An Unlikely Defense of Sharpton

A letter to the editor of the Washington Examiner newspaper that places me in the unusual position of defending the Rev. Al Sharpton, a man who I have loathed since the Tawana Brawley affair:

Re: Al Sharpton is today's Orval Faubus, October 19th.

The perfervid Star Parker writes, "[Al] Sharpton blocked Limbaugh like Gov. Orval Faubus tried to block black children from entering Central High in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957." This is a ridiculous argument. First, to equate an activist's campaign against a radio talk show host's effort to purchase a professional sports franchise with an Arkansas governor's defiance of federal law in preventing children from attending school is, on its face, a risible absurdity. Second, attempting to buy a footabll team is a privilege while seeking an education is a right. Third, whatever influence Sharpton had in bringing pressure to bear on the NFL and the investment group, he lacked the actual power to prevent Limbaugh from acquiring an interest in the team. Faubus, on the hand, as the highest ranking state official, wielded enormous power in depriving a group of its constitutional rights. And finally, Limbaugh was unceremoniously dumped not because of his conservative politics - the truth is, that club of billionaire owners is every bit as conservative as Limbaugh - but because he is a polarizing figure whose presence would bring unwanted attention to the league and, most importantly, interfere with the flow of commerce. Ironically, Limbaugh was insuffiently conservative for the club. On the original point, Al Sharpton might be a lot of things but Orville Faubus he isn't.

Clash of the Titans

Entertainment Tonight ET, which in the wake of Michael Jackson's death has refashioned itself into in an organ of investigative journalism, reports that funeral preparations entail the momentous clash of two outsized egos - Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton - over who will be anointed to deliver the eulogy for the King of Pop.

The Jesse and Al Show

An unfortunate byproduct of Michael Jackson's death is the reemergence of two of the greatest hustlers and ambulance chasers without law degrees of all-time, the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton. The former rushed to L.A. reportedly at the behest of the Jackson family to express their concerns about the circumstances surrounding the death. As is usual with Jesse, many of the points he raises are valid but what is problematic is the messenger - his ego and his motives. The latter, not to be outdone, arrived later in L.A. to pitch his grand idea of a worldwide celebration of the life of the King of Pop. Jackson and Sharpton are not solely to blame for inserting themselves in the middle of matters deemed racial or having racial overtones. For their enablers are the news media who reflexively contact this willing duo who never shy away from microphones and cameras.

Don Imus

One of the great non-stories of the week was the reaction, or non-reaction, to Don Imus reverting to form in his racist comments about Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Pacman Jones, the troubled football player with a propensity for getting into trouble off the field - he has 6 arrests to support the claim. Well, except for the insufferable Rev. Al Sharpton, who is addicted to stomping out racial injustice both real and imagined, there has been no great hue and cry for this motherfucker to be taken off the air or banished to the radio equivalent of Siberia or otherwise castigated for taking shots at black folks. Don Imus simply does not matter. Even all the bullshit about him and the Rutgers University basketball team was a waste of time because nobody should have given a shit about Imus, much less what he had to say. So to paraphrase the late George Carlin, fuck Don Imus and the horse he rode in on.