Rev Al Sharpton.

[Hesh]

I live in the U.K so i dont get to see much of the American news other than what's on FOX.. From what Bill O'Reilly & co report, they really don't like Rev Al Sharpton & i'd like to know why.. He comes over as a well spoken, fair-minded man.. He's a Civil rights spokesman, so someone please enlighten me, why is Al ASharpton not respected..?? Thanks in advance.

[ccgirl]

My personal opinion? Because he's a racist.

[GreenTea]

He's a racist, and worse he's a racial pimp. As long as he can keep everyone thinking in terms of race, and defining everything by racial issues, keeping the lines drawn as it were, and pointing to them constantly, then he has a power base, a political platform, in short a job. He's a far cry from our true crusaders such as Martin Luther King or the lady (what was her name?) who refused to sit in the back of the bus.

This is all just MY OPINION, of course... I've never met the man personally -- I'm basing this soley on what I see and hear him say in the media.

[historyteach]

Rosa Parks is her name.

Shalom!

[historyteach]

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

I've known rivers:

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

[Hesh]

From what i've seen on The FOX news channel, i'd say Bill O'Reilly & his side-kick Michelle Malkin are a whole lot worse, O'Reilly especially.!

[Emimily]

i'm so sorry that the only american news channel you get is fox... owch. see, i watch bbc news here, 'cause it focuses more on the globe and less on paris hilton.

i leave the ring on al sharpton. there are good things and bad things... like the aclu, y'know? as far as o'reilly, well... bill o'reilly is a sick man, and i'm in a compassionate place, so i'll leave that one alone. do you ever get to watch the daily show with jon stewart? pretty funny.

[Hesh]

Yeah, we get to see the 'Global edition' with John Stewart, but i don't find him at all funny. Jay Leno, now he's funny.
I've gotta say that even though i consider Bill O'Reilly to be a complete penis, i always watch his "no spin" Factor show.

[~Troy~]

Google is your friend;

The wikipedia link was at the top of my search, and i think it pretty much sums it all up, good & bad. The message board won't let me post the link quite yet.

[forgottenchild]

we discussed this in my mass media class and the consensus was that he is too far extreme in his views. he attacks people and then expects others to not attack him.

[ccgirl]

forgotten; you said it very well. Remember many years ago that young girl claimed she was raped by a bunch of white men and Al Sharpton practically called for their heads on a platter. It turned out to be a lie. Nobody called Al Sharpton on his behavior. Every issue since that has an iota of racial nuance to it, he jumps on. It seems like everyone from Michael Richards to Don Imus (neither who I particularly care for) have to go on his show and get chastized and grovel to him about their comments. But, what happened when the Duke lacrosse players were found not guilty of assaulting the black girl; Sharpton was ready to have their heads on a platter. Who asked him to apologize for his actions? No one? Al Sharpton is worse than a racist; he is a self promoting, grand standing racist.

P.S. I hate Bill O'Relly, for the record.

[Hesh]

Troy, this is why i started this thead. The replies i get here is something i'm not gonna get on Google or wikipedia.. Some good post's here, thanks everyone..

[GreenTea]

Tell your friends... You're getting some good, inside scoop here -- pass it around!

[ccgirl]

Emimily; I take exception to one thing you said; I do like Jon Stewart, but Colbert rocks my world! LOL

[Hesh]

Can anyone tell me if Al Sharpton is well liked & respected within the Black Communities..?? My guess is that he is.?!

[ccgirl]

I am not black so I can't answer with any authority,but I would guess he's a force but not necessarily respected; my money on respect would be for someone like Obama; the man has class and integrity.

[Emimily]

colbert is so funny... ohhhh my...

[Gmoney]

First of all, Bill O'Reilly doesn't like anyone that doesn't agree with his views 100%. Secondly, your impression of Sharpton as fair-minded and intelligent are on point because he is. He's just as fair-minded and intelligent as anyone else. Does that mean he's perfect and won't make poor judgments? Of course not. He's human and entitled to view things his way, just as those who oppose him are entitled.

Sharpton has been around a very long time and has done a lot of good for many Black communities in America, as well as being a voice for Civil Rights. He is well respected by most Black people for his intentions (not so much his decisions or accomplishments) and is considered by many to be one of the so-called "Black Leaders" in this country.

