you haven't seen this?

Black woman raped, beaten, abused during week-long captivity

http://tinyurl.com/2csxh3

thank god the south is so full of "christians"

That is absolutely disgusting. It's getting to the point where I almost can't even tolerate people anymore. Is anyone else scared by the fact that we have to share a PLANET with these people???

Q:Is anyone else scared by the fact that we have to share a PLANET with these people???
A: Pretty much the whole rest of the planet.

hard to get up in the morning raginfem. As Stamp Paid in Beloved puts it, "What are these people?"

The POSSIBILITY that a noose in a tree is intended to bring to mind lynching? Really? Because a noose in a tree is normally intended bring to mind sunbeams and bunny rabbits, so they don't want to jump to any conclusions?

What is wrong with people?
I'd say a healthy mix of white privilege, stupidity, and ignorance.

I went to UMD and I know Pres. Mote very well. I'm horrified that this happened at UMD (this kind of crap is EXTREMELY rare there; the campus is really diverse and well-integrated) but I'm glad it's being addressed in a straightforward manner.

I'd heard about that black woman on NPR this morning and I couldn't believe it. It's absolutely disgusting what human beings will do to one another.

As for the noose, that's just willful ignorance right there. When I was an undergrad we had a few white students hang a noose from the tree on the campus quad and the black students were outraged (I among them) but some of the white students would look clueless and ask, "What's the big deal? It might not mean what you think it means and you're just reading into it."

There was a protest but I didn't go because aside from the black students (which was preaching to the choir) I knew most of the (even liberal) white students wouldn't get a fucking clue either way.

"Unlike the situation in Jena, LA, at least the President of the University of Maryland recognizes that hanging a noose from a tree near a group of black student and professor organizations is a hate crime." - Samhita

Only a serious asshole would do this, but is it a crime? What would they be charged with?

Um, Noname? They'll be charged with a hate crime. Which is what they committed.

Personally, noname, I'd like to see them charged with terrorism. That's what it is-- a direct attempt to terrorize the black community. I think that it could also fall under the "threat" category.

Just a further note. Umd, College Park sends out crime notices to its students. Here's the relevent one.

http://www.umdps.umd.edu/police_support_services_public_incident2.cfm?id=568

"Run Date:
9/07/09 Hate Crime

Date Occurred
9/07/07

Case Number
07 09 000991

Location
Between Nymburu and Student Union

Description
On September 7th, 2007 at 4:15 p.m. Department of Public Safety Officers responded to the Nymburu Cultural Center for a report of a Hate/Bias incident. They met with the reporting person in reference to a noose that was found hanging from a tree just outside the Nymburu Center. The noose had been removed earlier that day. Public Safety is conducting an investigation into this incident."

Oh yeah, and obviously "hate crime." Thanks Faerylore, I kind of looked over the obvious one there, didn't I?

seriously? SERIOUSLY? are you kidding me? some days i wish i never learned to read...b/c i never cease to be pissed off about shit like this...ever...

i hope that they do charge them w/...ALL OF THE ABOVE!

Lol, Cara. I'm good at the obvious. I agree about the terrorism charge idea. Their copycat crime was designed to inspire fear, and not just of a physical nature either. I heard about the noose and the first thing I thought about were the cultural ramifications. They meant to put people in their place in a cruel, horrid, and violent manner...

It may be targeted explicitly at the black community but its message (I think) is clear to everyone. If you're not a white, able-bodied, young, thin, straight man; you don't deserve to feel safe.

This is obviously an outrage, but I've noticed an increasing trend on feministing to cover news that relates to civil rights in general, not just to womyn's civil rights. I absolutely agree that this is appalling and should be more wide-spead news, but it really has nothing directly to do with feminism.

I read general civil rights blogs to learn about general civil rights issues, I read environmentalist blogs to learn about environmentalist issues, and I read feminist blogs to learn about issues specific to womyn.

Of course, I may have simply missed the way this directly correlates to feminism?

