The Dark Side of Jay Jones: Dehumanizing Language & Dangerous Politics (Episode 339)

The Dark Side of Jay Jones: Dehumanizing Language & Dangerous Politics (Episode 339)

Shock turns into resolve when Jay Jones private texts become public and cross a bright line: wishing harm, invoking violence, and dehumanizing families. We don’t chase outrage for clicks; we take a hard look at how language like this ripples through mental health, public trust, and the tone of our civic life. As hosts, we ground the conversation in our mission—protecting dignity and psychological safety—then walk through what was said, why it matters, and how a community can respond without becoming what it opposes.

We unpack the difference between disagreement and dehumanization, and why intent doesn’t erase impact when the targets are people with kids, jobs, and neighbors who now feel less safe. Drawing on real-world examples and research on online harassment, we connect the dots between “keyboard warrior” culture and anxiety, hypervigilance, and social withdrawal. We also examine the double standard that seems to shield public figures from the consequences ordinary people might face for similar statements, and we explore what proportionate accountability can look like—from public acknowledgment to withdrawing from a race—without weaponizing shame.

This is ultimately a call to raise the bar: adopt clear codes of conduct, build media literacy, support those targeted, and reward leaders who show restraint and empathy. We share practical steps any listener can take—contacting parties and ethics boards, engaging local media, voting with both ballots and attention, and modeling the tone we want our kids to inherit. If words shape culture, then our choices in the comment box, at the dinner table, and in the voting booth shape the future. If this resonated, subscribe, share with a friend who cares about mental health and civic norms, and leave a review to help more people find the show.

Chapter Markers

0:02 Welcome And Mission Of Voices

0:55 Mental Health, Empathy, And Service

4:21 From Kindness To Keyboard Warriors

7:18 Setting The Stage: A Political Story

13:12 The Leaked Texts And Their Content

18:56 Moral Lines And Public Accountability

23:50 Double Standards And Legal Boundaries

27:15 Zero Tolerance For Violent Rhetoric

31:30 A Call For Withdrawal And Reflection

34:40 Civic Action And Closing Appeal

#JayJones #DehumanizingLanguage #DangerousPolitics #PoliticalAnalysis #SocialCommentary #LanguageMatters #CivicEngagement #PoliticalRhetoric #CriticalThinking #MediaLiteracy #ControversialFigures #PublicDiscourse #EthicsInPolitics #VocalActivism #ChallengingNarratives #justiceforsurvivors #justice4survivors #VoicesforVoices #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion #TikTok #Instagram #truth #factoverfictionmatters #transparency #VoiceForChange #HealingTogether #VoicesForVoices339

Chapters

• 0:02 Welcome And Mission Of Voices
• 0:55 Mental Health, Empathy, And Service
• 4:21 From Kindness To Keyboard Warriors
• 7:18 Setting The Stage: A Political Story
• 13:12 The Leaked Texts And Their Content
• 18:56 Moral Lines And Public Accountability
• 23:50 Double Standards And Legal Boundaries
• 27:15 Zero Tolerance For Violent Rhetoric
• 31:30 A Call For Withdrawal And Reflection
• 34:40 Civic Action And Closing Appeal

