6 September 19 - 25, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents mispronouncing Waters name. Taking questions after Waters’ initial, planned remarks were complete, Griffith said he “takes very seriously the executive summary that came out yesterday,” while in- dicating that things are better now at the ju- venile center. “We’ve talked with the inspector general for weeks now, and we feel very confident that many, many of those things [detailed in the report] have been remedied. We’ll con- tinue to look and strive to do whatever we can to make sure those children are safe.” Griffiths said that he hasn’t seen the full report yet, but that he thinks the areas that need correction have already been addressed. “The kids are in school. They’re getting their medical. They’re getting outside recre- ation,” he said. “It was a troubling report. We know that, but we’ve known that since 2023.” Griffiths has served as the director of the juvenile board twice before. He came on as in- terim director in August after former director Darryl Beatty and deputy director DeAndra Jones resigned following many allegations of the mistreatment of incarcerated juveniles. Upon Beatty’s resignation, Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins called for a third- party investigation into what action is needed at the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center. After Griffiths finished answering ques- tions, Waters asked to add to his comments. “To get to this point, the juvenile board has had to ignore the statements of parents, chil- dren and their attorneys,” he said. “They’ve had to ignore the pleas of the county judge, Clay Lewis Jenkins, as well as Commissioner [Andy] Sommerman, as well as the investiga- tive reporting of the media. They’ve had to ig- nore the very claims of the community. To now suggest that somehow, they were misled by some staff, that the juvenile board did not know, does just not pass muster.” Waters noted that a meeting between his group and Griffiths will take place soon. Ear- lier on in his remarks, with Griffiths looking on, Waters offered an emotional anecdote about taking his family on vacation to Charleston, South Carolina, a few years ago. He said they visited a “separation room” where enslaved African families were split apart after arriving on American shores. He was struck by the small size of some of the shackles on display. “There were shackles fashioned for chil- dren,’ Waters said. “I set our 2-year-old, at the time in his stroller, in direct proximity to those shackles, and I can tell you that they would’ve fit. We are here today in many ways because this center has not only treated our children worse than dogs, but in many ways have treated them like slaves. And our heart breaks for our children.” ▼ ELECTIONS DEBATE NIGHT AT THE MOVIES DALLAS MOVIE THEATER HOSTED DUELING DEBATE WATCH PARTIES. BY EMMA RUBY F or the second presidential debate in a row, the Angelika Theater in Mock- ingbird Station was double-booked. In theaters four and three, the Dallas County Young Democrats were hosting a watch party. In theater six, the Republicans did the same. The Observer attended both. Inside the respective theaters on Sept. 10, miniature national conventions had come to town. Tables at the front of the Democrats’ theater sold yard signs, T-shirts and buttons while voter guides were thrown into the crowd like confetti. The Republi- cans raffled off MAGA hats, MAGA bumper stickers and T-shirts with a photo of former President Donald Trump raising his fist af- ter an assassination attempt, captioned, in all capitalized letters, “FIGHT!” The theater’s common areas appeared to be truly amicable, if not a bit quiet; individu- als wearing “Love is Love” buttons stood next to those wearing “ULTRA MAGA” red hats while waiting for popcorn. Everyone avoided eye contact. The popcorn line was where we hap- pened to catch a glance of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who held a VIP meet and greet on the Republican side in the hour ahead of the debate. Paxton munched on some popcorn while passing time until he was set to address the Republicans as an opener for the main act. Snacks in hand, we made our way into the packed theater — standing room only — and settled in to listen to what Paxton had to say. Everything, and we mean everything, that Paxton touted was shrouded in conspiracy. “Look at what they’re doing in Minne- sota. They say that you can dismember a baby in the womb up until the time of his birth? And then, even afterwards, three ba- bies have been left to die on a table in Min- nesota,” Paxton said as the audience hissed. In the last year, Trump and other Repub- lican big-wigs have pushed a conspiracy in the abortion-care conversation by saying that states are allowing last-minute abor- tions for mothers who have carried a baby to term, and that some states are allowing the mother to have an “abortion” after the birth of a child. This