Anand Jon is rotting in Hell : IntentBlog

intent is the emerging asian consciousness giving birth to a global mind shift

Featured Posts

Anand Jon is rotting in Hell

Gotham Chopra - July 10, 2008

I first met Anand Jon about five years ago. A mutual friend was getting married in Miami and it was quite the swank affair. She was of an Indian high society family and as such it was quite the scene, including a Friday night soiree at the famed Versace mansion on Ocean Avenue.

That was the first night I was introduced to Anand Jon under the premise that we were two young South Asians making waves and we should "hook up." Always paranoid at the double entendre that the term "hook up" connotes, I played it cool and made clear that I was a guy's guy. Anand, I figured, did the same as he spent most of the evening wooing (with obvious success) various attractive girls that filled the place. While taken aback at his aggressiveness with the ladies and the way he blatantly name dropped and boasted his fledgling fashion label, part of me was impressed by his clear ambition and willingness to embrace it with such vigor.

We kept in touch over the next few months, mostly by email since he was a New York guy and I was LA based. I ended up on his newsletter list and regularly received unsolicited updates about his self-proclaimed achievements - that his fashion label was rocketing up the industry and he himself was becoming an icon, an up and coming Versace or Armani. Of course, most of the quotes declaring such a status were either attributed to him or his side-kick sister Sanjana who was a designer in her own right but clearly had an adulation for her brother and desire to see him succeed.

Soon Anand had his sights set on Hollywood. Aside from fashion, he wanted to break into TV and film. Some of the young girls that he outfitted like Paris Hilton with whom he partied in NYC were finding fame on trashy reality shows and Anand, just as ambitious, knew he was smarter and more cerebral than them. He had started to concoct a myth around himself like all good brands do, playing upon Indian spiritual stereotypes and classifying himself along side such acclaimed South Asian stars as M. Night Shamlayan and, yep, Deepak Chopra. Always sharp though, when Anand required real help, he reached out to South Asian brethren that were more his strata, i.e. me.

It was a year after we met for the first time that he called me and said he was coming to LA and wanted help finding an agent. For me, who had been in LA for a few years by that time and had worked in both TV and also published a few books, it was an easy enough request to help fulfill. I introduced Anand to an agent at one of Hollywood's premiere talent agencies (where I was also represented). No one could ever be better at selling himself than Anand and in the very first meeting with the agents at said agency, he had them sold, convinced that he was about to break in the fashion industry and that he would be a valuable and lucrative asset to the agency as he expanded into other media outlets. In a town drunk on hype, hope, silicon, and sex, Anand's ability to build so much buzz around himself was no small achievement. Once again, I was impressed.

Over the next few months, now that he was more and more entrenched in LA, I saw more of him. He'd invite me to parties at various trendsetting spots that he claimed were held in his honor or celebrating his latest achievements. I never really questioned the substance of his claims - I mean why would he lie? At these events, he regularly had strange entourages by his side, mostly youngish looking models who never spoke and whom he ordered around to tend to his various whims. He claimed alliances and friendships with various starlets and celebrities that never managed to show up at the aforementioned events and that he claimed had just texted him and wanted to meet him later at night privately. I was in a long distance relationship at the time with the woman who would become my wife, so such seductive temptations were tempered by my own young romance and commitment ideals. I was just as happy to slip out the back doors of the parties and clubs and get home for the late broadcast of Sportscenter and the like.

It was around that time that I started to tire somewhat of Anand's act. His endless declarations of his litany of achievements - he literally carried around a press book that included obscure articles on him to show off his fame. He'd talk endlessly about potential movie parts he had auditioned for but then passed on the part because he didn't "trust the integrity of the film-maker" and such. He made one such reference to me about a film-maker named Darren Aronofsky who was a casual friend of mine. Anand claimed to have accepted a role to work on a film that Darren was working on. Out of curiosity, I called Darren and asked him if this was indeed true. Darren confirmed my suspicion - he had never heard of Anand and was definitely not collaborating with him on any such film. At the time, he was preparing for two respective projects, one with Matt Damon and another with Mark Wahlberg and Brad Pitt. Anand was not on Darren's radar.

Still, when our mutual agency called me not long after the Aronofsky affair, and said that they wanted to set up a meeting with various high end television producers and heads of networks to pitch a reality show that would star Anand and I, I listened. Anand had landed a part on America's Top Model and I was doing my own thing on a network called Channel One making news documentaries around the world. Both of has some fledgeling TV experience. albeit in vastly different arenas. The new idea was to position Anand and I as two young, hip, ethnic cool kids that would be dispatched "simple life" style to various rural outposts around the US - think small town Iowa, Texas, Indiana etc - where we would try and expose middle Americans to things like yoga, meditation, and other "eastern" exhilirations, not to mention a fashion make-over that Anand, with his fashionista background, would oversee. Really, like all good Reality TV, the idea was to insult and entertain at the same time. And like any entertainment industry climber with ambition, I agreed to take the meetings and soon Anand and I were out on the road pitching. He had never really learned to drive, so he would regularly call me an hour before our meetings and ask me to pick him up from his Beverly Hills apartment. While irritated at the inconvenience of the task, not wanting to cancel last minute on prominent and powerful producers, I'd usually give in and battle traffic to retrieve Anand. Regularly, he'd climb into my car as would another youngish looking model, who'd claim to be one of his muses from some rural town from the midwest. I employed a don't ask, don't tell strategy, minimally interacting with the girls who would just sit in the backseat silently, chewing gum, and staring out into space. They'd then wait in the lobbies while we conducted meetings at various places, and then robotically climb back into the car and once again sulk glumly while we waded through traffic and I indulged Anand as he declared his many recent achievements.