Transcript

VoicesforVoices,JustinAlanHayes: 0:02

Hey everyone, it's Justin here, Voices for Voices. Thank you so much for joining us on this episode of our show. Uh, we're grateful to have you. Uh, whether you're watching, listening, whether you're near, whether you're far, thank you so much for being with us and making the Voices for Voices show a uh outstanding success and a place where individuals from all walks of life can uh follow us, subscribe, give us a thumbs up, uh, all those things that are free to do, and those really help us to uh continue our mission and vision to help three billion people over the course of my lifetime and beyond. And as we know, uh we're founded, and the the main foundation of Voices for Voices is around mental health, and we bring stories, events, experiences, guests to talk and share about those uh as it relates to uh the mental health, the trauma, the recovery, uh all that, that whole process that each of us is in a different uh a different spot, and that's okay. Uh, we're here to share, we're here to inspire, we're here to say you are not alone, and that is the most uh most helpful thing that I think we can do as a human race uh is to help others because uh why else are we here? Uh again, this isn't it's not just about the rat race of you know, we're we're clocking in, working for the company, working for the the organization. When you're tied in emotionally to a cause, to an organization, to a movement, like voices for voices, that's something that's powerful because when we're able to join together human being with human being and something as small as opening a door for somebody else doesn't cost anything, uh volunteering at a uh a food kitchen, excuse me, uh those are things that uh they don't take a whole lot of energy of time to do, and we just find ourselves at uh at times of being that all about us, and I've I've been uh one of those individuals more so earlier in my life than than now. Uh really really trying to work on that aspect of my life of being a person who gives back that realizes that we're not alone and in in this thing we call life that I don't know about you, but I like to feel good. And one of the ways that I feel good is by helping others, and we talk about that in the sense of the importance of life, right? We were born, and we all take different different paths, we all have different challenges, some may be similar, others may be not so similar, but the the human being is a person that we look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs: food, water, clothing, shelter, those types of things, those basic foundational needs, and packed in there is mental health, and so when we're talking about life, it's very precious, and when we talk about or hear about stories, events, experiences where people come across as if they don't value life if they are a keyboard warrior, and that's basically you've heard me say that in the past few episodes, but a keyboard warrior is somebody who was hiding behind the phone, hiding behind the computer, behind the netbook, the iPad, and is making comments that they probably wouldn't be making in person to the people or the individual that they're making comments about, and then a step further is because of the keyboard warriors, we're able to find and see some of these conversations that occur, and I don't know about you, but whether it's just as of late or I'm just finding and seeing particular news news articles, and we we like to address things local, national, and internationally, and so this story is a national story, but it's a regional story and a local story as well, and so we're gonna jump into uh what exactly I'm talking about. If you're in the United States of America, or even if you're not, uh this particular topic is uh is grounded and rooted in the United States of America. So if you are watching and listening from a different country, uh you can rest assured that this is in the United States of America that this particular story has gained not only local, national, but even that international coverage. And so we know politics can be a uh I'd say like a rough place, but there's some mean things people say when they're involved in politics. If anybody's ever watched uh a debate uh at some point between two or more candidates for whether it's president, vice president, attorney general, uh, city council, there can be some pretty hurtful words. The one person or one party of Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, you name it, they're included. So when we watch these debates or hear these news stories, they're so sensationalized, and also the people saying these mean things, uh some are held accountable and some aren't. And as a person, again, with an organization, as we have with voices for voices, we want everybody to have that voice, and so when we find instances where openly or behind the phone or behind the iPad or netbook or computer that are saying some pretty awful things, uh, we think that it's important to share it with you because we want to, number one, we want to bring it to light. Number two, which is bringing it to the light as well, but awareness, just let people know that this is out there, this is happening, this is not a figment of an imagination, this is something that is actually occurred and or is occurring, and so bringing it to everyone's attention is important because we want everybody to be aware of these situations that are just nasty, these conversations, uh downright hurtful, and as somebody who, as they say, doesn't have any skin in the