If you haven’t seen today’s Baltimore Sun article about an incident involving Howard County Councilmember Deb Jung wielding her power and privilege over a group of young men in a parking lot, you need to drop what you’re doing and read it.
But make sure your family is wearing a poncho, because your head is going to explode like a melon at a Gallagher show.
The video (above) of the incident is damning, showing Ms. Jung threatening to call the police on a group of young men of color for allegedly revving their electric car’s engine in the Clarksville Commons parking lot before informing them – with oh-so-condescendingly enunciated words – that she is on the County Council.
The Baltimore Sun article paints an even more disturbing picture. According to the article, the NAACP Howard County, the Council of Elders of Howard County, and the Howard County African American Community Roundtable held a press conference yesterday to condemn Ms. Jung’s behavior. Ms. Jung was quoted in the article, first claiming that the young men were revving engines (which tracks with what was said in the video) and making a second, contradictory claim that they were drag racing. Finally, she accuses the press conference organizers – three well-known, respected organizations who work on behalf of the African American community – of creating “an issue that doesn’t exist.”
That’s some pretty ballsy gaslighting right there.
Ms. Jung took no responsibility for her actions and poor judgment in this incident. There are a number of ways to handle situations like these without escalating them. Calling the police on young men of color – especially for something as stupid as a noise complaint in a commercial area – can have disastrous, and even fatal, consequences. Intimidating young folks with your position of power is no way for an elected official to behave. And responding to being held accountable for your actions by painting yourself as the victim of a “smear campaign” is the cherry on top of this entitlement sundae.
Ms. Jung, you have some restorative work to do. And if you still think you’re the victim here, well, I’ll just piggyback on the sentiments of the young man in the video who said “No one gives a [bleep].”