The straw that broke the camel's back as I recall it came in a meeting that Anand and I attended with Jeff Zucker, the top dog at NBC. In the midst of our (lame) pitch, Anand got a call on his cell phone. This was in addition to the many constant beeps and sounds that emanated from his phone indicating texts, IMs, and emails. Shockingly, in this instance, Anand picked up the phone and started chatting away while we were in the midst of the meeting with arguably one of the most powerful men in Hollywood! It was brash beyond belief. At one point - and this may just be my own imagined dramatization but I swear to God I think I witnessed it - Anand put his finger up and shushed Jeff who was as incredulous as I was at what he was seeing.

Immediately after that meeting, I called my agent at the agency and informed them that I was dropping out of the project and would not take any more meetings with Anand. I didn't bother to confess the reason why - it made no real difference. I just didn't want the link.

My relationship with Anand slowly faded away from that point. I was still on his newsletter and got regular updates about his still self-declared stratospheric rise to fame. He and I appeared in 2004 in the same issue of Newsweek magazine as two South Asians worth watching. My last actual encounter with Anand had a strange irony now that I look back upon it. He called me about two years ago and invited me to some party in Hollywood that was the talk of the town. As my wife was out of town and I had nothing to do, I figured I'd go. Of course, half way there, I got a call from Anand that, if I didn't mind, could I pick him up from his Beverly Hills apartment? Mildly annoyed, but not really since his place was actually on the way to Hollywood, I complied. However, this time when I arrived to retrieve him, not just one girl climbed into the back of my X5 BMW, a posse of them did. And this time, a few of them did not appear just "youngish," they were overtly young. The whole thing rubbed me the wrong way - no gross pun intended and I subsequently pulled off an escape I am rather proud of. When we arrived at the club, instead of just handing the car off to the valet, I dropped Anand and his gaggle of girls off at the front door and said I wanted to find street parking so as to be able to leave easily when I wanted to bolt from the club. Anand shrugged and said he'd "see me on the inside." That was the last time I ever saw Anand Jon. I never parked the car but just headed home, got lucky and caught the late Sportscenter.

It was about a year later that I was up late at night on my computer, combing through some of my various news sites that I noticed a small item that a young South Asian fashion designer named Anand Jon had been arrested outside of his Beverly Hills apartment. A young of age model had complained that Anand had raped her. Even though Anand was arrested and held in the Beverly Hills prison, it quickly became apparent that the case had some of the usual context - the girl was an aspiring model (by this time Anand was a semi-established and moderately known middle of the road designer). She had known Anand for some time, traveled with him, gotten to know his family apparently, and even mixed with him after the alleged crime. Forgive me if the aforementioned details are not so accurate but you get the point - at the very least the case would likely shape up as a "he said, she said" with all sorts of contextual evidence that may make it hard to convict Anand of the crime.

However, if memory serves, the Beverly Hills courts were conspicuously diligent for some unknown reason and Anand was held in prison for several days without the opportunity of posting bail. And over the next week, new charges emerged from a litany of other girls. By the end of it, over a month later (April of last year if memory serves), Anand had close to 20 girls from all over the country, some of age, others below the legal age of consent, claiming all sorts of sexual assault. Charges included rape, assault, sexual assault, sodomy, and kidnapping. By the end of it, there were something like 40 various counts and Anand was facing numerous life sentences if convicted of the crimes.

Of course, at that stage, there appeared no way that the system was gonna let Anand go free on bail with so many gruesome charges against him. The Dallas Morning News, if memory recalls, published a particularly disturbing story about an alleged assault on an underage girl who aspired to be a model and was driven to the "audition" be her father who waited in a hotel lobby while Anand allegedly violated the girl in an upstairs room. I won't bother with any of the other disturbing, violent, and perverse allegations that are all over the internet if you bother to google it.

Of course, immediately Anand, his family, and various lawyers declared his defense claiming the charges were baseless, the fiction of scorned girls, willing sexual partners in an industry charged with skin and sex. More accusations were lobbed at alleged industry rivals, jealous of Anand's growing fame, and apparent imminent opportunity for Anand's small company to raise several millions of dollars from various Wall Street investors to grow the label. Opportunistic sycophants, Anand and his team claimed, jumped the gun with their made up allegations in order to hopefully score some of his cash windfall.

