Van Jones

If the road to social transformation can be paved only by saints who never make mistakes, the road will never be built.

Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones (born September 20, 1968) is an American news and political commentator, author, and lawyer. He is the co-founder of several non-profit organizations, a three-time New York Times bestselling author, a CNN host and contributor, and an Emmy Award winner.

Quotes

• The end of the occupation. The right of return of the Palestinian people. These are critical dividing lines in human rights. We have to be here. No American would put up with an Israeli-style occupation of their hometown for 53 days let alone 54 years. US tax dollars are funding violence against people of color inside the US borders and outside the US borders.
  • Wartimes : Reports From The Opposition (2003) a CD financed, produced and featuring the voice of Jones, as quoted at "Cool... But, Yes, Communist" by Marty Peretz, in The New Republic (10 September 2009)

• If the road to social transformation can be paved only by saints who never make mistakes, the road will never be built. The upside is that we don’t have to be perfect to save our communities and restore the Earth. We just have to try hard and be as honest as we can be about the processes we are going through. So I share the mistakes and failures, as well as the successes, because that is the truth of my journey – and of anyone’s journey.
  • Statement in a 2007 New York Times interview, quoted in "Bridging the gap between environmental and social justice" by Lauren Rabaino, in Mustang News (April 4, 2008)

• Our point of view is, lets not be so elitist that we can't honor good, hard, dignified, ennobling work: people working with their hands, building things, putting up solar panels, weatherizing homes, working on organic agriculture, building wind farms. We don't have robots in society, so somebody has to do that work. Lets make sure that the people who can use that work get a chance to do it. I see that as a first step toward bigger and better things.
  • "Interview: Van Jones" in The Green Options (May 29, 2007)

• Bernie's particular brand of socialism is probably better described as 'grandparent envy.'
  • On Real Time with Bill Maher (March 7, 2020)

• Look. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are not taking the same exam. I think it bothers people. They're not taking the same exam. He gets to be lawless. She has to be flawless. That's what's unfair. That's what's unfair tonight. They're not taking the same exam. Look, she has policies. She may not articulate them perfectly every time. She may not put the stories in the right places. But she's fighting for actual ideas that will help real people. And he's talking about people's penises. And so, they are not taking the same exam. And that's pissing people off. It's pissing me off.
  • CNN Special / Live Event; on a perceived double standard in the media's coverage of former President Donald Trump vs. that of Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential campaign; from full program transcript, published in "Kamala Harris Faces Undecided Voters At CNN Town Hall; Harris Says, Trump's Reported Praise Of Hitler Is Serious Issue; Harris Faces Voters Less Than Two Weeks Before Election; CNN Covers The Presidential Town Hall; CNN Fact-Checks V.P. Harris' Claims. Aired 10- 11p ET". CQ Roll Call (October 23, 2024)

The Green Collar Economy (2008)

We need a much deeper understanding of exactly what it is our industrial society, in its present creation, is jeopardizing. We need a more profound perception of what is at stake.

The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems (2008)

• The green economy should not just be about reclaiming throw-away stuff. It should be about reclaiming thrown-away communities. It should not just be about recycling things to give them a second life. We should also be gathering up people and giving them a second chance.

• We need a much deeper understanding of exactly what it is our industrial society, in its present creation, is jeopardizing. We need a more profound perception of what is at stake.

• The human family has invaluable friends and irreplaceable allies in the plant and animal worlds. We cannot continue to tug at the web of life without tearing a hole in the very fabric of our earthly existence — and eventually falling through that hole ourselves.

• The time has come to move beyond eco-elitism to eco-populism.

• To change our laws and culture, the green movement must attract and include the majority of all people, not just the majority of affluent people.

• A green economy begins to replace some of the clunking and chugging of ugly machines with the wise effort of beautiful, skilled people. That means more jobs.

Quotes about Jones

• Van Jones explained, "We are in the middle of a very rare convergence. Both political parties, Republicans and Democrats, were stuck on stupid for thirty years, chasing each other off a cliff to put more and more people in prison. The way you way you showed you were a smart politician was you tried to one-up your opponent on how many people you wanted to put behind bars for petty offenses. And so, three strikes and you're out; two strikes and you're out; just, hey, if you're black, you're out-that became politics for both parties. Bill Clinton was a mass incarcerator. Let's not forget that"
  • Amy Goodman Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America (2017) p 306-7

• 6 ppl hold > wealth than the bottom 50% of America. There's more wealth inequality today than any time since the gilded age. Biden accepted the most billionaire $ in the primary. They're paying him to reject MedicareForAll in a pandemic. Imagine not being mad at billionaires.
  • Briahna Joy Gray Nov 25 2020 on Twitter, after Van Jones when asked about Bernie or Yang in the cabinet said "Andrew Yang would be an amazing choice....he's a positive populist, he's not mad at billionaires"

• Yoshitani is part of a vibrant activist scene in the San Francisco Bay Area that is ground zero of the green jobs movement most prominently championed by former Obama advisor Van Jones.
  • Naomi Klein This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate (2014)

• Van Jones got fired because he became the Scary Negro of the Week on Fox News, where, let's be honest, they still feel threatened by Harry Belafonte.
  • Bill Maher, in "New Rule: Float Like Obama, Sting Like Ali" at The Huffington Post (11 September 2009)

• What got Van Jones fired was they caught him on tape saying that Republicans are assholes. And they call it "news." And Obama didn't say a word in defense of Jones and basically fired him when Glenn Beck told him to.
  • Bill Maher, in "New Rule: Float Like Obama, Sting Like Ali" at The Huffington Post (11 September 2009)]

• Jones may well be more effective outside the administration than within it (I think Beck put it as "dangerous." Semantics.) As Ariana Huffington opined in a post September 7 called "Thank You, Glenn Beck!" (The Huffington Post), Van Jones was undeniably the best person for this job, but the job wasn't best for him. Van Jones is not someone who ought to be stuck behind a desk, calculating tax credits and guarding his opinions from the 24-hour news-culture vultures.
  • Jessica Rae Patton in "The Green Jobs Handyman Moves On" in The Environmental Magazine (15 September 2009)