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Al Sharpton Needs To Shut Up. Period.
It’s time for Al Sharpton to shut up. It’s time; case closed. It’s also time for mass-media to stop foisting this charlatan on us. He has been discredited over and over and over and over and………………... Enough already. Integrity is the cornerstone of any person’s reputation: “Sharp-tongue” has none. So it’s time for him to shut the f*** up. Period. Last week, he and Jesse “James” Jackson injected themselves in the Connecticut Democratic primary race by endorsing Ned Lamont over Joe Lieberman. Prima facie that’s okay; they do have the right to endorse any candidate that they want to. But it’s when you dig a little deeper that you expose one of Sharptongue’s many flaws: he is both a political pimp and a political whore, at the same time. Let me go on record by saying that I don’t give a damn who wins that primary. I may slightly lean to the newcomer, but for the most part I am indifferent. Joe is facing his possible waterloo for vocal support of the Iraq war, and as such many will say that payback is a bitch. But who is Ned Lamont; beyond the fact that he is a multi-millionaire? We really don’t know. What does he stand for? What has he been doing over the years about some of the pressing issues facing Connecticut’s residents? Is it enough to take out Joe Lieberman solely because of one issue? These questions and others will yield answers soon enough, but it’s Sharp-tongue that really takes the cake here. When Ned Lamont’s membership in an exclusive all-white golf club was exposed, Sharptongue tried to defend the indefensible with his usual lies and verbal somersaults. It was as if Sharpton had forgotten that he himself had protested Bill Clinton’s similar membership. It‘s always the same thing with Al: talk from both sides of your tongue in an attempt to justify your contradictions. Unprincipled people usually tend to contradict themselves, because they continually stand on shaky political/philosophical ground. Long ago, native Indians in America- in reference to the lies of European Caucasians- would say,” white-man speaks with fork-tongue”; they must have invented that term for Al. There are so many forks in his tongue that you could probably equip a chain of new restaurants. In 2001, Al Sharpton endorsed a candidate named Wellington Sharpe for the 40th City Council District; there were about seven candidates in the race-including Yvette Clarke, who eventually won. In the annual West Indian Day parade that year, Wellington Sharpe marched with Sharpton, Fernando Ferrer and Charles Barron. This group went up Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn-in front of millions of people. They were all (supposedly) some of Sharpton’s endorsees who were seeking office that year. Within 24 hours of that march, it was disclosed that Sharpton had also endorsed another candidate named Jean Vernet (Haitian-American) in the same race with Jamaica–born Sharpe. Wasn’t that cute? Don’t try picking up the tab for all this; trust me on that one. In 2004, Al Sharpton endorsed a white male judicial candidate (Graham) over two female black candidates (Archer and Joseph), in a district where the population was about 75% minority. Graham won. This year he injects himself into in the 11th Congressional-a district with almost identical demographics- decrying David Yassky’s entrance into that race, because of “black-empowerment”. What a crock! Or should I say: crook? Then, to make matters worse, he attempts to knock the frontrunner (polls) of that race Yvette Clarke, in order to justify his support for Carl Andrews. Now, even a bat (and also Wayne Barrett) can see that that Andrews is the most politically-corrupt of the four candidates, but that doesn’t faze AL; after all: “birds of a feather flock together, don’t they?” He claims that Una Clarke (Yvette’s mother) was not out there marching and standing with them (protesters) during the Amadou Diallo police-brutality protests. This my friends turn out to be another big fat lie; and just as Al is obese, so too are his lies. Una marched for Diallo. The proof is irrefutable. Okay, maybe Al forgot; but near everyone knows that Una Clarke is perceived as a Caribbean-American fighter with lots of spunk. And then, even if she hadn’t marched, what does that have to do with Yvette and this race? Let me examine this further. Last year in the mayoral primary, Al refused to endorse the Afro-American candidate C.Virginia Fields, partly because he said that "she wasn't there for Amadou Diallo". Fine. Now he uses the same Diallo yardstick (albeit disingenuously) to support Carl Andrews over Yvette Clarke. Fine. But here is the problem: my sources say that Carl Andrews wasn't arrested for civil-disobedience during the Diallo protests. He wasn't there; period. Further, my sources say that Ed Towns wasn't there for Diallo either, and Sharpton is going with Ed Towns over Charles Barron in the race for the 10th congressional district.What makes this even more interesting, is the fact that Charles Barron co-ordinated the Diallo protests outside One Police Plaza. Plus, Barron is always there for police-brutality incidents, no matter where. Look folks: the truth is