Meanwhile, Anand was moved from the relatively innocuous Beverly Hills prison to one of LA's most feared, a jail known that is heavily trafficked by LA's massive gang population, most often either convicted or awaiting trial for rape or murder.

For weeks, I combed the internet looking for updates, reading more and more of the articles that listed the horrible allegations against Anand. I took a perverse interest in recovering as much as I could about what was going on. Despite having visited similar jails as a journalist and even interviewing gangsters actually guilt and convicted of worse crimes than the ones alleged against Anand, there was still something fascinating and terrifying to me in contemplating Anand's scenario. The idea that I knew the guy that was enduring this nightmarish odyssey affected me in a way I remain confused by. There were nights I stayed up imagining the horrors and fear that Anand must have been feeling at that same precise moment.

But as time passed, I also started to feel an anger and shame. Not toward Anand, whose guilt or innocence I don't really claim to know, despite my fairly long and sordid personal history with him. And not even toward the screwed up judicial system that locks up alleged criminals for over a year in Anand's case without even substantiating the charges with an actual trial. Think about it: Anand Jon has now been rotting in hell for over a year without even a trial date being set for a single violation that he's been charged with. And by the way it's reasonable to think that every horrible thing you have ever heard goes on in maximum security prisons with hundreds if not thousand of violent and deviant offenders actually does occur. That is some dark dark times.

My real anger and shame and consternation goes out toward the South Asian community that hasn't visibly done anything to demand that Anand actually get a trial to determine his guilt or innocence. I've thought about this at length and think it's fair to assume that were Anand a different ethnicity and of equal fame that he has in the fashion industry, let's say C to D list, there is NO WAY there would not have been a louder hue and cry over his situation. Let's say for sake that a C list African American fashion designer were charged with the same crimes that Anand has been, I really believe that an organization like the NAACP would have been all over this case, made a lot of noise over it, and in essence forced the judicial system to move the thing along or drop the charges if they couldn't efficiently substantiate them. However, in the case of the fragmented South Asian community we are sadly living up to our reputation for not supporting our own.

Get this straight: I am not Anand Jon's friend. I kind of dislike the guy and based on my actual experience with him, described ad nauseum above, I have kind of already formed my own opinion about his guilt or innocence. That's not right because it's not been informed by any real information gleaned by anyone close to the case. Despite being tempted to, I've not reached out to his sister Sanjana, nor visited Anand in jail. I also have no idea where the prosecution is on all of this and why on earth it's taken them so long to build their case when there seems to be so many accusers.

It's reasonable to think that there are hundreds of thousands of others in this country whose fate is similarly railroaded by the screwed-up judicial system. And many of them are probably South Asians we've never heard of as well as many other minorities and white people as well. it's just in this case that Anand and his modicum of fame, albeit most of it self-generated, and my own peripheral relationship with the guy has made me wonder about our own community and it's lack of desire to exert its muscle to get the kid a fair trial. Don't get me wrong, when I point the finger, the first person in my cross hairs is me. No one wants to stand up for a guy that could be guilty of the crimes Anand is charged with. He may very well be destined for a life locked up in hell. But I guess I am left wondering: shouldn't we care that it's at least justified?

Digg this entry Add to Del.icio.us Share on Facebook Subscribe

Posted by Gotham Chopra at July 10, 2008 07:59 PM

Comments

That's a great read...

Reminds me of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubin_Carter

"The question of Carter’s actual guilt or innocence remains a strongly polarizing one. However, this much is certain: either the criminal justice system released a triple murderer from punishment, or it wrongfully imprisoned an innocent man for almost 20 years."

1. Posted by Irvine Welsh on July 10, 2008 11:06 PM

Just to clarify, Anand Jon doesn't remind me of Rubin carter...only the similarity of the failure of justice system in their cases: Carter was locked up for 20 years in inhumane conditions before he was released for wrongful conviction.

2. Posted by Irvine Welsh on July 10, 2008 11:12 PM

Dear Gotham

A very well written piece.

3. Posted by Anusheh on July 11, 2008 02:02 AM

I think this goes a little deeper than that. The real question is - what are we doing with our shadow? All the dark impulses of our consciousness... we have denied that they exist, but hey... reality has a way of surfacing, right?... As they start to show up, we conveniently lock them away without even a trial, without thoroughly looking at them. This is not just the American judiciary system, it is not the South Asian community, this is what most people do, so of course the judiciary system and ethnic communities will mirror that.

What do we do with our shadows, Gotham? Do we keep denying them? Do we just keep them locked away from our scrutiny? Do we ignore them, do we condemn ourselves to eternal hell for having them or do we give ourselves a fair trial, meaning an honest, compassionate, healing space to sort it all out?

A fair trial requires willingness to look at the shadows and heal them, it requires a steady clear vision and a lot of compassion. Not only Anand is rotting in hell, everyone who hasn't given their shadows a fair trial is too. Our society is exactly at this point, where we have to decide to continue to rot in hell without even a trial or meet and heal our individual/collective shadow.

