Race isn't a factor?

I heard about this story through my friend Anne's blog just today, and I decided to check it out. Here's the link to the story I found:

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Racial_demons_resurface_with_nooses_05242007.html

The part that made me most angry?

"Race is not a major local issue," said Mayor Murphy McMillan. "It's not a factor in the local people's lives."

It depends on who you ask, I bet. When you are a part of the norm where you live, you have the privilege of ignoring what may, in fact, be a daily reality for others there who don't share your skin color.

I don't know what happened in Jena, but I know there's enough ignorance and nasty ill-will around to believe that something smells foul.