White Student Beaten On School Bus While Crowd Cheers

BELLEVILLE, IL (YBH.ME) – A 17-year old student was beaten on a school bus yesterday in Belleville, Illinois. Police are calling the attack potentially racially motivated. The victim, who is white, is seen beaten, on more than one occasion, by assailants who are black.

Other African-American students step in to calm the melee after the victim receives many punches from two different assailants. Laughter and cheers can be heard from other students on the bus, many of whom are African-American, as the beating takes place. The bus driver does nothing but vocally implore the crowd to “Sit down guys.”

Yesterday, Belleville Police Captain Don Sax stated that “By watching the video, it looks like it was racially motivated.” Mr. Sax continued, “There was absolutely no justification for the beating either time.” According to the Chicago-Tribune, Mr. Sax said today that the fight was more about seats on the bus, rather than a racial incident.

Watch the unedited 13 minute version of the school video here.

Two students were arrested yesterday, it is unclear what if any charges they will face.

John Romano is the publisher and editor of Yes, But However!, a musician, a former political correspondent for BBC Radio London, and a serial web entrepreneur. Follow him on twitter: twitter.com/yesbuthowever or John Romano on Google+

John Romano article archive.

Post Published: 15 September 2009
Found in section: News and Analysis

fred
the white kid acted "stupidly". needs a beer summit. since both sides were obviously in the wrong.
paul
When the President hires and legitimizes someone with Van Jones' hatred of whites and America it can only serve to inspire and embolden blacks to commit even more of these black on white hate crimes.

Keith
When did Van Jones say he hate whites? All I heard was that he may have said Bush allowed for 9/11, something that a white Michael Moore has alluded

FED UP
F THIS! Its time to stop screwing around and bring justice to those that mock the laws of this country. Remember the Marshall family in Akron Ohio? They were jumped by a wild pack of afro-americans on July 4, 2009 for being white; have you heard anything else? How about the disabled Gulf vet in Indianapolis that was beaten by some 'thugz' in front of his 10 year old son, hear anything about that? NO, because the media leads us to believe only whites can perpetrate hate crime.
anonymou
thats what you get for me voting for obama!!

keith
What does Obama has to do with this? This was happening b4 Obama

JingoDoty
TNB.
Concerned
These two A-holes need to be arrested, along with the other A-holes cheering them on.
LAinTX
This is sad and very disheartening. Somebody better do something. I will not be sending my child to school and the bus.
Guess
Nothing like a good beating to make a man out of you huh?
Spoken like a true Neanderthal who has NO clue what a real man is!
frankie vetluna
Multicultuiralism IS NOT White death. dont say stupid words.
whatare we talking about?
this is a serious hoping marginal problem , i ll hope these two guys will pay for what they did.
Same thinking way if the guys could be white. I hope that teens that are watching this video will understand the gravity of this act, learning true and cleaned ideals who effort our nation.
Also other teen on the bus laughing etc should pay.
Show everywhere their stupid face. INFAMI
Han
At the every least the parents of this kid should sue for $20,000,000 for civil rights violations. Greedy lawyers will jump at this. If the racist scum can’t pay, add more years to their prison time, and make the parents pay. And make the school district pay (for encouraging black racist revenge, hate attacks for what they are told during Black History month) and make the local black racist organizations and black racist newspapers pay, for encouraging violent black racist attacks, by constantly printing racist editorials attacking whites.
TRUTH
Wake up white people!
This happened in a city that is only 15% black. It’s coming to your town soon.
Do you still believe the lies of multiculturalism? Multicultuiralism = White death.

Pilgrim
If you look at all the City's in the US with the highest crime rate you will note they they also have the highest black populations. Is this a coincidence, no it's the white man's fault.!!
This is the kind of stuff that pushes more whites to the Militia's because they feel there is no one out here to protect them.
The charges against the black panthers were dropped but had that been members of the KKK they would already have been tried and jailed.
We had a weak and timid white child attacked by a group of savages. White liberals though will find a way to twist this as the fault of the victim…he should of stood rather than stand…..there seems to be no hope for this country…it's coming to an end and your daughters and wives will be next..but remember they deserved it!!!