4. Posted by Aurora C on July 11, 2008 02:23 AM

I am sorry I even read this story, as it dose not put you in good light Gautama.
I feel for this man, because hes human. Have you been to see him in jail?

You let him believe you where his friend, Why? to further your own interests? Then you bailed when things got hard.
You could have set an example for him, you still can.
You see LOVE over rides everything money, fame, all of that. That guy is a HUMAN and in need of OUR/YOUR forgiveness, love and compassion. Do you not see this?

Your story paper was shit, it was just a slam on a poor dude that made some messed up choices, it could have been you making bad choices..thank god it wasn't, but have a heart.

PS I was not ever gonna comment on this story, but my love and compassion for you Gautama, told me I needed to.

5. Posted by Tammy on July 11, 2008 05:51 AM

Tammy, how exactly is guilt tripping compassionate? I'm sure you know that guilt and truth have nothing in common.

6. Posted by Aurora C on July 11, 2008 06:32 AM

Aurora, my purpose in writing this morning was NOT to give anyone a guilt trip. But to share compassion with the subject and the writer, " Rotting in jail" is like fingernails on the chalk board. This is a person sitting in jail, by his own doing, yes I know. Guilt is ones own choice. So is love.

7. Posted by Tammy on July 11, 2008 06:44 AM

Aurora #3:
Yes! The outer is a reflection of the inner. How does light get filtered into dark spaces/places? Through higher vibration filtering through human emotion, thought, action. Enough darkness...bring on/Be de-Light!

Gotham:
Have you got more acquainted with your inner female since the days of this story? She is there to guide you through intuition and your gut instincts. She is deeper than ego -- know Her!

Trish~~

8. Posted by Trish on July 11, 2008 06:47 AM

And further more I CAN truly say what is truth BECAUSE I have LOVE for both Gautama and Anand.
You feel guilt, Aurora? why? because you don't feel compassion for Anand?, or because It hurts to hear the truth?

9. Posted by Tammy on July 11, 2008 06:51 AM

"This is a person sitting in jail, by his own doing, yes I know. "

So you pass a judgment of GUILTY, EVEN BEFORE he has a trial?

WHAT IF most/all of the serious (if not ALL charges) are proved wrong, and he is deemed innocent?

The 1999 film "The Hurricane" about Rubin Carter -- mentioned by Irvine -- who is brilliantly portrayed by Denzel Washington is a good lesson.

Synopsis:

"In June 1966, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Denzel Washington) was a strong contender for the middleweight boxing title. When three people were murdered in a New Jersey bar, Carter's dreams were destroyed. Driving home from a nearby club, Carter was erroneously arrested for the murders and sentenced to serve three life terms in prison.

Several years later, Carter's published memoir, The 16th Round, inspired a Brooklyn teenager (Vicellous Shannon) and three Canadian activists (Deborah Unger, John Hannah, Liev Schreiber), who believed in the truth, to join forces with Carter to prove his innocence. Their extraordinary efforts, commitment and love ultimately secured his release, leaving "Hurricane" to sum up his 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit by simply stating, "Hate got me into this place, love got me out." -- © 1999 Universal Pictures

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1093641-hurricane/

Do you even understand what rotting in Hell/Jail is?

It means in a typical LA Jail, if you dare to take a shower, you will be RAPED. Even a prizefighter and a boxing champion like Rubin Carter crumbled down in such a hell. Watch the film.

10. Posted by John on July 11, 2008 07:08 AM

Tammy... I'm sure your purpose wasn't to give anyone a guilt trip. But then we could wonder together why you don't see Gotham in a good light. Is there anything wrong with Gotham or anyone else? Maybe you meant to communicate love and concern, but it happens to us all that love gets coloured by so many other things that are there in our psyche. So do we look at these things or do we play table tennis with the shadows? :))

Trish, inner and outer are the same, aren't they? And we can sit comfortably in the center and observe it all without taking anything personally. Becuse if we do, then we won't change a thing.

11. Posted by Aurora C on July 11, 2008 07:11 AM

Ok Aurora, Let me see if I can find these VERY important words that I need to convey what is there.

First I should say that you are truly a teacher when in recognition of being a life long student. My teachers have been brutal, you see I have learned to read between the lines ( instinct ) and KNOW what is needed, I gave Gautama, what he was asking for, I can't explain this to you as there is NO explaination, all I can say is I love him very much, like one of my own children, and I am especially hard on him because of this, do you see?

Also John, your a moron, it truly dose not matter if Anand is guilty or not, the love I have for him dose not depend on his guilty or innocents.

And Aurora Thank You, as you are a great teacher.

12. Posted by Tammy on July 11, 2008 07:36 AM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EotM7FH8uQg

Hurricane - Bob Dylan

"....Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much.
It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail.
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.

All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance.
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger.
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger.
And though they could not produce the gun,
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.

Rubin Carter was falsely tried.
The crime was murder "one," guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride.
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell.
That's the story of the Hurricane,
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world."

Dylan wrote this song in 1975. Carter was released in 1986, after spending 20 years in prison.

