Civil Rights

We should all be equal, most people agree with this concept. I question that when I look at the news and find Jena Six and Michael Vick.
The Jena Six case is horrible, but I'm not sure that it's a reason for the country to cry racism. True, the black kids might be treated unfairly, but we can't overlook the fact that they beat a boy until he was unconscious. It doesn't matter what the boy did, it was six against one. And it also doesn't matter what color any of them are, even if the area had bad race relations, when it's six against one the aggressors should be severely punished.
I also question race being an issue with the Michael Vick case. It doesn't matter if dog fighting is supposedly part of the black underground culture, it's animal cruelty, hateful, and murder. If something so negative is associated with a certain group of people, maybe the group members should try to come with a solution for the problem instead of blaming the problem. For example, people who complain about the President but didn't vote. They know there's a problem but have no way to resolve it.
More than anything, I think it's sad how the media portrays races and genders stereotypically. Instead of focusing in on the color of the people's skin in these instances, it would be a good opportunity to look at the hate crimes and aggression in todays society. I don't think skin color should be an issue when dealing with...anything. We are all equal and should be treated like it, whether we want to admit it or not.