Who has "trivialized the noose" Bobert? I agree with Peace that the Principal of Jena High was on the right track with his punishment. Nor did I, or anyone else commenting here, call the use of the noose "free speech" as Greg B implies. We don't have to re-establish the fact that black people are, and have been, the targets of the worst treatment imaginable.

The point I'm making (and yes, Greg, I grasp the tenets of your argument although I don't buy it)is that a symbol, no matter how negative, does not justify violence against an innocent individual. And neither does slavery, nor 140 years of segregation, nor unequal sentencing, nor any other cause near and dear to the most noble of civil rights leaders. And you certainly don't pin your aspirations for these noble ideals to the sleeve of a group of violent punks who may well have had nothing but hate motivating their actions.

Martin Luther King was a champion of Non-violence for pete's sake! His son may claim that Martin would condone this rally on Bell's behalf. I believe King would have been ashamed of Bell's actions, and would have had the strength to disassociate himself from, and condemn, the violence on both sides. Nooses? He faced police dogs, firehoses, log chains, and worse. And never did he excuse violence from his people in their struggle. He knew it would kill the movement faster than any number of nooses.