DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Feds reopen Emmett Till murder case, family 'wants justice to prevail'

I fully understand and I hope nobody would take my comments to imply this is how somebody else, especially somebody who has lived with it, that this is how they should feel.

This is nothing more than my own hypothetical opinion of how I THINK I might feel..


I would be hard pressed to give a more lenient sentence than what the family wanted if this woman is found to be guilty for just that reason.

If, during sentencing, the family said they wanted her to pay for her crime, then I would lean in that direction..

If the family said they wanted the truth to be told and the record to be set straight for eternity but didn't care if the woman went to jail, then I might lean in that direction...

If the woman goes to jail, it's not like I'm going to lose any sleep over it.. what she is alleged to have done is horrible and no amount of time makes it less horrible..

Likewise, if the Till family is ok with her living out her last remaining years at home, then I would be ok with that too.


Perhaps this point is worthy of further discussion.

Thanks for responding. I appreciate the effort.



I rather doubt it, my friend. I allow this hardening in myself because remaining as soft as I was when I was 5 years old is not/was never an option.

I carry a streak of idealism with me at all times because I lean optimist in general. However, I am a realist above all else. I'm a good neighbor. I'm courteous, helpful and positive when I'm out and about. I still 'play well with others.' But I am under no illusions when it comes to how things really are in this country.

I'm never really surprised when I'm forced to deal with stories like this. What's most upsetting is that there is still a steady stream of it to this very day. It's woven into the fabric and encoded in the DNA of this country. It's inescapable.

Like I said: a realist.

The only way you could ever truly understand this would be if you found yourself in a country where our roles were reversed. To my knowledge, there isn't a nation on this planet where Melanins treat Pales the way America has treated her "own(ed)."


I have to go now.
This s# is starting to hurt again.

Well I'm going to try.. Obviously you have seen too much and been through too much to have the wide-eyed idealism of a 5 year old...

I just wonder if this isn't part of the general disconnect. See, from my perspective, I see something like this and I think, wow, this is long overdue but it would be great if we could take this wrong and set it right. Surely that would be one more little chip out of the wedge that divides us... one small step closer to healing the wounds of a horrible past... one small opportunity for some of us to say with some regret, "We're trying. We know we can't change it, maybe we can make some of it right."

So to hear you say something like this has a hardening effect, that this makes the wedge stronger and/or deeper.. it's confusing to me...

As you say, it is unlikely that in my lifetime I will ever be in the position you have been in... so I can never fully understand.... but I continue to try...

This little exchange seems to encapsulate so much of what I see and don't understand.. White people (like me) looking around and seeing all of the progress and thinking we have made great strides... while black people (like you) looking around and saying nothing has changed...

I differ from both you and Clem. I see this and think it should be done because it's the right thing to do. Why? Because somebody was murdered and the guilty party/parties were never caught or punished. The family of Emmett was never given any sort of justice. Skin color was and is not important.

I guess I am just different than many other people. I was raised to not notice or think about skin color any different than hair color, height, weight, nose size or any other difference in each of us, and I so look forward to the day that everybody else is raised the same way.

You think WHAT should be done?

So how do you feel about other cold cases that aren't going to be reopened?

I think if they have the resources and funding to do so they should try to resolve the case, even if no one is still alive from the time of the crime. The truth needs to come out regardless even if no one can be held accountable.

I was watching the Big E and Tupac series of the reopening of the case, it was an eye opening series to me.

That the case should be re-opened.

That they should be, and it's a shame they are not.

GM is correct.

"Justice" is a code word for "maybe their parents can sleep at night".

Ok, that's why I asked. I don't think anybody is opposed to re-opening the case.. the bulk of the argument has been over how severely to punish an 84 year old woman if she is found guilty.