What disturbs me in this thread is that some of the views expressed here are based primarily on limited information. And to conclude that Sharpton is a racist is way off base. Unless you've walked in his shoes and have seen first-hand what racism really is, you can't begin to understand why he does the things he do or chooses the causes he fights for (even when misled like everyone else). Another thing that should be considered is that the mainstream media doesn't always show every side (like when Sharpton admits he was wrong or mistaken) and most people end up stuck with old information by which they make personal judgments. Mainstream media has to protect there positions and their investors. Special interest groups have major control over what is shown or heard and many folks get caught up in what I call "The Matrix Effect" - you know what they want you to know, and you hear & see what they want you to hear & see. Reading books or taking college courses can help open minds in regard to racial issues or the influences of the media (like, Mass Media, Institutional Racism, Preservation of Privilege, Contemporary Afro-American Issues or African American Studies).

Bill O'Reilly is a self-righteous, closed-minded and "forcefull" man. He isn't well respected by minorities in this country because his views and positions are anti-minority. He's very intelligent and well-spoken, but he makes many mistakes (which he seldomly apologizes for). CCgirl, Sharpton gets called to the rug for his remarks and behavior all the time...you just missed it. And the reason Richards & Imus went to "grovel" before Sharpton was to save face amongst their Black fans and supporters (trying to salvage their careers). Why go to Sharpton if he's not respected by Blacks? And lets not be confused here ... respect is power. Imus, Richards, O'Reilly and Sharpton are simply flawed humans who suffer from the same biases, prejudices and ignorances most other humans suffer from.

Al Sharpton may jump to erroneous conclusions from time to time, and I personally see him as an opportunist, but I certainly don't see how anyone could conclude that he's a racist. A racist is someone who has a prejudiced belief that their race is superior to others and based upon that belief they practice discrimination against those they deem themselves superior to. Blacks in America, in general, are incapable of being racist.

Oh yeah...I was done with O'Reilly when he called Usher a rapper (Usher is an R&B-Pop singer). I guess because he's a young black entertainer he qualifies.

GarryW
A Black Man

[ccgirl]

Gary, just to set the record straight, believe me, I HATE Bill O'Reilly. I truly believe he's insane. I don't like Don Imus either and I was thrilled he was fired and just surprised it hadn't happened long ago, and I really don't think about Michael Richards one way or the other. I just don't think Al Sharpton is the wonderful, benevolent black leader people should be looking to. And no, I'm not black, I'm Jewish so don't believe for one minute I haven't heard my share of predjudicial comments (Heimie Town anyone?) I also believe the "illustrious" Hillary Rodham Clinton has made some derogatory remarks about Jews also, so I'm not limiting it to a race issue. What I'm trying to say, and probably not very well, is I believe Al Sharpton is in it for Al Sharpton, and there is black leadership out there that is so much better, and less self serving. So, for me, it's not a black issue for me; it's just an Al Sharpton issue.

[Gmoney]

CCgirl,

We certainly agree that Sharpton is really all about himself. I've never considered him as "the wonderful, benevolent black leader people should be looking to" as you stated, and would never endorse him in that way. My opinion is that he's hasty in choosing his fights and has a history of jumping the gun. And I'm sure there are many other Blacks that consider his credibility pretty low. Jesse Jackson's "heimie town" remark never helped his causes or increased his popularity either. If someone had said Al Sharpton comes off as a bigot or prejudiced at times, you'd get no argument from me. I've never seen a halo around his head. Yet, to get back to the original question asked by Hesh...Al Sharpton does get a lot of respect. It just isn't from everybody.

Politicians and activists say the darndest things (and often pay for it).

[GreenTea]

Originally Posted by GarryW

...A racist is someone who has a prejudiced belief that their race is superior to others and based upon that belief they practice discrimination against those they deem themselves superior to. Blacks in America, in general, are incapable of being racist...

Noooo... A racist is someone who forms prejudical conclusions and holds prejudicial attitudes regarding themselves and others based on race -- they perceive the world through race boundaries. What you described is closer to a bigot.

To say that Blacks are "...incapable of being racist..." is itself very much a racist statement. Any human being is capable of racism and bigotry, even those whose bloodlines descend from Africa.

[Hesh]

Oh c'mon GreenTea, give the guy a break.. We are all racist to a degree, even though we'd all deny that we were.

