# Is Al Sharpton as bad and as powerful as the right makes him out to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 29, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442 "2014-12-29T15:28:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/21 "2014-12-29T20:19:04Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > He was mistaken in trusting Tawana Brawley. > > Shapton is hated by the right because he regularly stands up against what he perceives to be racism, he is black himself, and he is a skilled and gifted speaker who is smarter, and comes off smarter, than any of his critics. The man has a clarity when he speaks, in tone and content that is truly stunning. Do you believe his anti-Semitic and homophobic remarks were also “mistakes”? Do you think he was “mistaken” in claiming that Tawanaa Brawley was subjected to “IRA initiation tactics” or that the then Attorney General of New York Robert Abrams masturbated to pictures of Brawley? Thanks in advance for your answer. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/22 "2014-12-29T20:30:58Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I’m glad you mentioned Palin, because while I won’t deny she’s got a following, her national profile is as high as it is because liberals love to hate her. John McCain did not choose her as his running mate because liberals hate her. Fox News didn’t give her a primetime jabbering show because liberals hate her. A&E or whoever didn’t give her a travel (?) show because liberals hate her. Her public profile is high because (1) there is a substantial group of morons to whom she appeals, and (2) she is _really_ good at selling herself to that group. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/23 "2014-12-29T20:33:03Z")
Maybe. I was excited about her selection because she was the nation’s most popular governor with a maverick reputation, but soured on her quickly when she proved not just ignorant, but didn’t see a problem with being ignorant. What I read about her in Game Change made me respect her even less. Maybe I just hang around in respectable conservative circles, but I know few who like her. And these are people who like Allen West and Rush. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/24 "2014-12-29T20:44:24Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Do you believe his anti-Semitic and homophobic remarks were also “mistakes”? > > Do you think he was “mistaken” in claiming that Tawanaa Brawley was subjected to “IRA initiation tactics” or that the then Attorney General of New York Robert Abrams masturbated to pictures of Brawley? > > Thanks in advance for your answer. And then there’s… Freddie’s Fashion Mart In 1995 a black Pentecostal Church, the United House of Prayer, which owned a retail property on 125th Street, asked Fred Harari, a Jewish tenant who operated Freddie’s Fashion Mart, to evict his longtime subtenant, a black-owned record store called The Record Shack. Sharpton led a protest in Harlem against the planned eviction of The Record Shack. Sharpton told the protesters, “We will not stand by and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business.” On December 8, 1995 Roland J. Smith Jr., one of the protesters, entered Harari’s store with a gun and flammable liquid, shot several customers and set the store on fire. The gunman fatally shot himself, and seven store employees died of smoke inhalation. Fire Department officials discovered that the store’s sprinkler had been shut down, in violation of the local fire code. Sharpton claimed that the perpetrator was an open critic of himself and his nonviolent tactics. Sharpton later expressed regret for making the racial remark, “white interloper,” and denied responsibility for inflaming or provoking the violence. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/25 "2014-12-29T20:44:02Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I would say that Sharpton is **about as powerful as Sarah Palin**. He’s a polarizing got a smallish group of loyal followers who listen to what he says, and the media will report his proclamations because he says controversial things which attracts viewers whether they are for or against him. But he has no official power and **no one in power seriously pays attention to anything he say** s. Then why has he visited the Obama White House 61 times? I certainly find him to be a racist buffoon, but apparently the current president does not. Sharpton is dishonest and unethical, but he can deal the race card as smoothly as a well-honed card shark dealing himself a winning hand. How many times has Palin been to the White House? And how many times has she been quoted/covered on TV in a sarcastic, mocking way compared to Sharpton? Perhaps people don’t take Sharpton seriously, but he isn’t openly ridiculed like Palin, even though he should be. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/26 "2014-12-29T20:53:14Z")
I’m no fan of Sharpton, but if inflammatory rhetoric equates to responsibility for violence, did you denounce all the conservatives demanding “Second Amendment solutions”? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/27 "2014-12-29T21:40:10Z")