Focusing on whether this is a criminal matter or not misses the frightening reality at play.

This isn't something you can write off as happening in the ignorant, backwards South. It occurred on the campus of a fairly liberal and diverse public university in an area that has historically been liberal and is located outside of one of the most liberal cities in the United States. Washington, DC is an historical center of black political and cultural life and far from being the South.

If white supremacy feels safe enough to flex its muscles here and white youth feel more solidarity with white supremacists in Jena, Louisiana than with people of colour in College Park, Maryland, we're fucked well and good.

Delirium, I think Feministing is right to focus on general news, because ALL ISSUES ARE WOMEN"S ISSUES

Of course, I may have simply missed the way this directly correlates to feminism?
That depends--I see issues of race, class, sexuality, and feminism as interconnected. It's pretty pointless to fight for feminism if you're not going to fight for class, GLBT, and racial equality.

If white supremacy feels safe enough to flex its muscles here and white youth feel more solidarity with white supremacists in Jena, Louisiana than with people of colour in College Park, Maryland, we're fucked well and good.
I've noticed this backlash for awhile. While not as extreme as what's happened in Jena and in Maryland, I remember when a group had an affirmative action bakesale at Columbia. Yes, Columbia Fucking University. That and the Illegal Immigrant Roundup that some College Rethuglicans sponsored in Central Park. Even on my campus, Rutgers-Newark, the College Republicans were trying to get rid of the African American, Hispanic, Asian, and women's studies departments.

Delirium: Please check out this awesome, succinct take from feminist attorney Kaethe Morris Hoffer, on why feminism is inextricably linked to all forms of oppression. I could paraphrase it, but she just nails it...
http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/envision4.html

Also, Delirium:

Some of us don't get to choose whether or not to focus on women's issues or race issues.

This kind of conduct is abhorrent. Whether it is criminal is a separate inquiry. Does Maryland have a statute that prohibits attaching a rope or a noose to a tree, unaccompanied by any other conduct (such as a verbal or written threat directed to an individual or identifiable group of persons)?

Issues for POC are issues for women because WOC have to face discrimination by ethnicity and by sex.

Ughh! Frankie is obviously short for Frankenstein. I hope they lock them up and throw away the keys. There should be a database for hate crimes so police know where to start looking and prospective employers can avoid these liabilities.

I understand that all forms of oppression are inextricably linked, but if we begin including ecological and racial oppression on a feminist blog, where do we actually draw the line on the subject matter of Feministing itself? Debatably, issues of ecological sustainability are also tied to feminism, but Feministing isn't reporting on the Califonia condor, either... GLBT rights also directly link into feminism, but unless it's specific to females and trannies, Feministing's not blogging about that. The fact is that the site would have way too much to report on if it included other civil rights issues as feminist issues.

"Also, Delirium:

Some of us don't get to choose whether or not to focus on women's issues or race issues."

Guess I should have mentioned that I'm black/white biracial. Please don't assume that I'm ignorant and white just because I failed to see a direct link between this issue and Feministing.

Please don't assume that I'm ignorant and white just because I failed to see a direct link between this issue and Feministing.

Sorry I assume you I were you were white.

Feminism is not just a "women's rights" issue; many other factors are connected to it.

Bottom line: It's their blog. They can post what they want.

Please don't assume that I'm ignorant and white just because I failed to see a direct link between this issue and Feministing.

Sorry I assume you were you were white.

Feminism is not just a "women's rights" issue; many other factors are connected to it.

Bottom line: It's their blog. They can post what they want.

Not to say that what I'm about to describe is in any way correct, ethical, or even logical, but sadly I do understand the kind of sentiment that leads to classifying noose hanging as a "prank."

I know guys who would do this kind of shit (the noose hanging thing, that is) to prove how very not-racist they were. Apparently by hanging a noose in a tree and then NOT actually lynching anyone, they prove that racism isn't a problem - and that whoever thinks it IS a problem is being paranoid. These guys are usually so full of themselves they wouldn't notice (or wouldn't care) that they were sending a positive signal to people who WOULD lynch/shoot/beat a black person to relieve some racial tension.

