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AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
"Is the Rev Al Sharpton a racist?" seems to be a reasonable question to ask. Certainly, he seems to see most issues in modern America through the prism of race and racism, which could indeed be used as one definition of someone being a racist.
That the Rev Al Sharpton is a racist is also an accusation that is being thrown around in certain corners of the world of commentary: not all of them necessarily just the usual suspects, those well off the reservation of polite discourse.
In this modern world, the question of Rev Al's racism or not really comes down to what definition of racism one wants to use. There are, sadly, several different ones which is something that the Rev Martin Luther King would have hoped would have all been over with by now.
From one section of the left we get an analysis of racism which states that only those of the dominant power group can possibly be racist. Given that it is most certainly true that whites are indeed the dominant group in modern America (even if only numerically) then this assertion gives us the conclusion that only whites can be racists. Rev Al Sharpton, who the acute observer will note is not in fact sufficiently melanin challenged to be "white", cannot therefore be a racist.
You might, along with many others, think that this particular definition, a seeming emanation from college bull sessions, really isn't worth considering and you might well be right in that.
A second definition of racism and one that is more commonly used is that racists are those who beat up upon, oppress, those of other racial groups. Leave aside that there's not really anything definable as a "racial group" for a moment here. In this sense Al Sharpton is clearly not a racist. He may be annoying, he may be wrong more often than not and he may have a highly developed sense of his own self-worth but these personal failings do not make him a racist in this definition.
However, there is a third and more correct definition of racism. This is that people judge others by their race. Is Rev Al a racist in this sense? Quite certainly, he views much of modern America through the prism of race, he agitates for what he regards as his racial group, he rarely addresses any issue at all without mentioning race.That is, the Rev Al Sharpton discriminates upon the basis of race and thus, under this definition, he could be described as racist.
On the grander level though, whether Rev Al Sharpton is a racist or not depends upon which of the three definitions of racism you care to use. It is, quite literally, your choice.
If you'd like to make your views known, my colleague is running a poll on whether the Rev Al is indeed racist or not.
Comments
He absolutely is a racist, based on his activities, statements and affiliations of the last 20 years. He HAS encited riots and been the driving force behind racially motivated hate and anger.
Racist? No, he's just a dumb fat-ass nigger that uses his own people for his gain. He is laughable! Not every black person agrees with this black gerry-curl wearing slimball. They know he is game. Maybe one day someone will shut this tub of shit up!
What an absurd question.. American and New York has been steeped in racism for so long that anyone who dares confront inequality and the brutality perpetrated by whites is going to be assaulted. Furthermore, there are millions of Al Sharpton's out here and we are willing to confront spiritually, morally sick people across the nation. Al's actions, of course, gonna make white folk angry. What's comes out is already on the inside, i.e. hate, anger, prejudice, murder and injustice. Who cares what his enemy thinks anyway. America is founded on pretty good principles and it will never live up to them until the last ignorant, godless, bigot is eradicated.
He is hands down an obnoxious racist. I am so glad people are finally stepping out of denial and realizing this.
Rev Al is the most racist person there is.
What a well written article. I really like the way you laid out the diff interpretations of the term racist. Yes, I think Al could be considered a racist.
What is troubling is there is a lot of reverse discrimination going on. If a black man stands up and yells I AM PROUD TO BE BLACK he would likely receive nods of approvement. If a white man stood up and yelled I AM PROUD TO BE WHITE he would likely be considerd a white supremacist.
People like Sharpton who put so much focus on race actually contribute to the very thing they preach about eradicating. By his actions alone you can tell he very much enjoys the race drama. He's constantly trying to insert race drama into every event because it feeds his ego and gives him cause to fight for. Without this war is no longer important. This way he can play mighty underdog who is rising up to defeat the evil establishment. This victim role is powerful stuff and people love it. It gives them an enemy to blame and vilify.
You all are taking this thing way too seriously. I have my own negative opinions about Al Sharpton too, but his speech was totally true and in no way racist. It is apparent that Michael Jackson was black, regardless of what color his skin was when he died. All Sharpton was saying was that MJ broke the color barrier in many aspects of life and helped to pave the way for blacks to gain some recognition in their talents. Sharpton’s whole speech was about the love that MJ taught all of us to have with one another, so why are you all hating him for what you think he implied?
