Indiana

Just Another Day in the Abdul World

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

Although the big news of the day was the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department answering questions about David Bisard who was charged with driving drunk and killing a motorist in the process, the Department of Public Safety also announced a new advisory board to help with police-community relations and department policy.

I bring this up, because I was asked to serve on that panel and said “yes”.  I went back and forth for a while before deciding in the affirmative.  Although it’s a non-paid, pure advisory position, it does raise and issue of a potential conflict of interest, because I am a news commentator and from time to time I discuss public safety.

To be honest, I don’t worry about a conflict of interest, my life is full of them and I frankly don’t trust anyone who’s never had a conflict of interest because that’s someone who hasn’t lived.   Just kidding.  I’m pretty involved here in Indianapolis and it’s not uncommon for worlds to collide.  So I decided to deal with my current situation the same way I deal with everything else, full disclosure and let the audience make up their mind.   I’ve always believed that when you’re in the opinion business, what people take away from you is usually determined by what they brought to the table.  If you like me, you probably still will.  If you’re an emotionally unstable, jealous blogger with a ton of unresolved issues, I suggest therapy. But I digress.

In my day jobs I have an opportunity to voice my opinion, influence public policy and try to make life better for people who are working hard, footing the bill and carrying the load.  The chance to serve on the public safety advisory board is just another opportunity to do what I do everyday.  Does this mean I will change my  opinions, not at all.   Does it mean that people I come into contact with who might have had an incident with IMPD, now have another voice where they can express their concerns, yes.

And if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just go back to doing what I was doing before, getting paid to express my opinion and having fun in the process.   This is just another way to serve and make life better for the citizens of Indianapolis.  In other words, it’s just another day in the Abdul existence.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on August 12, 2010 (boomark / email).