[Gmoney]

Greentea,

I beg to differ and I know exactly what I said. You're the one who appears to be confused here. Since we're referring to a person being a racist, I'd assume we're talking about the noun version of the word - not a belief or attitude. What you've just defined is the word "racism," not racist. The suffix "ist" is an agentive ending, as in organist, manicurist, and violinist, in this case, describing what a person is or does - not their perceptions. Racism is a belief, while being a racist is someone who practices or acts upon that belief. The suffix -ism is a noun suffix. That is, when added to words or word roots, -ism forms nouns. It comes from the Greek noun suffix -ismos and means roughly “the act, state, or theory of.”

A "bigot" is one who is intolerantly devoted to his or her prejudices or opinions (often referred to as a fanatic). Bigotry can often have very little to do with race, and include or expand into gender, height, weight, education, regional and/or demographic differences, etc... (i.e., "Those damned Northerners!!)

"Prejudice" is a word that is formed by the preffix, "pre" which means beforehand, and the word "judge"...ultimately meaning to cast judgment or form an opinion without adequate basis (or before understanding or knowing the truth). Stereotyping often falls under prejudice, and like bigotry, can have very little to do with race or ethnicity (if at all).

To say that Blacks are "...incapable of being racist..." is itself very much a racist statement. Any human being is capable of racism and bigotry, even those whose bloodlines descend from Africa.

Content -vs- Context, my friend. Seeing that there are differences between the meaning of each of these words, it is important to understand the differences and not blend them for convenience (which I didn't). I will recant my statement only because it was an over-generalization, but my basis for saying it stands - and that is MOST Blacks in America lack the power to "practice discrimination" due to being a minority. Most Blacks in America, after hundreds of years of oppression, racial discrimination and assimiliation, are incapable of viewing themselves as superior in a country where they remain a minority. So...in that context, my statement wasn't racist at all. People who view themselves as racially superior do not take on the characteristics of those they deem racially inferior.

(Sorry for the English lesson) I'm done with this thread because to continue would distract from the topic and invite controversy.

GarryW

[ccgirl]

Hesh, first off I agree with your remark to give Garry a break.

Second back to the subject at hand. I just compare someone like Al Sharpton to someone like Colin Powell, who while he's made mistakes is an honorable, wonderful man, and heck, if you want to get real silly about it, I respect Will Smith more than Al Sharpton; the guy just loves his family, lives his life and lets others live theirs.


Garry made a point and I don't remember it exactly and I don't want to lose my train of thought, but I think it was something about politicians or people being in that type of position. Truth be told there's my predjudice; most of them are oily, LOL

For me, this conversation (I hope) has never been a general racial one against blacks; for me,it's been about Al Sharpton. Simple as that.

[GreenTea]

GarryW...

Okaaay... "...when you're losing ground on the merits, make up for it by criticizing the communication..." ... That's a sophistry which has been around for at least 2500 years now, pal...

In the form of the noun which I was using, racism is a thought process, (typically learned). When utilized by a person, it results in the person forming prejudical conclusions and in the person holding prejudicial attitudes regarding themselves and others based on race -- the person perceives the world through race boundaries.

A racist is someone who employs racism in their thinking whether they realize it or not -- a racist practices racism by it being embedded within their worldview.

A racist therefore, is someone who forms prejudical conclusions and holds prejudicial attitudes regarding themselves and others based on race.

As you yourself just said, "Racism is a belief...", (that is, a pattern of thought), "...while being a racist is someone who practices...", (as in utilizes), "...that belief."

So much for the "English lesson". I stand by my use of the language. Obviously my meaning came through without any trouble.

On to your content and context... First you recant your statement, then you turn around and make it again, aggressively defending it.

"...are incapable of viewing themselves as superior..."
How about instead we all view ourselves as equals? Why does there need to be a superior / inferior dynamic involved at all, especially one based on race?

"...People who view themselves as racially superior..."
"...those they deem racially inferior..."
Sounds like a lot of racism to me.

"...I'm done with this thread..."
I'll certainly agree with you on that one.

As I said earlier, in my opinion Al Sharpton is a racist and a racial pimp.

Colin Powell on the other hand, (I mention him because he was brought up)... I have nothing but good things to say about him.

I'm done.