You all seem to forget that there was a time that blacks had to fight just to vote, let alone get recognition for inventing Rock & Roll like Little Richard did. You can ask a million people to this day who invented Rock & Roll and they may say Elvis Presley. You also seem to forget that the first video by a black person played on MTV was "Thriller." Is that not completely breaking the color barrier in entertainment?
The argument that you make in favor off Al Sharpton being a racist is either lazy or incomplete, which these comments bare out. People, including yourself, brought to this article what you already felt about him. The result being that this article has not added or taken away from what he said at Michael Jackson Memorial. I am not an all Sharpton fan, but I did find that what he said at the memorial was historically accurate, and more importantly, his point was that Michael Jackson was a bridge across "races". If anything, this article only speaks to the increasing sensitivity of people like yourself who are living in a world becoming less white and less like them, which gives you something more in common with Al Sharpton than you will probably want to admit. You saw racism in a place where it did not exist.
Sorry, but do a basic search on first MTV black video...NOT Michael Jackson.
tina turner, donna summer, eddie grant (somehow?) and musical youth "pass the dutchie" all aired on mtv before michael jackson`s "billie jean",
I just ask that Racist Al get the facts straight. He also said that MJ was the first black person on the cover of Rolling Stone....NOT, not even close in fact. Does anyone ever check Racist Al's "facts"? Does he ever bother to check or does he just open his racist mouth and spew?
I despise this man and wish the media would quit giving him an opportunity to be heard!
Hey Mark there is no such thing as reverse racisim, your either racist or your not. Tim why don't you give credit where credit is due when it comes to this argument and say that the issue was brought up on the Opie and Anthony show on XM 202 you dope.
"Rev" Al is a racist and a liar who thrives off of destroying the progress of people like Obama. He has been caught slandering the name of god people (IE: the Tawanna Brawley case) for over 20 years and has NO credibility with the world. When is the media going to expose this embezzling fraud for what he really is? When are afor-americans going to start thinking for themselves and stop associating themselves with criminals like Al Sharpton?
He is a racist, separatist piece of excrement. Al Sharpton continues to profit from the rift he helps thrive between whites and blacks; just when we think we have a little breathing room racially, he comes in screaming "I AM OUTRAGED! I HAVEN'T BEEN ON TV IN TWO WEEKS!" I absolutely hate him.
if u hate him then u hate god ............?????????
Micheal Jackson said, "It doesn't matter if you are black or white." Nobody could live farther from that sentiment than Sharpton. How Al Sharpton managed to hitch his wagon to the Jackson parade is beyond me. It was likely because Obama has kept him as far away as possible from his campaign. Al had to do some revisionist history with Michael's struggle. What struggle. Everybody loved him as a kid?!!! He was cute kid, white or black, and was a music genius. There should have been unity among blacks and whites with Michael's greatness. The allegations of Michael's molestation are not unfounded. He paid out 15 million to silence one child. Its over but we are allowed to have an opinion. Personally, I hope it wasn't true.
AL SHARPTON YOU ARE DISGRACED TO INSTITUTION OF BEING A MAN OF THE CLOTH.....I KNOW YOU WILL GO TO HELL YOU ARE DEVILS ADVOCATE....YOU ARE A RACIST,,,,
who r u to judge????? u r not god, so don't judge.............no man or woman can cast a stone.
OPIE & ANTHONY have been on him for years now
no judge, just a "fruit inspector" as Christ told us to be...This guy is a POS
That poll in the link gives the following "yes" option:
"Yes, he's as bad as the KKK only in reverse"
the KKK? Excuse me? Everybody voting yes with that KKK link needs to look up what KKK stood for.
Sharpton may have played the race card a bit too much but to compare his words with the KKK is ludicrous. I can't believe how many idiots voted yes on this. It's dumb, people. Really dumb.
Tina Turner & co were aired on MTV but they were the symbolic black artists.
The problem was that they only showed Turner's videos at impossible time slots like 3 a.m. In other words, when most people aren't watching anyway. Just enough to claim "but we do show black artists so we're not racist"
When Jackson came along, at first, they either refused to show his videos or at the most, give him the same "symbolic black artist on MTV but only when 99% of our viewers aren't watching" treatment.
What Michael Jackson and his record company did was force MTV to show his video clips all the time by threatening to pull back all other artists from MTV (and his record company had big names to pull back like Bruce Springsteen).
