There’s been a number of instances where white people, perhaps empowered by President Trump’s culture of promoting nationalism and/or privilege, are calling the police on minorities over what amounts to nothing.
Need some examples?
We have Pool Patrol Paula, who is on video verbally abusing and physically assaulting a black teenager at a Community Pool in South Carolina and the video went viral, costing this woman her job. A woman in Oakland called police after viewing a Black family BBQing at a lake; and thousands protested the actions of BBQ Betty and she was lampooned on SNL. Let’s not forget the April incident where black teens at a Starbucks were arrested for sitting inside the coffee shop — ordering nothing — which prompted the firing of a manager who called police. The cops handcuffed the teens. The outrage caused the company to host a company-wide racial sensitivity training. And what about that incident in San Francisco where a woman, dubbed “Permit Patty,” called the police on an eight-year-old black girl selling cold water without a permit? And there was an incident at Yale where a white student called police on a black student who had fallen asleep studying in a campus lounge. The most recent event, a white homeowner in South Carolina was fired by his employer after a viral video surfaced of him calling the police and demanding to see the ID of a Black woman who was swimming in a association pool in an upscale development. None of the white families at the pool were asked for ID. This was last week during the July 4th holiday.
That’s a lot of set up to this buried lede.
Former Irvine City Council candidate and state assembly candidate (and maverick Democrat) Anila Ali was paid a visit by Irvine police over a Tweet she sent regarding current city council candidate Lauren Johnson-Norris; the police did visit Ali but did not take a report or charge her with anything. The cop call happened just days before the wedding of Ali’s son. Ali has accused Johnson-Norris of racism in calling the cops over a Tweet.
Here’s the original tweet:
Irvine police called Ali and then visited her at her home to respond to the complaint and told Ali that the complaint was made by Lauren Johnson-Norris. The police officer apologized to Ali for making the call and told her that she was within her First Amendment rights to post thsat very Tweet. Ali was very understanding, and sources close to Ali tell me that the office posed for photos with Ali and her family (a family wedding is coming up this week after all).
Johnson-Norris owes Ali an apology here, but I’m not going to hold my breath. When LJN speaks before the city’s Muslim groups, they can ask her about this incident. Her actions don’t surprise me because Johnson-Norris’s mentor, Council member Melissa Fox, recently filed a complaint to the OC District Attorney’s office over an email longtime Democrat Harvey Liss sent her urging her to vote for Councilman Jeff Lalloway’s motion to restore the Veteran’s cemetery to the original ARDA site near the Great Park. Fox, instead, voted for a substitute motion by Mayor Don Wagner to study other locations for the Veteran’s Cemetery at the Great Park, and people in the meeting shouted “recall.”
After the police called on Ali, she took it out on Johnson-Norris via Ali’s social media channels. Here’s two posts:
Why this case is news is two-fold: one, candidates for office need a thick skin. Criticism is going to happen. The original tweet Ali sent is relatively harmless but she has nearly 29,000 followers on Twitter. Now, all of them are aware of this complaint to Irvine PD and it makes Johnson-Norris look bad. And unlike particular Facebook pages about “Irvine Democrats,” Ali’s comments aren’t being deleted and she’s not being denied the opportunity to post of certain Facebook or NextDoor pages controlled by certain factions in the city (this blog is often criticized for allowing virtually every comment as a right to free speech which I’m convinced is a better solution that blocking people from commenting period or deleting comments that are posted that a moderator doesn’t agree with).
The second piece is that there are a number of Democrats who want to encourage Ali to run for Mayor. Currently, there’s no declared Democrat running against Don Wagner, who was one of the targets of shouts by the city council meeting crowd of “recall” over his substitute motion for studying a veteran’s cemetery at the Great Park (all these studies were absent when the Freeway site for the cemetery was being pushed through by the city council majority and their benefactor, FivePoint.)
A progressive Democratic Muslim woman who can’t be bought off against a Christian Conservative Republican who governs with policies that are anything but Christian (remember the homeless issue?) and many believe is completely for sale.
It could be a fun race.
I’m not the biggest fan of JohnsonNorris, but Ali DID call her a “known child molester” on her twitter. She may have since deleted the tweet, but it was there. Taking issue with her legal career as a defense attorney is a low blow, but hey like you said, it’s politics, you need thick skin. However, calling her a “known child molester” is evil and dangerous, and like you said in a previous blog post, is like the type of underhanded attack that was used against the Responsible Growth petition.
Anila is a crazy lunatic, and somehow she thinks it’s okay to call an opponent a “known child molester” to insight people to hurt her?! It’s already known that first amendment rights don’t apply when public safety is a threat (e.g., you can’t yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater). Furthermore, she’s a liar because her post is up. Let her run for mayor. We Dems are used to crazy with all those years of Agran.
And she’d still be better than Wagner
Anila Ali is a witch she is evil.
well Wagner sure as hell isn’t a saint
I don’t know anything about Johnson-Norris, but this Anila is disgusting. Calling a defense attorney a child molester just because she has done the unpleasant but necessary job of defending someone from those charges. And then, when Johnson-Norris complains, PULLING OUT THE TRUSTY RACE CARD?
And Dan wants her as Mayor.
What are all these vague innuendos of racism against the Johnson-Norrises anyway? Most of us haven’t seen these photos of black and brown people, how are they racist?
The website is disgusting, and we notice that the anonymous cowards behind it glom onto anything negative the distinguished Dan posts about the JNs. Good job. Irvine sucks.
Thanks for the comment anonymous coward. Look up the definition of hypocrite. And allowing most comments instead of blocking/censoring if better for public discourse. The best solution for speech you don’t like is more speech, not less.
I will gladly vote for Anila Ali over Don Wagner; I will give her a free ad on this site and write her a check if she challenges him.
Delete all comments make peace, forgive and forget
That’s censorship and prohibits public discourse; sorry, but not in my DNA and the nastiest comments are usually directed at me
Stop spreading false information. Anila Ali NEVER called anyone a child molester… In fact she said “she defends child molesters”.
Please stop with your lies! Anila is great woman with years and years of experience. She has a track record of always doing the right thing. It’s time all of you do the right thing and vote Anila to the Mayor’s office.
This is my first time reading all this stuff and what amazes me is the people who read the Tweet and are accusing Anila Ali of calling Johnson-Norris a child molester. Unfortunately, it is just one more demonstration that most people can’t read, or don’t read carefully enough. It clearly said she defended a child molester, as an attorney. Although I supported Ali in her past race for City Council, and do not support the Foxes or anyone they are pushing for office, it reminded me of the Russian inspired attack on Hillary Clinton for defending a child molester in he early career as a public defender. My grandfather left his law career very early rather than having to defend people he actually believed were guilty of crimes. But every person accused of a crime does actually deserve to be represented capably in court. However, Johnson-Norris could have merely said that, and reminded everyone of that necessary part of a fair justice system. Certainly we can’t think that attorneys take on guilt for the actions of those they represent any more than doctors assume the illnesses they treat. But Ali’s offense was merely something that deserved a persuasive counter argument, not a call to the police! That is a real abuse of our system, but unfortunately shows that Johnson-Norris has some of the bad habits of her sponsors, the Foxes.