>>>

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter: Address to Judge Sarokin, Federal District Court of New Jersey

Carter: Thank you, Your Honor. I was a prize fighter. My job was to take all the hatred and skill that I could muster and send a man to his destruction -- and I did that. But Rubin Hurricane Carter is no murderer.

20 years I've spent locked up in a cage, considered a danger to society, not treated like a human being, not treated like a person -- counted 15 times a day. I served my time in a house of justice, and yet there's no justice for me.

So, I ask you to consider the evidence. Don't turn away from the truth. Don't turn away from your conscience. Please, don't ignore the law. No, embrace that higher principle for which the law was meant to serve: justice -- that's all I ask, Your Honor -- justice.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechthehurricane1.html

Judge Sarokin: Decision of the Court on Rubin Carter

Sarokin: This Court does not arrive at its conclusion lightly. On one hand, Rubin Carter has submitted a document alleging racial prejudice, coercion of testimony, and withholding of evidence. On the other hand, Mr. Carter was tried twice by two different juries, and those convictions were subsequently upheld by the New Jersey State Supreme Court.

However, the extensive record clearly demonstrates to this Court that Rubin Carter's conviction was predicated upon an appeal to racism rather than reason, and concealment rather than disclosure.

To permit convictions to stand which have as their sole foundation appeals to racial prejudice is to commit a violation of the Constitution as heinous as the crimes for which the defendants were tried and convicted.

I hereby order Rubin Carter released from prison henceforth from this day forward.

This Court is adjourned.

---

Reporter: Mr. Carter, now that you're free, are you still going to be "The Hurricane"
Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter: Oh, I'll always be the "Hurricane", and a hurricane is beautiful.

Carter(in jail): "In the end, the prison will vanish, and there will be no more Rubin, no more Carter, only the "Hurricane." And after him, there is no more."

13. Posted by Freyja on July 11, 2008 07:57 AM

Thats a beautiful story, thank you.

14. Posted by Tammy on July 11, 2008 08:12 AM

You see Tammy, what I have learned during all these years is that the teacher and the student are both in the story. Who we truly are is completely outside of the story. And from outside the story we can observe how growth involves everyone, teacher and student alike.

That means that what your instinct tells you to do is surely right, you are an attentive listener and wise to follow it... but your teaching might take you to places you might not have expected, in yourself. All of consciousness is being healed when one of us follows this inner guidance, it is a field effect and not a personal one. So everything we do/teach has an effect on ourselves, not only on "the student", and that's what is most interesting from the point of view of growth.

For example, this instance could give you the opportunity to ask yourself if the image of a brutal teacher is still appropriate for you. Love is expressed in more and more expanded ways through us all, so sometimes we need to let go of an image of how love looks like and allow another. A parent, for example, might think that tough love is the best kind, as he/she has experienced that kind in the past. A nation might think that brutal jails are the best way to teach its criminals justice. But we all grow. We discover that there are other ways. Maybe a brutal teacher is not the ultimate form of teacher. Maybe locking people in jails is not the ultimate form of justice. When we let go of old ideas, things start to happen in different and surprising ways.

We grow through every interaction if we have this kind of attention and willingness. I am growing with you right now. We are equal on this journey, aren't we? :)

15. Posted by Aurora C on July 11, 2008 09:13 AM

Through out my whole life I have heard " if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" But when you truly know the truth, there is not a difference between harsh/kind, because you know everything you do IS out of LOVE. Its a matter of knowing your heart is PURE( faith ), as we are created to be. And I know this, about all. SO if I feel the need to be harsh, there is a reason for that, and I trust that love will put it together as it should be.

Also as I talk with you Aurora, I am in recognition that the conversation is with myself, so we can't be anything BUT equal, as we are the same.

16. Posted by Tammy on July 11, 2008 09:29 AM

Also, I should add that I am here to speak the truth, as my father did and gave his very life for, He did not come to win a popularity contest, he came to teach love, as I have. " Be angry and sin not" as he did, you see he was aware of all, as am I.

17. Posted by Tammy on July 11, 2008 09:40 AM

Everything everyone ever does is out of love. Out of the best kind of love we know of. A raper is as loving as he/she knows how to be. A government who throws a man in a hellish prison is as loving/just as it knows how to be. We all act out of love, Tammy. As well as we can...

And when we feel the need to be angry or harsh... it is never a sin. We always have a good reason, an explanation, an image of rightness behind it. But the reason is not out there, or maybe I should say- the purpose of the anger showing itself is not to teach another something. It is to show us something about ourselves, to show us an even more true version of ourselves. A pure heart is free of the perceptual filters which create anger.

18. Posted by Aurora C on July 11, 2008 10:19 AM

Hello Gotham and Everyone,

Gotham you write, "Think about it: Anand Jon has now been rotting in hell for over a year without even a trial date being set for a single violation that he's been charged with."

Is this uncommon? I have read about people arrested, charged and waiting for a trial or trial date..sometimes they do not go to trial for a year or two...

I am not sure what has happened to the "right to a speedy trial"....but I think you have a good point..everyone has a right to know the charges and the right to....at least a trial date.