[QUOTE=Donald Rump] Criticisms of Sharpton from the right seem to have two parts: 1. He is an unscrupulous opportunist who exacerbates racial tensions in order to promote his own ambitions for power, money, and fame. [/quote] Is there really any doubt about this? > [@](#): > > 1. Rather than standing up to Al Sharpton’s damaging race-baiting demagoguery, liberal politicians like Barack Obama and Bill de Blasio have instead amplified his voice by granting him access, legitimacy, and an advisory role in policymaking. I dunno about “granting him…an advisory role in policymaking”. “helping legitimize his sleazebaggery” is more on the mark. The fact that his worst excesses occurred decades ago should not let him off the hook or excuse those who cosy up to him, particularly as he has never begun to acknowledge or apologize for his acts. Props for losing all that weight though. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/28 "2014-12-29T21:40:47Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I’m glad you mentioned Palin, because while I won’t deny she’s got a following, her national profile is as high as it is because liberals love to hate her. Al Sharpton never came with 7% popular vote of being Vice President of the United States. Sure, Sharpton ran for President, but never even got out of the Preliminaries gate. He never intended to win. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/29 "2014-12-29T21:50:37Z")
> [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > Criticisms of Sharpton from the right seem to have two parts: > > 1. He is an unscrupulous opportunist who exacerbates racial tensions in order to promote his own ambitions for power, money, and fame. > 2. Rather than standing up to Al Sharpton’s damaging race-baiting demagoguery, liberal politicians like Barack Obama and Bill de Blasio have instead amplified his voice by granting him access, legitimacy, and an advisory role in policymaking. #1 is why people of both political divides hate him. He’s a scum-sucking racialist leech. #2 is why conservatives hate him. Pussy-ass liberals love to court him just to buy the black vote. It’s transparent and disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/30 "2014-12-29T22:05:58Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > Then why has he visited the Obama White House 61 times? Maybe he really likes the tour? I visited the Nixon White House once. That doesn’t mean that Tricky Dick met with me, or put me on his enemies list. Which would have been an honor, even when I was only 10. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/31 "2014-12-29T22:16:53Z")
During the recent Sony hacking caper, the mainstream media wrote articles about how Sharpton [may decide to call for the resignation of Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/13/us-sony-cybersecurity-sharpton-idUSKBN0JR01N20141213). That wasn’t some RW talk show hosts. That was the major media outlets in this country, devoting articles to the possibility that Sharpton might decide something. That’s a pretty significant influence, by any scale. Sharpton was a sleazebag opportunist early in his career, and his ethics and morals are probably unchanged. But he’s moved far upscale since that time, and his interests are very very different from the time that he was served by incendiary rabble-rousing. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/32 "2014-12-29T22:24:31Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Maybe he really likes the tour? I visited the Nixon White House once. That doesn’t mean that Tricky Dick met with me, or put me on his enemies list. Which would have been an honor, even when I was only 10. Er… Did you miss the earlier question? I’ll ask again. You claim his support for Brawley was “mistaken”. Do you believe his anti-Semitic and homophobic remarks were also “mistakes”? Do you think he was “mistaken” in claiming that Tawanaa Brawley was subjected to “IRA initiation tactics” or that the then Attorney General of New York Robert Abrams masturbated to pictures of Brawley? Once again, thank in advance for your answer. ---
**Author:** ![Donald\_Rump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Donald\_Rump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donald_Rump)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/33 "2014-12-29T22:52:11Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > During the recent Sony hacking caper, the mainstream media wrote articles about how Sharpton [may decide to call for the resignation of Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/13/us-sony-cybersecurity-sharpton-idUSKBN0JR01N20141213). That wasn’t some RW talk show hosts. That was the major media outlets in this country, devoting articles to the possibility that Sharpton might decide something. That’s a pretty significant influence, by any scale. > > Sharpton was a sleazebag opportunist early in his career, and his ethics and morals are probably unchanged. But he’s moved far upscale since that time, and his interests are very very different from the time that he was served by incendiary rabble-rousing. In fairness there were reams of articles over whether Pastor Terry Jones would or wouldn’t go ahead with his proposed Koran burning. Does that mean he’s influential? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/34 "2014-12-29T23:00:24Z")
> [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > In fairness there were reams of articles over whether Pastor Terry Jones would or wouldn’t go ahead with his proposed Koran burning. Does that mean he’s influential? It doesn’t mean that he is influential as a general rule, but it does mean that the specific act of Koran burning was thought to possibly have international ramifications. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/35 "2014-12-29T23:14:42Z")