The guys I'm describing are the same ones who say sexist shit just to get a rise out of you, and then blithely pretend they're not actually sexist. Really they're just lost somewhere far, far down the white/male rabbit hole.

Even though I learned to spot it in Texas, this sort of attitude is also very pervasive on the internets.

"Sorry I assume you I were you were white.

Feminism is not just a "women's rights" issue; many other factors are connected to it.

Bottom line: It's their blog. They can post what they want."

Understood. Sorry if I caused any offense.

I know guys who would do this kind of shit (the noose hanging thing, that is) to prove how very not-racist they were. Apparently by hanging a noose in a tree and then NOT actually lynching anyone, they prove that racism isn't a problem - and that whoever thinks it IS a problem is being paranoid. These guys are usually so full of themselves they wouldn't notice (or wouldn't care) that they were sending a positive signal to people who WOULD lynch/shoot/beat a black person to relieve some racial tension.
Ugh, sounds like the same kind of tossers that throw "ghetto parties."

“Um, Noname? They'll be charged with a hate crime. Which is what they committed.� – Faerylore

As I understand it, hate crime is not a charge on its own. You can charge someone with assault and demonstrate the hate aspect to increase the sentence, but you cannot charge someone with hate crime independent of other charges. In other words, hate is not a crime; it only increases the severity of sentences given for crimes.

“Personally, noname, I'd like to see them charged with terrorism.� – Cara

Is that even an option under US law? Is there a charge called “terrorism�? What would that charge entail?

Maybe TLF can answer this, because I just don’t know what they could be charged with beyond stupidities like littering.

that's an interesting question what crime (if any) the person who did it could found guilty of. Hanging a noose on a tree is not an illegal act per se. Perhaps an act of intimidation? But there is no specific victim. I dunno, I'd be interested to see what happens if they catch whoever did it.

I've been reading all the coverage of this in the DC/MD papers and none of the articles I've read have tied this to the Jenna 6 which baffles me. It's like even when faced with this mainstream media refuses to bring up the Jenna 6. Very frustrating.

it's only been 43 years since the civil rights act.

Wouldn't it be communicating threats or something?

mirm - To whome?

Does anyone else have any thoughts on something I found especially disturbing in the article (first comment) about the black woman who was held captive and tortured - that three of the six people arrested and charged in this despicable act are women? One of them, Frankie, seems to have been the leader, and MOTHER of two of the male rapists, and the other older torturer was also a woman, and mother to the last female rapist, a young woman?

Because man, that really freaked me out. The whole story is awful, terrifying and revolting - but what does it say about this as a sex crime, a hate crime, and a racist act, that this woman was raped and tortured by a group led by other women?

(Note - I don't mean to imply that I ever thought women were incapable of the vilest types of racism, or of violence - I just think that the situation here seems to offer a vision of one of the ways racism ties into sexism - these women are willing to rape and abuse another woman of a different race - because sexual abuse of a woman is not okay for white women, but deserved for black women? Racism bolsters sexism?)

This is abhorrent and makes me feel sick to my stomach. I hope they catch the human scum who did this.

I assume the relevant statute in Maryland law has to do with defacing property; add the racial element, and it fits under their hate crime statute.

Delirium, I've always seen a very strong connection between women's rights and civil rights; for racism to exist, *race* must exist. And for race to exist, you must police who makes children with who, and you must control the bodies of women.

Also, on the main topic - ugh, yes, this makes my stomach knot up. There's not other way this can be 'interpreted' no other 'possible meaning'. And unfortunately, I don't believe that it's a coincidence, either - it sounds like a copycat crime to me. How disgusting.

Anna Phor – Defacement of property usually involves destruction or damage of said property (I think). This act did not damage or destroy any property. Am I misinterpreting the meaning of defacement as defined by US law?

Noname, I'm not a lawyer, but the ordinary language definition of defacement simply involves marring the appearance of something.