I would think if he is paying for lawyers they would be all over this issue...if he has court appointed lawyers then he could just be lost in the system backup....

Our legal system, today, terribly, overloaded. There are far too many small time drug users taking up the systems time and money. The system could use a huge clean-up, and it needs to get rid of a lot of dead weight.

Interesting piece...

have a great day ruth.....

19. Posted by ruth on July 11, 2008 10:46 AM

Hello Gotham and Everone,

I just wanted to add that I have never gotten my mind around the fact that men and women are sent to jail as punishment for a crime committed against another, yet, in prison, the greatest crime we can commit against another..rape(that is after murder).. is accepted, allowed and taken for granted by all that it will and does happen. That allowing of this crime to be carried out in prisons all across the Nation infuriates me, that accepted action, that accepted crime is just plain insane.

My take, that, it is so allowed, and that it has been so allowed is because it is the male gender who have set the standards in our prison system...and the ole....men will be men...mentality has nurtured this insanity.

I say we need to redo our prison systems...but this time women need to set the standards....and the whole RAPE IS OKAY...RAPE IS JUST THE NORMAL EVERYDAY ROUTINE EVENT....will end...pronto or a of men would come out of prison missing the things Jesse Jackson wanted to cut off of Barak Obama....:))))))couldn't resist that....can you imagine...Jesse Jackson....a MINISTER of GOD!.. no less...let that little goodie slip right off his tongue...really, we human beings are just the darlings of maturity..:))) really, women would be telling the boys...it is tootie you own tootie while in prison, or else!

have a great day everyone, ruth

20. Posted by ruth on July 11, 2008 11:15 AM

Gotham, your 'aforementioned' story was just some great story-telling. Not sure if you ever heard of www.helpvinay.org - this dude (who is no more) precisely suffered from some very typifying lack of south asian community support.

But I am tempted to ask you this - you; who has spent so much time with Anand and know him personaly - what have you done to rescue him from this broken judicial system? (apart from writing this blog that is). Don't mean to ask you difficult questions - but something to think about.

21. Posted by Sameer R on July 11, 2008 06:09 PM

Talk about no good deed going unpunished!

#21, Sameer: it's not like they were best buds.
The incarceration needs to be rectified, the man is entitled to a speedy trial; but, why should Gotham sign on for additional abuse and aggravation --- from someone who was a thorn in his side --- long before the man was arrested?

22. Posted by psy on July 11, 2008 06:53 PM

Wow, it has to be a tough nut for you, Gotham.

But I think you are right to realize you are not obligated to go visit him in jail, or to become involved in the case. What if he asks you for character reference on his case? That would put you in kind of an awkward position. Would you kowtow down and speak highly of him to protect your bud? If so, would you be adding insult and injury to his victims?

Or would you be honest and tell the judge you think he has kind of a disturbing personality?

Or try to politely decline, which of course would let him know you had your doubts about whether he is innocent or not?

The other thing I noticed is that when I browsed some of the googled news articles, it seems the actual reason he hasn't had a trial is because he is here on a visa.

Apparently he can be incarcerated without a trial, or held without bail not because he's a minority ethnic, but because he is not a US citizen.

I won't deny that some full-blooded American minority people have been locked up illegally, and even wrongfully convicted.

I am just pointing out that in this case, that isn't the reason he was denied a trial or bail before being locked up.

Ethics play a role here, and you are right to question the integrity of a system that locks up ANYONE without a fair due process.

But I think racism is not the actual issue on this one.

As for the fact that the South Asian Community didn't come charging to to his rescue, I think your own response to his predicament may be an indicator. Perhaps many other people in the South Asian Community have ambivalent feelings about him too.

So, yeah, it probably sucks to be Jon right about now.

But you are right, he was (and is) still due a fair process before anyone locked him up and threw away the key.

23. Posted by yogi-one on July 12, 2008 01:07 AM

Wow, it has to be a tough nut for you, Gotham.

Or would you be honest and tell the judge you think he has kind of a disturbing personality?

Or try to politely decline, which of course would let him know you had your doubts about whether he is innocent or not?

The other thing I noticed is that when I browsed some of the googled news articles, it seems the actual reason he hasn't had a trial is because he is here on a visa.

Apparently he can be incarcerated without a trial, or held without bail not because he's a minority ethnic, but because he is not a US citizen.

I won't deny that some full-blooded American minority people have been locked up illegally, and even wrongfully convicted.

I am just pointing out that in this case, that isn't the reason he was denied a trial or bail before being locked up.

Ethics play a role here, and you are right to question the integrity of a system that locks up ANYONE without a fair due process.

But I think racism is not the actual issue on this one.

So, yeah, it probably sucks to be Jon right about now.

But you are right, he was (and is) still due a fair process before anyone locked him up and threw away the key.

24. Posted by yogi-one on July 12, 2008 01:08 AM

Sorry for the duplicate. I got a server error the first time I hit post, so I thought it didn't go through.

