Party Lines - Was Sharpton out of line? Is it time to let it go?
Party Lines - Was Sharpton out of line? Is it time to let it go?
By Todd Weiler, UtahClipper 15.MAY.07
By Todd Weiler, UtahClipper 15.MAY.07
‘The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception; the one who lies with sincerity.” [French writer Andre Gide] Last week, the Reverend Al Sharpton stated during a debate on religion that, “Those that really believe in God will defeat [Mitt Romney] anyway, so don't worry about that - that’s a temporary situation." Romney’s response was that Sharpton’s statement “shows that bigotry still exists in some corners.”
On his radio show the next day, Sharpton said, “It might be good that the Romney people were dumb enough to make this an issue.” He later stated, “This is a blatant effort by the Romney campaign to fabricate a controversy.” Sharpton ought to know. This is a man who has made a career out of fabricating controversies. He has led numerous publicity-seeking protests following fabricated incidents of racial attacks.
My first memory of Sharpton dates back to 1987, when he spread the hoax that 15-year-old Tawana Brawley was abducted, raped, and smeared with feces by a group of white men. He later lost a civil suit for defamation and was ordered to pay $345,000 for his slander of an innocent man.Sharpton incited a mob in 1991 after a black child was accidentally run over by a Jewish neighbor. During a protest that he organized, a young rabbinical student was stabbed to death in a crowd chanting “kill the Jews.”In 1995, Sharpton used a landlord-tenant dispute to incite racial hatred. Sharpton set up picket lines in front of a Jewish store. Later, one of Sharpton’s protestors burst into the store shooting and set it on fire. Seven store employees died. Last year, Sharpton publicly criticized the Duke lacrosse players who were falsely accused of assaulting a stripper. They have since been exonerated.
Sharpton’s latest foray into the public debate was to call for the firing of Don Imus for his racial slurs. After Imus apologized, Sharpton still lobbied CBS and NBC to terminate him. He said Imus’ intent could not be considered when his actions were “over the line.” He also said that no matter how good or decent Mr. Imus might be at heart, his actions in this case had “set a precedent” that would invite other commentators to make similar comments."Yet when confronted by LDS talk show host Glen Beck, Sharpton refused to follow his own standard. He said “[it] was not my intention to have said anything against Mormons . . . if I, inadvertently, or my words inadvertently hurt any Mormon, I apologize to a Mormon only because that is not my intent, nor my belief.”Despite Sharpton’s blatant hypocrisy, Latter-day Saints should “forgive and forget.” Not only has Sharpton made it politically incorrect to criticize Mormons, he has given the Romney campaign a lot of positive publicity and the upper hand on the issue of religion.
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