americans to look in the mirror, too often we don't like what we see and its easier not to look at all. I love this video, Thanks John. Its time for America to look in the mirror.
drice847 4 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
John Mellencamp is racist and a fucking loser. I would rather listen to the teletubies singing about fucking barney than listen to this whiney cunt.
Fuck all you who don't hate John 'The Forehead' Mellonhead
Necromortis61 4 years ago
Snappy comeback!!!
daddymak8 4 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
NO FUCK YOU!!!!!!
jykcjy 4 years ago
How would you like getting beaten and tauted and theathen all in one day just because of our skin? You don't know what a great way to tell stories, trough music. Maybe if you cared about others and knew what the hell your talking about then you'd understand. Until then, Shut the FUCK UP!
jykcjy 4 years ago
Oh no! I don't care about people! What a terrible person I am! Go fuck a labradoodle
Necromortis61 4 years ago