Richard Cancemi
Savage bullies; they need to be prosecuted and not excused as being just kids. Where is the outcry?
TJS
Good lesson for the white kid, make man out of him and teach him that the world not like what the a-holes with the COEXIST bumpber stickers pretend it is.
JVernon
Whether this was racial or not I find it very alarming that we are not hearing anything about this from the mainstream media. If two white kids beat a black kid and white kids cheered them on it would be the lead story on every news program.
Also, I'm concerned about the police change of view from a strong statement saying it was most likely racial to now just being about seats (Even the second attack? Not a chance on that attack.) Is the greater Chicago political machine working again?

NotPassiveAnymore
JVernon, you are 100% correct. Political correctness is wild now that we have our new "Dear Leader". All the Liberal media brings up color the moment Obama is criticized. If you disagree then you are automatically a racist.
If this doesn't change we may indeed see a split in this country and I fear it won't just be idealogical.
This young boy has been ruined because he will never forget. This does not make you a man..it makes you angry and it will only incite more violence.
This Police Chief is a coward and should be demoted to traffic because it's all he is qualified to do

Ferdinand
Sometimes I think that we just have to face it, the great experiment of mixing races hasn’t worked. We need to simply live apart. The world will be a better place if we just live within our own races.
Not Surprised
This type of stuff happens all the time with enforced busing. I remember issues like this years ago when I was in school. The real problem is if that kid had thrown one punch back all of the black kids on the bus would have jumped him and beaten him more seriously. There are other white kids on that bus, why didn't they stick up for that kid. Black kids have no problem swarming when there is blood in the water just like animals. Those puck kids should have gotten as good as they gave. I hope the law punishes those kids and their parents like they deserve.
Edgar Gibson
This makes me sick!!! As an Afican American male, I am pissed off about this. Where are all the civil rights leaders now, they should show their faces and condemn this type of behavior. Where the heck are these boys parents? They should be offering strong apologies for this. How can kids have that much anger to inflict such violence on anaother human? Punishment should be harsh, expell them from school and hundreds of hours of community service.

Grace
last I heard the father of one of the kids who threw the punches is defending his son's actions!

John
I grew up in a mixed area, and had great experiences. I had equal number of middle class and lower-middle class black and white friends, and race was never an issue. I'm not a fighter, and try not to ever fight unless I'm forced to defend myself. Almost every fight I've ever been in – maybe 6 or 7 – has been with a black guy over trivial things like him not liking my cheap pants or wanting my snack at lunch – really stupid things. I've only been in one fight in my entire life that was because I was a scrawny white kid. This never affected my feelings toward black people. These guys I fought were wannabe thugs, and I'm sure they're doing terribly in life right now.
From looking at the video I doubt this was a race fight. It was some punk kid not wanting some dorky kid sitting with him. Maybe they argued about this, and the punk kid felt slighted. I'm sure he was egged on by his hoodlum buddies, and hit the white kid in an act to "save face." Stupid, senseless, but I wouldn't jump to it being a race issue.
I think maybe some white people have felt slighted for so long with affirmative action, watching which jokes they tell and who they say what to for fear of misinterpretation. White and asian jokes are funny to every one and can be told by every one, but black jokes are only funny to black people when told by black people. Some worry not because they're racist, but have to worry about some one using the race card, regardless of intentions. I put this in the same category as some one needlessly pulling the sex card. How many women or black people have you seen recently fired or reprimanded for saying something to a white guy ? Doesn't happen. This is why we see so many people jump on the reverse-racism band wagon so quickly. Maybe some white people feel powerless and this is how they try to level the scale, if not tip it. Then again, some people probably are racist, and feel safe making their silly comments on the interwebz because no one here is held accountable for their words. JMO
Ish
This can't be racially motivated.
Look at the clearest video, on youtube, at least two of the kids egging them on were…WHITE…and the kid who broke it up in the end was….BLACK
How's that for all of your paranoid delusional race war fantasies—life is never as simple as black and white…
If it was, I'd be ripping on all white people because every bully I had was white.

Sniper
Please go back to sticking your head in the ground, we're all better served.
Everyonelookaway
the clearest video isn't on youtube, its here http://videos.stltoday.com/p/video?id=6178248
the full 13 minute bus ride. The instigators were not white as you claim. The most telling thing, though, is the fact that almost every single black person on the bus with one exception (the young woman in the very front) were smiling and laughing over the abuse for the entire 13 minute bus ride. Meanwhile the 7 or so white people sat in uncomfortable silence (watch their expressions) for the whole trip trying to pretend the whole thing wasn't happening. A disturbingly accurate metaphor for the way racial tensions are handled by the two cultures (I won't stoop to calling this thuggery race)

Grace
13 minutes? shame on that bus driver, he should have pulled over asap

Twisted_Colour
Looks like a dispute over a seat to me, then again I’m not some racist who wants the attack to be racially motivated so I can moan like a little b**** about how white people are victims.
Call the whaaambulance, whitey.