Only with a considerable amount of pressure did they show Jackson's videos on MTV and other black artists like Turner and Prince were able to take advantage from that pressure because Jackson proved that black artists can have a global appeal beyond skin color.
He is a racist and a liar... BEFORE Michael Jackson ever appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone (RS81) the following artists had already appeared: Tina Turner (RS2, RS45), Jimi Hendrix (RS4, RS7, RS26, RS34), Otis Redding (RS4), Chuck Berry (RS35), Miles Davis (RS48), Sly & The Family Stone (RS54), Little Richard (RS59) and Muhammad Ali (RS78).
See for yourself: www.rollingstone.com/photos/covers#
While Al Sharpton is definitely "racial", he is also "opportunistic"; that's where I have a problem with him and that is where he bleeds into a racist category for me. There are plenty of people that are racial who talk about differences between races and point out injustices without having a financial agenda behind their motives. Other minority leaders will speak about education, community improvements, etc while Al Sharpton immediately plays the victim, with his hand out. I understand that it's part of what he does, but in my book he is no better than an ambulance-chasing attorney that is just focused on the next pay day and that's where he loses credibility with me. Unfortunately, he has been given too much importance in the media while other leaders, whose message is less "victim-centric", have been relatively ignored. I guess there is only so much room in the spotlight and a screaming Al Sharpton makes for a nice news clip.
This guy is a big douche racist.
he talks crap about other races and doesn't try to hide the fact that he is a racist which we all know he is.mr obama would do well do distance himself from him and jesse jackson,phil gordon the phoenix mayor.
Jules, you're a self-righteous jerk.
To prove that AL is a racist,look and the deal with IMUS on the radio. He (IMUS) stated the same thing that BLACK people have been saying for years. AL went after IMUS like a dog in heat,AL should back up and go after the people that started this.If I am wright he said on the TODAY show he will go after the hip-hop and rap singers as well,when? when he is dead? he needs to go after them in same manner.
One more thing, we all can make this go away if we all do one thing that is if you dont wont me to say what you say then dont say it!! It is not wright for one group to say something and not the other that is racist!!!!! Think about?
I think he and his running partner Rev. Jackson are both racists. There can only be one definition for racism. If you judge or dislike someone based on race only...that is racism, it has nothing to do with being a minority or majority. It has nothing to do with power. It has nothing to do with your social status. It has nothing to do with whether or not you are rich or poor.It has absolutely nothing to do with what your own race is. Anyone can be a racist....just like Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson. Period!!!!!
He is a racist, separatist piece of excrement. Al Sharpton makes money by hurting black people, Just when they start getting more acseptible, he pulls one of these race card deals, and then blacks go back 2 steps, because of a---holes like him. GROW UP REV. AL
Al and Jessie are both flaming racists. They hate whitey with a viscious passion. Hey Jules, please give me a break. Are you Al's daughter or something like that?
A racist! The 8/28/10 D.C. speech clinched it, with him speaking angrily about 'those people' trying to 'steal the day,' and the U.S. having a 'long way to go' toward equality while Beck's message was less divisive, more Christian. With billions spent on poverty since Johnson, gov't minority programs and special housing initiatives for minorities & the poor that helped topple Fannie & Freddie, programs targeting minorities in public and private sectors, free education, open lunch counters, freedom to sit anywhere in a bus, ACORN being funded by taxpayer dollars until recently, freedom to vote--we're no longer talking about equality of opportunity; Al is talking about equality of outcome based on nothing but race--HIS race.
sharpton is a disgusting individual. he's an extreme left racist bigot. he is an un-educated idiotic fool.
i wouldn't call him black, but he is a negro. blacks are intelligent and productive. sharpton is an unintelligent, unproductive negro. if i ever met sharpton in person and he ranted his disgust i would personally knock out every one of his teeth and hand them all back to him. sharpton is the reason why shotguns were invented. if he came on to my property down here in west tennessee i would blow the top of his negro head off, for you see, there is no tresspassing on my property, tresspassers are shot on sight - it's posted. watch your negro ass sharpton, that you don't set foot on my property. i would love to show you how welcome you would not be.
sharpton and bob beckel are the same, i'd shoot both of their damn heads off and beckel is white which shows i am not racist. beckel please tresspass on my property punk.
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