that Al sharpton-like many other black officials/activists- is full of shit. That's why he is so big and fat; he is too full of it. In 1991, Al Sharpton endorsed Colin Moore for City Council (45), and made a big stink about the fact that many whites- using Uncle Tom black officials- were ganging up on Moore, in an attempt to prevent him from winning the seat. This was at an event held for Moore at the Farragut Manor (now Crystal) on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. This was long before the petition phase of the primary. He promised to campaign with Moore and fight back this attempt to emasculate the “people’s attorney”. He promised to work the streets, and pound the avenue pavements. By the time the campaign got into full swing, Al was transformed into Osama bin Laden- since he must have found a cave in Afghanistan to hide out in. He disappeared like a junkie’s paycheck. Even today some of Colin’s supporters wonder who got to Al. Of course Colin Moore lost, but only by three hundred votes out of ten thousand cast. Back then Al had a little credibility; his visible support could have made the difference. Look, there are countless stories of Sharpton’s flaws (even Jesse has some of those stories at his fingertips); the real problem is that too many black electeds are silent when he pulls his crap. They enter that “code of silence” plain that Maxwell Smart liked to go too. And like everything else, they don’t see the disservice they do us all. Stay tuned-in folks. So, one can attack Sharpton and not be a racist?
Gatemouth: In an earlier discussion over whether Mark Green's flyer was racist or just "controversial" you expressed the opinion that any attack on Al Sharpton would probably be interpreted as Racist. In your brief comment here, you again seem to raise that implication. Over the years Al Sharpton has been justly and harshly criticized in writing by both Blacks and Whites without those attackers being referred to as racist. In the last 4 years I believe that I myself have written at least 8 articles in which I have denounced Al Sharpton. In fact, I have regularly stated that Al sees every political contest as an opportunity for personal fund-raising. In the last Presidential primary, Al's showing in the Black and Latino community clearly proved that his appeal to Black voters had dwindled to the point where he was no longer a force with which to be reckoned. But think of the last time that a White elected official or any White person in politics condemned Dov Hikind for his unquestionable racist behavior. My sense is that if White New Yorkers would openly condemn Dov Hikind and his ilk, you might find even more Black New Yorkers speaking out against Al Sharpton
I've acknowledge previously that both Mo and Rock have done more than their share of Sharpton critiques; I'm just wondering why Mark Green can't do his. I have also acknowledged that Mo's pretty much convinced me that the cartoons themselves were offensive to the point of possible racist intent, and I can hardly deny that Mo is sincere in his statement that, for him, the cartoons themselves were offensive, and that he did not think Sharpton was sacrosanct. I'm just not sure for many others (some of them white, by the way) the issue wasn't Sharpton rather than the cartoons. To put this in context, my position on the Mohammed political cartoons months ago was that many were offensive, and that I would not have printed them on my editorial page, but that they should have appeared on the news pages once the controversy flared up. My position on the Green piece was always that it was tasteless and politically stupid, but not actionable for being either of those things or for being racist, although how the piece was paid for and distributed may raise legal issues. That I've said all these things can be verified by a diligent google search. As to Hikind, I think my record is quite clearly laid out on this site. Go to my blog and read the piece "Vote for the Schtacker to Stop the Schvartzer", which questions not only white, but black politicians for their Hikind associations. Also see my piece "The First Borough Versus the Sixth Borough" which questions both white and black elected officials for kissing up to another Orthodox Jewish leader with his own issues.
What many back pundits who like to attack Al Sharpton dont get (I would never expect white pundits to ever get it) is that black folks see Al Sharpton as their last hope if the system screws them. If the police brutalizes them or they are attacked by a racist mob that Al Sharpton is the only one to stand up for them. They have lost all faith in black elected officials and other clergy members. So they forgive Sharpton his foibles and his faults becasue in the end he will be the first, last and only one to take their call and to stand up to the man for them. If you do not think that will engender loyalty forever then you need to hit the housing development and the barbershops of the black community where sharpton can do no wrong. Sharpton is truly teflon to a huge constituent and it just pisses white people and many black pundits who keep screaming the Emperor has no clothes and the crowd says shut the F**K up we like him naked or not.