ColorBgone
No, you have that corner of victim-hood to call your own. I imagine you typed your reply on a Rent-A-Center computer from your bedroom in the hood while living on your crack mamma's ADC check. You should consider finishing high school or at least keep working on that B-Ball scholarship you know you deserve.
As far as the ambulance, I imagine your family uses one as the main mode of transportation.

AlienVisitor
I really don't understand the attitude of some of the Liberal whites here. What will it actually take for you to believe that blacks area violent racist group in general?25% of the male population is in prison!! Is it always going to be the fault of the white male in your mind? If the boy had been knifed would that still be part of making him a man? I think arguing with someone of a liberal mindset is like arguing with a mental patient at an institution. There just aren't any cognitive reasoning skills. The Police Chief who reversed his initial thought did so due to politically correct pressure. Just another metrosexual white man who forgot to pack his balls that day. If that had been a white girl & she had been raped I guess that would be bullying because if a black does it you know the ACLU would say she brought it on herself. Can you imagine the press had this boy been beaten by a gang of whites? It would be front page every day for the next month. There would be new classes on sensitivity. This is out of control.
ljones
It does not matter what the color of these kids were or who was fighting whom, the deeper problem s that the world has become so consumed with race that they miss the mark. If it were a black student being beat by two white students, what is the difference? We are all humans in the sight of God and will all have to answer to Him and account for what we all have done here. I immediately prayed for the students, the attackers and their parents. If you have an ounce of faith, please pray for these kids, all of our kids……
Chill Out Caucasians
You guys are retarded, school fights happen, I'm in high school, this happens. Just stfu and go sulk about something else retards.
http://www.intensedebate.com/people/jrieder jrieder
Yes they are bullies…yes they are black. After the authorities first declaring the event to appear to be a racial attack…they must have received a good talking to. The local paper now declares…it was not a racial event! As for the comments that this 'can't be racial' because some white kids cheered too… What an idiot you must be to say something like that. Are you saying white people can't participate in a black initiated racial event? If 5 white cops are beating up a black suspect and there is a black cop helping to beat him…does that mean it is not a racial attack??? You think the white kids (at this largely black school) would get credit for cheering, or beaten for interceeding? You decide. Start thinking a little more. It is not all black and white, but sometimes it can be.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Ezekiel33 Ezekiel33
I think black people have been zapped with a UFO space alien crazy gun this last year. The violent black thugs on the school bus, black thugs who beat the white guy for having a black girlfriend, multimillionaire VIP tennis star Serena Williams' foul mouth, most everything Barack Obama says and does (esp. his evil eye stares and obvious lies), Michelle Obama's bizarre dresses and evil eye stare at the First Lady of France, Kanye West's drunken idiocracy, P. Diddy's (Kanye look-a-like) Internet wacko videos, Black liberation theology pastor Jeremiah Wright's crazy rants,…etc….etc….I'm actually being nice to blacks here…liberals can at least now blame green or grey UFO aliens. If this were a bus of mostly whites with a few white guys pounding a black kid, 5,000 lawyers would decend on this school to go after the whites. Our country is going crazy.
Max80112
Put aside the broad social significance. View the unedited 13 minutes. A brutal crime was committed. The victim is entitled to justice. The perpetrators should be tried as adults and serve time. The school system should pay damages, in the millions of dollars, for failing on all 4 levels of school safety: prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. The victim's family should carefully document everything about this experience, and retain any of a number of good attorneys who take a stand for school safety. Numerous national experts on bullying are available as expert witnesses. The unedited video footage from the bus camera should be prominently featured in both criminal court and civil court. The unspeakable, heinous nature of this crime is crystal clear in this video. Juries will agree. I'm sure you will, too: http://videos.stltoday.com/p/video?id=6178248
Steve
What was the punishment for the assailant?

White Student Beaten On School Bus While Crowd Cheers

Related posts:

Music by John Romano and The Sugarmen

YBH! Most Popular Stories

Recent Posts

Get Involved