All the local news outlets are reporting on Houston City Councilwoman and Defense Attorney Jolanda Jones being under investigation for Interference with the Duties of a Public Servant.
Now, Jolanda is a friend of mine, and I genuinely admire her strength and perseverance with all she's gone through to achieve what she has in life. She has an impressive background. An athlete. An Olympian. A person who put herself through law school. A single mother to a truly impressive son.
But Jolanda is someone who, ever since I've known her, thrived on conflict.
There's something to be said for never backing away from a fight. However, going and creating a fight where there isn't one, just for the sake of getting attention is another matter. Jolanda goes beyond being brave.
She's more of a Conflict-Addict.
I understand that to be in politics, there's usually no such thing as "bad publicity", and perhaps jumping in the middle of a standard arrest will play well with her constituents. However, it does absolutely nothing for her reputation as a disagreeable publicity hound. What it does is stir up further conflict between the community and the Houston Police Department, when there was no indication that the HPD officers were doing anything improper.
It's drumming up a conflict for the sake of the conflict, in other words. It's what politicians do. Not what leaders do.
Come on, Jolanda. You've got the credentials to be a real leader.
Don't be a politician.
11 comments:
I have a good friend who is black, an attorney, and an ex cop. He told me recently about getting pulled over a lot for nothing. I'd always heard about DWB (i.e. driving while black) but never really thought it happened that much.
So, I think some of this can be attributed to tensions between the black community and the police.
There are a lot of people who are "conflict-addicted" (I like the phrase "drama queen".)
The whole incident sounds like something that needs to be defused before it becomes a major deal.
So, how are your mediation skills?
I think this is more of a case that she feels she is above the law. She thinks because of who she is and her status, and the people she knows, she can bully people around. Look at the mentality of the mayor of Detroit, same thing. Had she actually cared whether or not the officers were acting properly she would have just watched and kept her mouth shut.
Drama Mama needs to sit her ass in time-out. It isn't all about her and it isn't all black and white every single time.
Ron , your buddy needs to appreciate the difference between common sense racial profiling to promote and preserve community safety and racism per se which should never be tolerated. The line is often regrettably gray. When that line is crossed, which may be the case with your buddy DWB, such police conduct should be challenged and appropriately condemned. Notwithstanding, when a heavily tinted car filled with black gang bangers is spotted cruising your neighborhood or is parked on a public street in front of your house I don't expect you'll secretly hope a bunch more show up. The same would be true no matter what the color of the occupant(s), obviously. The point being made is that we only hear about the DWB incidents. There is "driving while black" and there's "in your face driving while black". When the latter comes through my neighborhood I want them checked out. I will sacrifice political correctness for my family's safety any day.
Have you ever driven in a predominately black neighborhood at night with your windows open and C&W music blaring out the window? Try it some time and get back with me.
What if you had a Muslim friend of Arabic decent 27 years of age who complained of being more scrutinized at the airport then your grandmother? Would you lose sleep over that?
Maybe if we all manned up, tried to be Americans 1st and dropped the hyphenated bullshit often coupled with victim mentality we could quash some of our growing hatred on both sides of the fence.
I actually had a friend of Arabic descent (born here), 29 years old, who was held at an airport all day. He whined to me about racial profiling. This guy is as American as anyone in his thinking, including the whining, but I had no sympathy. It's exactly the kind of profiling we need at the airports.
I'm a defense attorney and a democrat and in my opinion, Jolanda Jones is a self-righteous jackass. Frankly, I'm tired of her story and her attitude. Apparently, the other contestants on survivor were too and voted her off the island.
I've listened to her make a fool out of herself in court and on council.
Her drama queen b.s. isn't effective advocacy as a lawyer or a councilwoman.
Ron In Houston -
I've been a "cop" for a long time. I've never heard of ANYONE being pulled over for "Driving While Black." However, I have spoken with thousands of people, white and black, that I have pulled over for legitimate violations. And guess what? The vast majority of them say they didnt do anything wrong. Does that mean they didnt do anything wrong? Of course not. Police officers dont pull people over for "Driving While Black." It just doesnt happen.
Racial profiling was made up by Democrat politicians to garner more votes and keep themselves in office.
And before you blast me for stating the truth, ask yourself this question.
If the police were really opressing black citizens...if racial profiling really existed...wouldn't black communities readily agree with cutbacks in police presence in their neighborhoods?
But guess what, they dont. They all want more police presence in their neighborhoods. In fact, I was called a racist for even suggesting cutbacks in black neighborhoods as a possible solution to the so-called racial profiling problem.
Go figure.
Tell your cop friend to man-up and admit he committed a minor traffic violation instead of blaming it on the color of his skin.
That's the problem with Jo. I handled a case with Jo a few years ago, and it went very smooth. But I've seen her in other situations where she is irrationally seeking conflict where there is none.
I think she just flies off the handle sometimes and acts without thinking.
I would hate to think that she thinks she is doing good to her political career with stunts like this. It might endear her to a few defendants' moms and dads and get her a few clients, but it will strongly sour her image with the majority of the electorate.
Now, if she really believes she is doing the right thing by interfering, well, then that is scary.
I do think she feels she is above the law, and I do think she has a very skewed view of what the duties and obligations of a defense attorney are.
Tex
Jo is a liar. She portays herself to be a poor little black girl who pulled herself out of the 3rd ward when in actuality, she graduated from Elisk High School in 1984(?) when it was as lilly white as could be.
I worked in a large department for years in patrol, traffic enforcement, and other details. My experience with tens of thousands of defendants, deputies, and witnesses is that the officers engaged in misconduct were rare, very rare, and always caught by their own department. The officers might not have always been accurate in what they said but this was usually as a result of language barriers rather than trying to screw someone over. Thankfully, the education of police has increased drastically since those days, the result of financial incentives offered all over the country.
For what it's worth to those that hate anonymous writers, the current trend in policing is more of a hand's off approach in minority communities, lest officers be falsely accused of profiling or racist behavior. The result is that those communities suffer the consequences that are far worse than some pre-1960's style of redneck might shout out an offensive name or get rough when physically challenged. It will get worse too and the communities have themselves to blame but no deputy is going to subject himself to the inquisition where he is guilty no matter what when accused of being racist.
How does being stopped for a violation, negate being stopped for DWB? It's rhetorical. It doesn't.
And please cut the victim routine. Advocating for the lessening of patrols in some neighborhoods is equivalent to vacating your oath as an officer.
For those of you who say that getting pulled over for skin color NEVER happens...never say NEVER. I live in a predominantly white populated town. I am black. All of the officers are white. I have been pulled over for absolutely nothing. He saw me get into my car and followed me a short way and pulled me over. I had not done anything They call it Random Traffic stops, but no one can protest against this. So who is to say it due to color.
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