When I criticized his and Jesse Jacksons irresponsible and divisive methods of
seeking social justice Friday morning, Al Sharpton dismissed the attack by
questioning my credibility to lodge a complaint.
There are always guys that are not in the ring who want to call the fight,
Sharpton said. You know that going in the ring; youre going to have critics
You cant satisfy people who are not in the ring.
Its a clever response. It ignores the obvious.
Jesse and Al dont want anyone else in the ring. Theyve turned the fight for
racial equality into a money and fame pit, a place to wrestle for camera time,
consulting jobs and handshake deals that would make NCAA investigators blush
in astonishment.
If people with a modicum of integrity were allowed in the ring and, more
importantly, allowed to choose the opponents and the length of the battle, the
money would run dry and Jesse and Al would be forced to look for real work.
Fighting bums is easy. Just look at what Jesse and Al James did to Don Imus,
a washed-up, recovering drug addict. They knocked out Imus in a couple of
rounds.
But at what cost, and what was the real purpose?
The young women on the Rutgers basketball team are now targets, the
recipients of death threats and harassment, according to East Coast media
reports.
I have no problem with young people engaging in battle and suffering severe
consequences for a righteous cause. We need more of that. The people who really
provided the energy for the civil rights movement were in college.
But getting in harms way over the ignorant utterances of a shock jock?
Getting in harms way so a coach could have her moment to tell the world about
the troubles shes known? Getting in harms way so Al and Jesse James can flex
their muscle by beating up another tomato can?
No way. It was irresponsible, self-indulgent and typical of the kind of
domestic terrorism Sharpton and Jackson have come to specialize in.
Again, I am not defending Don Imus. I shed no tears over his comeuppance.
I simply question the motives of the people who pushed the hardest and
shouted the loudest for Imus demise. Those people are now covering themselves
with the fig leaf that they have a genuine interest in stopping the anti-black,
women-objectifying language in rap music.
According to Sharpton, hes been working on this issue for a number of years.
Hes clever. Fortunately, were not stupid. We just watched Jesse and Al sink
their teeth in Imus rear end and not remove them until MSNBC and CBS put
knives in Imus.
That tenacity and enthusiasm have been completely missing from their fight to
clean up hip hop. Whether we like him or not, Minister Louis Farrakhan is the
only leader with a consistent position on that issue. What we get from Jesse
and Al are half-hearted public relations ploys, fights that end well before any
blood is drawn. Its a game, a game Jesse and Al have mastered.
You can create the appearance of putting up a fight, and that ensures no one
else will enter the ring.
As an example, talk with black race-car drivers about their feelings about
NASCARs dealings with Jesse Jackson. I have. Their belief is, if you sponsor
the right and enough Rainbow Coalition events, you can avoid Jesse ever
bringing his circus and negative spotlight to your organization.
You follow me?
The ring Jesse and Al are boxing in is just as corrupt as the one where Mike
Tyson sparred.
In a one-year time span, under the guise of fighting for our equality, Jesse
and Al contributed to putting Duke lacrosse players and Rutgers basketball
players in harms way.
For what? Was Don Imus hiding weapons of mass destruction? Were the lacrosse
players an international threat to escorts? Or maybe the truth just doesnt
matter to Jesse and Al when it comes to furthering their agenda.
Whatever integrity Jesse and Al say our president lacks, you have to wonder
if they dont have the exact same deficiency.
If theres a fight to push Jesse and Al out of the ring, you can sign me up.
Theyre an embarrassment. They disgrace the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., a
great man whose efforts caused division so that we could one day come together.
Jesse and Al cause division for profit, and demand from others the very
things theyre unwilling to do judge people on the content of their character
and follow the truth wherever it leads, regardless of color.
Truth is on the side of the righteous. Jesse and Al operate as though they
dont believe in our righteousness. They are far more dangerous than Don Imus.
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To reach Jason Whitlock, call (816) 234-4869 or send e-mail to [EMAIL
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