Daddy Fearest

 

    As far as I’m concerned, James Jones should be a candidate for Father of the Year. Instead, the Central Florida father is just one more mug shot of just one more black man who had a run-in with the law.

Jones was arrested Thursday in Lake Mary, Fla. and charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing a school bus for this crime: Protecting his 13-year-old daughter.

Jones’ daughter, a transfer student, had been bullied time and time again by some of her fellow students. Deciding that he was mad as hell as wasn’t going to take it anymore, Jones boarded his daughter’s school bus and threatened to open up a can of whup ass on the students who had been bullying her and the bus driver for allowing them to do it.

According to an ABC News account, Jones boarded his daughter’s school bus, obviously angry. "Everybody sit down. Everybody sit down," Jones said, not caring that the bus’ surveillance camera was recording him. He then ordered his daughter to point out the bullies. "Show me which one. Show me which one," he demanded.

Jones confronted the middle school students he says have been bullying his daughter, who has cerebral palsy. He charges that they had taunted, hit and even thrown condoms at her, ABC News reported. "I'm gonna (expletive) you up.…this is my daughter, and I will kill the (expletive) who fought her," Jones said.

He also had a few choice words for the bus driver: "If anything happens to my daughter I'm going to (expletive) you up and everybody on this (expletive)," he said.

As a father myself, I understand his anger. In fact, I resembled his remarks.

But, beyond just threatening, I took action. A taxi cab driver nearly hit my then pre-teen sons, Scott and Kyle, while we were out riding our bicycles. The cabbie cruised through an intersection, ignoring them, although they were already in the street.  Luckily, they stopped in time, since he had only bothered to slow down before blowing his stop sign. Although he cleared the intersection, there were too many cars stuck in traffic ahead for him to go anywhere. Thinking of what almost happened, my rage, like Jones’, got the better of me.

“You almost hit my kids,” I yelled as I rode my bike next to the side of his cab. I dismounted and kicked his taxi as hard as I could startling his passengers in the back seat. 

Later, after I’d cooled off, I thought about what I’d done. I realized then, what Jones realizes now, that I may have over-reacted. 

On the other hand, to this day, I can’t help for hoping that the cabbie’s passengers gave him this tip in lieu of money: Watch out for children.