As a lite liberal myself, I say Sharpton’s overrated and overexposed, but somehow manages to keep himself inserted in the middle of the debate. His old opportunistic rabble-rouser ways and his refusal to say “I was wrong” about it helps him maintain street cred, while he has made the transition (how, I seem to have missed) into dealing with institutional politics at a more “upscale” level. My hypothesis: He’s not a Palin in that, as mentioned, he is where he is after striving a long time to get there, rather than having sort of stumbled into the right place at the right time by default. BUT, he fills a similar niche to her in that **he is positioned as vessel for the feelings of a segment of the population, who think that “mainstream” leaders _in their own side_ don’t listen to them and take them for granted, and that having an annoying voice that raises hackles is better than having no voice**. The mainstream political and media leaders in turn accommodate him as a representative figure – or turn him into the bogeyman threat – because essentially he’s the one loud voice left who will be recognized if they put his face on the screen. He has found the way to make himself the go-to guy when someone’s looking for a “black activist leader”, both pro and con. How many of us can identify the current head of NAACP or SPLC, or a national-level black community organizer or labor leader, by name or sight? And \*then \*because he is seen as being the one who at least can \*get \*national media attention, the communities figure he’s the one to get to speak for them when there’s a problem. Vicious circle. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/36 "2014-12-29T23:19:40Z")
I don’t have any problems with what Sharpton says or does. When he has made mistakes, its not a big enough deal for me to worry about it ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/37 "2014-12-29T23:40:48Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I don’t have any problems with what Sharpton says or does. When he has made mistakes, its not a big enough deal for me to worry about it I never heard of anyone who would admit this. Sharpton is a vile, dispicable, racist con artist. Your laid-back, worry-not attitude is perhaps enviable, even if your judgment is not. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/38 "2014-12-29T23:57:35Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > I never heard of anyone who would admit this. Sharpton is a vile, dispicable, racist con artist. Your laid-back, worry-not attitude is perhaps enviable, even if your judgment is not. Perhaps now you understand why liberals are horrified when conservatives coddle and excuse vile, despicable racists like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/39 "2014-12-30T00:00:27Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > Sharpton is a vile, dispicable, racist con artist. Sharpton has only come under my radar in the past few years. However, I have heard such things said about him for a long, long time. But in the time I’ve been paying attention to the man, I can’t reconcile such harsh criticism with what I’m seeing. He seems like an intelligent, savvy, politically in-tune activist who doesnt wilt in the spotlight. Could someone fill me in on his past transgressions that make him such an awful human being? ETA: Honest question. This is by no means a defense of the man. I’m simply ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/40 "2014-12-30T00:12:30Z")
```php ``` I am not a conservative, but I would agree with “the right” that Sharpton is as bad as they say. By bad, I mean dishonest, amoral, ignorant of substantive matters\*, etc. I strongly believe that Al would be happy to see things get worse if it advanced his interests. I’ve acquired this belief from observing his behavior over the decades, many examples listed upthread. One more example: his 2004 presidential bid, baited by legendary GOP hit man Roger Stone, in which he was willing to harm Democratic chances in order to get his mug out there. But I don’t think he’s as powerful or influential as the right portrays him. Especially when you compare how much influence his right-wing counterparts have: when he ran for president, he didn’t get nearly as much traction as Cain, Bachmann, Santorum, etc. Let alone Palin: anyone want to bet he’ll \*ever \*be on the Democratic presidential ticket? If that ever happens, I will admit I was wrong, and will vote Republican, pretty much whoever they run. \*I remember an interview during his presidential campaign, where he was asked about his plan to cut the DoD budget by some huge percentage (a third? a half?). His answer: “As I understand it, there is a lot of waste”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442.md?page=3)