game, I don't have any skin in the game. I get to scroll past the story and let it go. Uh, but I can't, because I owe it to you, I owe it to your friends, your family, your loved ones, your colleagues, your uh individuals you work with, your fellow student, a fellow uh ball player, uh church, youth group, men's group, women's group. I owe to everybody to talk about this and bring it to light because we we really need as a human race, we really need to check what's going on with ourselves to get to this point. And so, what point is this? So, we're gonna jump right in. So, we are talking about uh number one, uh, I'm sourcing information from Reddit, Google, and it looks to be uh seven abc seven news is is where uh where we're gonna be also sourcing some information. And so this is a political story. I don't live in the the state this is occurring in, but nonetheless, I live in the United States of America, and so united, you know, bringing together uh it matters because if situations like this are occurring in other jurisdictions, other areas, it can mean that hey, maybe maybe something like this is happening in my hometown. I'm just not aware of it. Maybe it hasn't uh been shared, hasn't been leaked. You know, the news story is being leaked. Uh Democrat candidate for the Virginia Attorney General uh position, which is an elected position. So this individual named Jay Jones uh has some not so kind text messages about again. So Jay Jones is a is a Democrat, and he had some not nice words for Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert, and again, this is a combination of of Reddit, 70 BC News, uh Google, and so we wanted to make sure we're giving credit where credit's due. And so Jay Jones uh has some text messages with an individual, and so I'm just gonna read through them. So I'm gonna be quoting verbatim what's in uh these uh text messages and why it's so important, why we're taking the time, uh, the mental health of families, of people to have to view this, listen to this. Uh it's it's appalling. So let's get into it. So Jay Jones is in uh text message, uh you know, back and forth. And Jay Jones, again, we're gonna be quoting directly, says in a text, if those guys died before me, I will go to their funerals to P I S S on their graves. Send them out a wash and something. So this individual, Jay Jones, is talking about basically going and urinating on individuals' graves. That's alarming. And so the individual that uh remains anonymous says Jay Jones and then Jay Jones responds with even more heated rhetoric. Three people, two bullets, Gilbert, and that's so that's the Republican, Hitler, and Paul Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head. Spoiler. Put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know, and he receives both bullets every time. This is Jay Jones. This is somebody's running for office. I don't care when you made those remarks, you still made them, and you gotta own them, and you have no business being in a political life, political arena whatsoever. So let's head back to the text messages. So the anonymous who was in in conversation, text messages says, Jay, please stop. What does Jay Jones respond with? LOL. Okay, okay. And the anonymous says, it really bothers me when you talk about hurting people or wishing death on them. So that's interesting. That's very interesting. The anonymous. You weren't simply asking questions and you know it. Jay Jones. I genuinely was. I wasn't attacking you, I was trying to understand her logic. The anonymous, you weren't trying to understand. You're talking about hoping Jennifer Gilbert's children would die. Jay Jones, yes, I've told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy. So he's saying you have to threaten people for them to change their policy. Responds, the anonymous, there isn't. I point blank asked you more than three times and you dug in that you meant it. I'm honestly questioning a lot today. And then Jay Jones responds, I mean, do I think Todd and Jennifer are evil and that they're breeding little fastest? Yes. That's Jay Jones. Okay. So that is what we're talking about today on our show. Is that appropriate? Is it okay? I mean, I'm talking about, you know, as a human being, not just as, you know, this, you know, something politically. I'm talking, is this type of rhetoric, is this type of messaging from somebody who's running for office and has the potential to be leading a state, a municipality, a city? And we really need to ask ourselves, as a human race, what have we done to get to this point? To get to be where a person is wishing other people not to be alive? And to talk about going and urinating on their graves. Oh my gosh. What is going on? What's empowering Jay Jones to say these things? He clearly doesn't think there's going to be retribution for what he's saying. Oh, that was on the phone. That was a text message. That wasn't how I really felt. He said multiple times. And those messages about wishing ill will on others. So whether I'm in the state of Ohio or Nebraska or what, and if Jay Jones is running for office in Virginia, it's a threat to the human race to have people like Jay Jones out there that have no fear of retribution, no fear that he'll be held accountable. What would happen if you or I sent text messages like that to uh to each other about others? We'd probably be arrested, charged with some type of crime, and then going through the criminal justice program program, the criminal justice process. But yet we have a politician who couldn't be more clear with what