Gate: I just read the two pieces in which you bombed Dov Hikind and Rabbi Hect for their bigotry. I hadn't seen them before. Thanks for drawing my attention to them. I am sure that I will refer to them in the future. The Hikind attack(Schtaker V Schwartzer) on May 1st antedates my involvement with Room 8. May Day. An appropriate time to issue a cry of distress. Frankly, your accurate comments on the wily Dov may have been angrier and fiercer than any I have written. Are you allowed to enter Boro Park? The piece on Rabbi Hecht was equally bold and gutsy. But do you know of any other sane White political activist of any distinction who has dared to reach out and expose these men for what they are? And have their actions made it to any major newspaper editorials or journalist's columns? Your articles make one other point. You received a single comment on the "Schtaker" piece, and I think 6 comments on the Hecht piece. The 6 comments on the Hect piece were not written in normal English. They were meaningful only to those who understood the context. These were powerful thought-provoking articles which should have shaken every reader, and evoked a plethora of responses. Instead they were met with deafening silence. I have noticed the same phenomenon whenever I write on topics involving bigotry. I wrote an article Shibboleth Time on 6/27, and it didn't get a single response. The topic was too touchy, I imagine. And then, of course, as another example, I mention from time to time that Clarence Norman with Carl Andrews beside him were engaged in what I considered flagrant anti-Semitic behavior in Crown Heights for over a decade. Lew Fidler was probably the Jewish leader who was most livid with Clarence and Carl.. And there were local Jewish Union representatives, now in high places who were on the ground during these written and verbal assaults. Yet no one has asked Carl to explain why he was standing with Clarence during those days when the convicted Felon promised to DRIVE THE JEWS OUT OF CROWN HEIGHTS. And nobody has asked Carl questions such as was he with Clarence when part of the congregation of First Baptist Church marched to Crown Street and Albany after service to picket a building where Jewish tenants were alleged to be getting priority. Today, it appears that racism is condoned when the person is an ally or a part of your profit-making enterprise. So that a man like Ed Koch could actually find himself in Clarence Norman's corner at one time. It surely looks like we are spitting in the wind when we bring up these topics, doesn't it? Or we may just be talking to each other and Rock. Thanks for listening, Gates.
Let's agree to disagree, I have walked with Sharpton through those same housing development and into those same barber shops and he is always treated like royalty then I have gone back there with elected officilas who are treated like crap. Sharpton is still a force, now do his handlers properly utilize that force and I will have to say no. I think they have made many mistakes with rev. Al but at the end of the day he is still credible with his core constituency. Peace Mo and I still disagree on a lot; but my therapist has ordered me to stop posting on his Board of Elections related stuff, in order to avoid the high blood pressure and heart palpitations caused when I am subjected to extreme personal abuse by others who lack Mr. Gumbs' highly cultivated sense of civility. It just ain't worth it, but thankfully, others have attempted to pick up my cudgels (albeit, with less nuance or factual accuracy, and without my sense of flair; more's the pity for Room 8's readers) Those of you who think Sharpton is a politically irrelevant charlatan are so wrong you should remember that people have been writing the man's political obituary for decades, and he just keeps getting bigger (anybody remember that little speech he gave on national TV at the 2004 Democratic convention?) Commentators, black or white, don't have to bow to Sharpton, but it's just as serious a mistake not to give him his due. He has been preaching week in and week out in black churches most of us have never heard of for almost 50 years now, and not surprisingly has built a following and name recognition that nobody in conventional politics can dislodge. Sharpton also holds grudges and does payback like any pol. In the case of Una Clarke, she was one of only a few black officials to publicly meet with Giuliani and serve on his largely meaningless commission to look into police conduct. Her photo-op appearance at a Diallo protest was noted by Wayne Barrett in the Voice at the time as an attempt to have it both ways: “While Owens was arrested at the 1999 protest that followed the killing of Amadou Diallo, Clarke showed up but declined to get arrested, instead making sure she was photographed with protest leader Al Sharpton. She put the picture her own photographer had taken on the front page of her council newsletter, which is mailed to her constituents. Inside the same newsletter, she was pictured with Magic Johnson at the City Hall press conference where Johnson and Giuliani announced a $30 million restoration of the old Loew's Kings movie theater in her district. Clarke cropped Giuliani out of the picture. The Johnson announcement was widely seen at the time by black leaders as an attempt to deflect attention from the ongoing protests, and to give Giuliani some black cover at a high point of anti-Giuliani feeling. Nothing has happened with the Johnson project in the nearly 18 months since the ballyhoo.” The full article is at http://www1.villagevoice.com/news/0036,barrett,17930,1.html Even before the Diallo protests, Una Clarke endorsed Freddy Ferrer for mayor in 1997, then switched to Ruth Messinger - all while Sharpton was running for mayor. The rest of us have forgotten the race; Sharpton never did. Clarke is of course a free agent who can support whomever she wants, but Sharpton is hugely popular in Central Brooklyn - I never independently checked the numbers, but I've heard from several operatives that Sharpton won the 43rd Assembly District in the 2004 presidential primary, which is the heart of the 11th congressional district. Grumble all you want, guys, but them's the facts. Don't let your hatred of Sharpton lead to you to miss the fact that, when it comes to electoral politics, he follows most of the basic rules.
