Now that he’s played a huge part in bringing down Don Imus, Al Sharpton needs to start making some apologies of his own to the Duke University lacrosse players who were exonerated of rape charges this week. Sharpton pre-judged these poor guys and found a second career slamming them incessantly in the media and now he has to be held responsible for his racist remarks.Sharpton called the players “rich white boys” and announced to the world that they were guilty before any evidence was presented in court. As far as Sharpton was concerned, they were guilty until proven innocent. It was just another chance for the sharp-tongued one to bash white folks.
Do you think he would have cared for a minute about the Duke case if these players had been accused of raping a white stripper? Or what if it the players themsleves had been black? Would Al have gotten so enthusiastically involved then?
Al Sharpton's words caused turmoil on the Duke campus and threw flames on an already blazing fire. This kind of lynch mob mentality is supposed to be one of the things Sharpton abhors. Which he does – as long as it fits in with his own personal agenda.
What did Sharpy want from the whole thing anyway? The answer is simple. Face time -- on CNN, The O'Reilly Report, MSNBC, Court TV and every major network in this country. Which he got big-time, because controversy means viewers -- something Sharpton is well aware of. As they say, hating gets ratings. And Al Sharpton can hate white people with the best of them, regardless of whether they deserve it or not.
Now, I’m not saying Don Imus was in any way justified in what he said about the Rutgers Women’s basketball team. He deserves everything he got. I support CBS for booting him off the air. There is no excuse for racism of any kind in the world, period. But, when you call kids “rich white boys” and vilify them as completely as Sharpton did, I have a problem with that.
I remember one summer when I was home on vacation from college, my father (who is of Italian heritage) said he believed that Spike Lee was a racist because of a scene in his movie “Do the Right Thing” where some black youths destroy an Italian family’s pizzeria. I distinctly recall looking my dad in the eye and replying, “Dad, how can you say something like that? Black people can’t be racists!”
Well guess what? ANYONE can be a racist.
Al Sharpton is a deft opportunist, as he showed us long ago with the Tawana Brawley rape hoax. The man makes a living out of chastising mostly white people for their wrongs against the black race. But, when he’s wrong, which it’s been proven he was in this instance, where is his apology? Why does he get to keep his radio show?
Sharpton has made a fortune from race-related commentary throughout the years and it’s time he was forced to be held accountable for incendiary comments like the ones he made against the Duke lacrosse players.
There cannot be a double standard and that has nothing to do with race. But, it does have everything to do with what's right. People from every race, color or creed should be able to see that rather clearly.
There is no doubt in my mind that Al Sharpton owes those players an apology. But, do you think it’s forthcoming? Don’t count on it!