has been totally debunked, as killing a person after they are born is considered murder in every state, and murder is a crime. As the attorney general, Paxton should and does know this, of course. And as someone who spoke for nearly 10 minutes about voter law and claims of fraud, he should and does also know that Ameri- cans are not required to have a home in or- der to vote. “There are going to be some very nefari- ous things that happen [during the election]. Even here in Dallas, I don’t know if you’ve heard about it, but they are actually saying that homeless people can use church ad- dresses to be registered to vote, or even street corners,” Paxton said, referencing a video from the Dallas County Elections De- partment that recently went viral on the right-wing X account LibsofTikTok. “I need you to be the eyes and ears. I need you to be the scouts and to go out there and make sure.” The Dallas County Elections Depart- ment responded to the video in a statement, saying that the training was “misrepre- sented” to “falsely imply” that voter fraud is taking place. State and federal law allows in- dividuals to register to vote even if they do not have a home address, and homeless indi- viduals have commonly been instructed to list the address of a shelter, a church or a park they regularly frequent when register- ing to vote. “Misinformation, like the claims made by some individuals sharing this video, cre- ates unnecessary confusion and undermines trust in our electoral system,” the depart- ment said. As Paxton wrapped up his speech and made to leave, an audience member asked: “Mr. Paxton, is Donald Trump going to make you the attorney general for the whole country?” Paxton paused. He gave a small smile. “I don’t know whether I’d be asked,” he mused. “I love President Trump. I think the Department of Justice is as corrupt as they come. … If I had that opportunity, there would be some serious changes.” The crowd cheered. Paxton smiled, he waved, and then he was gone. As the debate began and ensued, we took part in what was the most improper movie theater behavior we have ever witnessed. People were cracking up. They were cracking jokes. They cheered and they booed. They filmed on their phones, took photos with the flash on and live-Tweeted every moment. The behavior felt so wrong for the environment, like having a kegger in- side of a church. In the Democrats’ theater, the roof was brought down each time a moderator fact checked Trump. “This was wonderful. This was the per- fect way to watch the debate,” Alyssa De- queant of Rowlett told the Observer after the debate. “My people were just energized, ready to go, ready to register voters and make it happen. [This was] much better than sitting at home just being angry at the TV.” Dequeant said she felt Vice President Kamala Harris “wiped the floor” with Trump, a sentiment that seemed to be some- what shared on both sides. As the debate ended and people made their way to leave, Democrats lingered to chit chat, purchase last-minute merchandise and celebrate. The Republican watch party, meanwhile, cleared out fairly quickly. Those who lingered were, for the most part, amicable and fair in their assessment of the debate. (We were accosted by one man who ap- peared to be drunk and accused the Ob- server of being “fake news.” He was not wearing any political memorabilia, and he warned that illegal immigrants were going to break into our homes. Hopefully, he drank some water and took a Tylenol before going to bed.) “[Harris] did show out. I will give her credit for actually answering questions, looking into the camera and not cackling,” Republican Melody Rox told the Observer. “I wouldn’t trade tonight for anything in the world. It was an experience.” Rox, wearing the signature red MAGA hat, said she was “not that pumped” about the election prior to the watch party experi- ence, but the energy made her feel “hyped.” Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins attended the watch party on the Democratic side, and described the experience of shar- ing the theater with rivals as being similar to “a college football game.” “I think you saw a clear, different vision for America [during the debate],” Jenkins told the Observer. “You may be a Republican, but [if] you’re concerned about what Don- ald Trump would do to this country, there’s room for you in voting for Harris/Walz. So that was really a great night.” ▼ CITY HALL DOG COURT DALLAS COULD PASS ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS TO COMBAT AGGRESSIVE DOGS. BY JACOB VAUGHN A n audit in 2022 found Dallas’ ag- gressive dog program was ineffec- tive because it couldn’t ensure that owners of these pets were complying with all requirements. The audit said at the time that these shortcomings could lead to re- peat attacks by the same dogs. Only Emma Ruby The candidates’ facial expressions were even funnier when displayed on the massive movie theater screen. >> p8 Unfair Park from p5