(Sharpton is hugely popular in Central Brooklyn - I never independently checked the numbers, but I've heard from several operatives that Sharpton won the 43rd Assembly District in the 2004 presidential primary, which is the heart of the 11th congressional district.) Here is what I don't understand about the Rev. Let's say he is that popular, and he may be, in Central Brooklyn and perhaps elsewhere. Then it is clear he could have run for City Council, State Assembly, State Senate, or the House of Representatives, and won. He could be there, with a paid staff, spouting his views and voting on actual legislation. He could be in the house and at the table. Instead, he has run for Mayor, Governor, Senator, and President -- the very offices that such a divisive figure, regarless of his race or qualifications, could never win. In other words, he has specifically chosen NOT to hold office despite running for office year after year. Just like Jesse Jackson, BTW. In contrast with our careerist pols, who only run for open seats because it is impossible to defeat an incumbent, Sharpton is an anti-careerist and will only run if he is guaranteed to lose. What is up with that? Does this say something about the Rev? Or about his views (which may be true) about the value of being in one of those offices? I asked for Al Sharpton's help several years ago. Several years into this now 15-year-long "Big Apple" humiliation, a friend of mine suggested that I write to Al Sharpton's National Action Network. So I wrote to Al Sharpton's National Action Network in the 1990s. I told him that Gerald Cohen (Univ. MO-Rolla) and I had solved the origin of "the Big Apple," and that our nickname comes from an unknown stablehand at the New Orleans Fair Grounds in the 1920s, and that the stablehand has never been honored by New Orleans or by New York, and that he was probably the grandfather of someone still living, and that even the New York Public Library says that "the Big Apple" comes from whores (a web hoax, finally removed in 2005)... [See my website, www.barrypopik.com] There was no reply. (It was like he was my city councilmember.) OT: My wife's uncle got killed by a hit and run driver in broad daylight in midtown Manhattan almost two weeks ago, and no one's been arrested. This was the last straw. We're looking to move out of New York City. For whatever reason, people just haven't been kind to us here. As soon as our local Lawemforcemnt in Ft Pierce Had a video of a police officer slapping a young girl sprawled acroos the the cable and internet networks, mind you not the complete video, where the Black teengage girl was absolutely out of control, the networks failed to show the entire video an Al Sharpton beating down here on a plane even refused to watch the ENTIRE video, So by the end of the day, the nations eyes were turned and focused on our little town and what we were supposed to do NEXT? If i were a man of credibility like Al Sharpton wouldn't I WANT to see the entire video before i made a spectacul of myself on the eveniing news..odd thing the next day when the truth be told about the girls complete actions SUDDENLY Al was NOWHERE TO BE FOUND..BUT the nation only remebers the nite before Maybe if Mr Sharpton was made Financially Responsible for character faults or unjust descions well the wouldn't that be a spectacul on the evening news? Post new comment |
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Thank god that a well respected african-american activist FINALLY speaks out against this charlatan. Shapton claims to speak for the black community, but really only speaks for himself. Yet, the mainstream media covers his every move and utterance as if he WAS the black community. The media hasn't figured out yet what a corrupt blowhard this guy is. Or maybe they have, and cover him anyway in attempt to sell newspapers and get ratings.
In any event, BRAVO for taking a real stand against Sharp-tongue as you call him.