25. Posted by yogi-one on July 12, 2008 01:20 AM

Gotham, thank you for writing this post. Having known people who know Jon closely in from his college days and an incident in Atlanta, that happened a few years ago, I can say that there isn’t much that is very palatable about Anand Jon.

However, more than Jon’s supposedly despicable behavior, it makes me wonder what price glamor struck mothers and fathers (and I think I see mostly mothers who groom their daughters for modeling, acting and other glamorous careers) would go to-and allow people like Jon to be alone with their kids.

A close friend who is a film director tells me he has mothers escorting their daughters to him making it very clear in no uncertain terms that he can do anything he wants as long as the girl can get a break in films. One of my brothers who was until 2 years ago an eligible bachelor, a politician and entrepreneur told me the same story..moms throwing their young daughters at him because he was connected to powerful people and they either wanted cushy jobs or breaks into the world of films and television, or for their daughters to marry him.. mercifully all these girls were over 18 but what does that tell about us as a society?
I have seen the same thing, first hand when it comes to celebrities in sports, and film stars where young girls have thrown themselves at these people with their mothers watching near by.

As far as the lack of community support is concerned, my experience of the older South Asian community is of people who will never stick out their neck for anyone. I see an exception among Gujaratis to some extent, and the younger generations of Americans of South Asian origin for whom 9/11 has come as a major jolt. Suddenly they are no longer perceived just as Americans but brown skinned and Muslim or Sikhs and have faced racial profiling, prejudice and violence. So they are working together in many cases to stand behind victims of the judicial system or any other racial bias.

I was at a fund raiser hosted by the Pakistani community sometime back and ended up butting heads with the politician who was running for office and whom these guys were supporting. I asked him what was he doing about the racial profiling of Pakistanis and Sikhs, and the high handed treatment of police in Georgia at times and he said he was not aware of it.

What was sad was that the politician has a reputation of being very open minded and willing to work with people, but like many American politicians, he had little understanding of South Asian issues, and didn’t bother to even read up or do some home work before coming to this fund raiser.. sadder still that none of the Pakistani leaders had briefed him either.

So here I was, an Indian sticking up for the Pakistanis and they were sitting there quietly. After the politician left they all came to me and started relating their experiences of racial profiling…but the point is if the fund raisers are just a photo-op for South Asians in spite of knowing that racial profiling and biases continues to this day, it isn't a surprise that no one stuck up for Anand Jon–or the possibility that many innocent victims may also be caught in the fray.

No matter what Jon has done or not done, those who gave people like him the opportunity to do what he may have done should face the blame equally.

The comment about Vinay not being helped in his battle against leukemia is untrue. Team Vinay ran an amazing campaign and so many people including South Asian celebrities stepped forward to support his cause. Many bone marrow donors were added to the list though we do have a paucity of bone marrow donors. Lack of education and fear of the unknown still makes many South Asians hesitate to sign up.

I guess unless something hits us personally, we become strangely apathetic

We must take a good long look at ourselves and realize that when we don't stand up and fight for the rights of others, and for injustice, we fail to protect ourselves as well. But that can only happen when we become an inclusive society, which we are not.

26. Posted by Kavita Chhibber on July 12, 2008 04:23 PM

Hi Gotham

Here is obviously the story of a misguided guy. Not the first OR the only one of its kind.

The fact that you are now able to tell the story and include your personal feelings attached to this unfortunate saga is laudable. It probably means you have come full circle in your reaction. From being mildly annoyed to hating his guts to compassionate understanding of his need for an extreme play-out of a so-called glamorous life.

Your honesty in stating your reaction to his "clear ambition" almost has a hint of awe in it's delivery.

Perhaps that is why you waited to air your mind - part of you seems happy with the law of averages that evened out the score between the likes of him and the likes of you while the other part still feels a bit raw from being used by him.

I think you wrote the story for yourself just as much for Anand Jon - such a tragic pairing of "clear ambition" with such unclear intent - he is evidently extremely enterprising and hard working (to take a meeting with Jeff Zucker!!!) but clearly a "user" - some people just get confused with the concept of "networking".

Hi Kavita Chibber

Interesting - your comments - although I dare say I disagree with your opinion that Gujaratis stick up for others. Maybe it has something to do with the fact there's more in numbers of them than most other Indian communities, which promotes that sort of perception rather than a communal characteristic .

As for young South Asians - I think you're dead on when you say they have been roused by 9/11 - further testimony to the fact that one tends to stir only when something affects them personally.

Loved your website BTW. Very varied.

Tori Roy

27. Posted by toriare on July 12, 2008 08:09 PM

Dear Gotham,

I interacted with Anand Jon a few times too, even danced with him for many hours at a party in Mumbai somewhere late 2004/early 2005.I think he has already made it to Newsweek by then and the buzz around him was palpable.

I found nothing wrong with his behaviour except for the fact that he had a tendency to boast and lie and drop many many names. For me it was not rude-just drop dead boring...and very American/Hollywood if you ask me. I have met many of those types.