they're saying. What's the what what what does this person have? What does a person have to lose? Well, they have a lot to lose. That office there should be a uh I don't like having red tape and and and legal tape, you know, round things, but I would think that having threats like that should disqualify an individual from running for any office. Because if that's what he's saying behind doors. What what are what is this individual's motives if he is elected or if she is elected? I'm given hypothetical. There's no fear of retribution where they're not going to be held accountable, then they can say what they want. And so that's what I'm getting at is you know, these politicians, you know, they they say all these nasty, horrible things, and I just read through text messages, it just made me sick as I'm reading through them. I don't care whether it's a politician, whether it's a homebody, a uh a stay-at-home mom, a professional, uh grandma, grandpa, mom, dad, it doesn't matter who it is. It seems like there's a double standard. Because as I mentioned, if you or I sent messages like that, we'd be having a knock at the door, questions, and taken down to the police station and booked. But because it's this is a uh political thing, that it's oh okay, um, you know, it's come out J.A. Jones is you know, somewhat apologizing, who cares? If I was the one that did it, I could come out and apologize and say, whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't really mean that. So if the thoughts of going and urinating on a grave, having bullets that are for somebody, he's not selling the bullets, he's talking about using them, and so it's about time as a human race, as people, as humanity, to stand up, make your voices heard, be loud and be proud. We cannot let these things happen in the United States of America or any other country across the world. Wishing death on anybody, no matter who you are, has no place in society full stop. So Jay Jones, you should have to withdraw from your your your bid for this public office. That's what that's what should should happen. Again, we're talking about literally uh not even veiled death threats. These are right out in the open. And I know we've all done some crazy stuff over the years, and maybe I'm just speaking for myself, but I never would wish death on another. I don't think you would either. So these are the types of individuals who are running for office who sometimes get into office, and then they use their extreme views to roll with that iron fist, and these are the same people that have those text messages, and that's only one individual's text message chain. How many others did Jay Jones contact and communicate in that manner with that just haven't come forward? And so we should have a zero tolerance in society for these types of comments. These are non-joking matters for Jay to say, oh lol. No, that's not funny. How do that thought even come to a person's mind unless they were even thinking about it? You gotta be a sick person to think of the things that you did, Jay Jones, that you saw Jay Jones. There's a lot of things you can do in life, but for somebody to expresses those comments. Politically, political office should not be one of them. You should not have that. That right should be revoked the moment a threat is made like that or talked about. And it wasn't just a one comment. Kept digging and digging and kept digging in the bullets with the families, the fastest, the grave. So as a nation, as a people, we should not put up with this. So Virginians, when when you go to the ballot box, I hope you have seen watch this, listen to this, watch and listen during the debate to know this. So if you haven't been made aware, if nobody has shown that, if the news has kept that from you, then voices for voices is that outlet. And we're not going to keep that from you. So death threats have no place in any society whatsoever, let alone in the political arena. So Jay Jones, I think it's in your best interest to pull out of this race. Because anybody that has those comments again, if you've said it once, maybe you've said it again. Maybe you said it twice. Maybe you said it three times or four times. Five different people, four. I don't know. But what we read are true statements that have been posted, and Jay hasn't denied that those actually were said. So as a humanity, let's stand up, let's rise up, let's be a voice, be a voice for you. Share your voice in the ballot box when you're watching or listening to the debate. You and I, we know that we know bad language, we know bad comments when we see them and hear them. And so Jay Jones, it'd be in your best interest, given what you've said publicly now that has been shared, do Virginians a favor, and step down from this race for this political position. Because whether you meant it, whether you didn't, you said it, you typed it, you hit send, and it's out there. And there's no place to represent people who want to those people and their family you're wishing uh what appears to be uh what you what you think of them not living. And that's more than more than inappropriate. So we do ask for you to be a voice for you or somebody in need. Let's celebrate those voices when we see injustice, when we hear injustice, when we see stories like what we covered in this episode. We need to stand up, we need to share and talk about how this is unacceptable. So until next time, this is Justin Alan Hayes with Voices for Voices. Please be a voice for you or somebody in need, and we'll see you on the next show. Bye bye for now.