Perception of Rudeness and Politeness changes in different cultures. Other than his bragging, I found nothing obnoxious in his behaviour. I certainly never imagined that someone like him could land in jail and have sometimes wondered about it.

I dont know wether he is guilty or not. Whatever the truth and the circumstances leading to his arrest, the man needs a fair chance. And a fair trial.
South Asian, South Indian or whatever.

People have done much worse, and gotten away with it.

And i find his sisters attempt to stand by him commendable, not pitiful.
I'm sure its something Mallika will do for you should the need ever arise. And I hope the world will not be rude enough to call her your side- kick under such circumstances. For her sake.

Peace to his family.

28. Posted by Suchitra on July 13, 2008 07:24 AM

To give you an example of extremely ambitious stupid guys who brag and the trouble it could land them in

Sometime back I met an aspiring film maker-American of Indian origin, who was trying to make it big in the whole wide world.America was ofcourse his reference for all things big and successful. It was at a friends party and it was dark. Faces were not clearly visible

The guy, thinking me to be another dumb chick, piled on big time and started braging about all the great stuff he was doing in Hollywood, in India etc. Within fifteen minutes and another whiskey down, he started to drop names, all the biggies he was working with...yup you guessed it.Hollywood stars and Deepak Chopra, Shekhar Kapur -their names too. Noticing i didnt look impressed with his name dropping, he started criticizing them, saying that he thought they -especilly Deepak and Shekhar(the indian connection no doubt)were shit, talentless and didnt deserve their sucess etc. He felt convinced that he could teach them a thing or two about script writing and film making..He kept searching my face in the dark for a reaction.

My boredom was apparent, so he switched to what he thought would hold my interest. He fished out his cell phone, showed me his sons photograph and started bragging about his son.

My girlfriend had come to rescue me by now and picked up my mobile phone, and showed him my daughters photograph which was the wallpaper on my cell. Then she politely told him that the little girl he was looking at was Shekhar Kapurs daughter and also mine, so he better keep his mouth shut.

The guy looked panic stricken and ran...

When i told Shekhar about it he laughed.

But everybody is not like that...Men get vindictive when insulted by other men, especially those they consider no match to their superior status and power.

Now this guy at my friends party was just an idiot... perhaps Anand Jon was one too.
A stupid litle Indian braggart. And he is paying a heavy price for it.

I dont know for sure...I'm just wondering about it.

29. Posted by Suchitra on July 13, 2008 08:02 AM

"And i find his sisters attempt to stand by him commendable, not pitiful."

Reminds me of Priya Dutt, a successful politician herself who stood by her star brother Sanjay Dutt when he was put in prison on terrorism charges. Of course, in his case, the film world and people with influence along with the public opinion was on his side.

[What did he do, after his release? He got married to a young "item girl" who is probably a few years older than his daughter... and it seems he didn't even tell sister about his plans.]

Is he guilty of all the numerous charges or not is an open question. I wouldn't judge him based on his lifestyle and behavior. Maybe Anand Jon's sister Sanjana knows -- if not "knew" before he was arrested -- the truth about his brother's involvement with the girls more than anyone else. Different people who have seen him form various angles have different opinion on his guilt. For now, I would rather agree with the opinion of a legal expert who has studies his case in detail, given there is no trial yet.

30. Posted by mani on July 13, 2008 08:29 AM

Well i don't want to pre-judge a guy like Anand Jon on his charges-- but you know what they say... where there's smoke there is fire..

--Your intent to clearly distance yourself with Anand Jon while at the same your outrage at the treatment of fellow south Asians caught up in the legal system doesn't cut it with me...

I feel sorry for you sought acquaintances with such a shallow person.

I say it how i see it...

31. Posted by suresh on July 14, 2008 12:24 AM

Aloha Gotham

I remember your father sharing about pods, how the seed within pattern is already set. That is true with your friend. Byron Katie does The Work, in prisons. You might check out The Work and see if there is a program at the felicity that your friend is in.

We all have a story, and it is I am that I am. You were a good friend and you did the best you could do with what knowledge you had and it is always for the Grace of God there go I. Forgiveness begins with self, for love is forgiving as for giving. The seed has been planted and we can't hold back the Son. Keep connected in for what can I learn, there are a lot of yets out there:) we are all going for the real liberation from a love that exclusive by being inclusive. love patty

32. Posted by patty on July 14, 2008 10:58 AM

I'm not sure I understand the angle of your article. Are you saying that despite the fact that you have your own opinion about Anand Jon, and you appear to dislike him; he should be supported by his fellow community and given a fair trial. I think this is your tact.Or are you saying that he dug his own grave? I have read snippets on and off about Anand Jon's case, and I do not think its fair to use such sentiment about his sister's support of him; plus we are talking about a country that has Guantamo Bay as another real example of injustice (and little support from fellow brethren of the held prisoners (as far as I am aware))-so what do you expect? As Scottish law states..innocent until proven guilty.

33. Posted by Kamini on July 21, 2008 02:09 PM

Post a comment

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Featured Posts

Anand Jon is rotting in Hell

Comments

Post a comment

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Categories