# 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:** 3
**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, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/41 "2014-12-30T00:16:45Z")
> [@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. I hear this neutrality on Sharpton from a surprising (disturbing?) number of people. I think Sharpton’s strategy relies on hanging around until everybody’s forgotten his early misdeeds. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/42 "2014-12-30T00:38:25Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Perhaps now you understand why liberals are horrified when conservatives coddle and excuse vile, despicable racists like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. I have no admiration or respect for Limbaugh or Coulter, other than recognition that Limbaugh is a media power (kind of like Howard Stern, whom I also don’t like much ). I don’t listen to or like either one. I have heard examples of Limbaugh’s racist comments, but frankly I am unaware of Coulter’s, as I don’t pay enough attention to her to know. ---
**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 30, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/43 "2014-12-30T00:39:30Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Could someone fill me in on his past transgressions that make him such an awful human being? His opinions and his skin color. But mostly his skin color. They also say that Obama is a despicable human being, etc. Obama is regularly vilified by his political opponents who pretend it is about his political positions. Well, Obama’s political positions seem to be pretty much the same as Ronald Reagan’s. I think the right wing nuts are really, truly, deeply afraid of melanin. ---
**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 30, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/44 "2014-12-30T01:42:05Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > His opinions and his skin color. But mostly his skin color. They also say that Obama is a despicable human being, etc. Obama is regularly vilified by his political opponents who pretend it is about his political positions. Well, Obama’s political positions seem to be pretty much the same as Ronald Reagan’s. I think the right wing nuts are really, truly, deeply afraid of melanin. So to be very clear you think Jews offended by him due to his anti-Semitic statements are racists who hate him because he’s black? If you don’t believe that perhaps you could explain? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/45 "2014-12-30T02:05:59Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > I think Sharpton’s strategy relies on hanging around until everybody’s forgotten his early misdeeds. That may be. For this liberal, I will never forget his early misdeeds, and as he as shown no signs of regret for them, I shall not forgive them either. ---
**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 30, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/46 "2014-12-30T02:19:15Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > 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. [Very, very brief rundown of the three most noticeable high(low?)lights,](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/03/al-sharpton-s-long-bill-of-goods-from-tawana-brawley-to-primetime.html) according to a Daily Beast commentator. Like many have mentioned, his steadfast unwillingness to say “I was wrong about that” leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths. ---
**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 30, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/47 "2014-12-30T02:51:11Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I don’t have any problems with what Sharpton says or does. You don’t have any problem with him talking about “Greek Homos” or telling his congregation they had to decide if they were going to “be a man or be a faggot”? You don’t have any problem with him saying “Tell them Jews to pin back their yarmulkas and come down here”? If you don’t have any problems with homophobic and anti-Semitic slurs, how would you feel about him making anti-Hispanic or anti-Asian slurs? No offense, but respectfully unless I’ve very, very dramatically misread you I think you have massive problems with Al Sharpton’s actions, you’re just not very familiar with his actions. ---
**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, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/48 "2014-12-30T04:23:09Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > His opinions and his skin color. But mostly his skin color. They also say that Obama is a despicable human being, etc. Obama is regularly vilified by his political opponents who pretend it is about his political positions. Well, Obama’s political positions seem to be pretty much the same as Ronald Reagan’s. I think the right wing nuts are really, truly, deeply afraid of melanin. FWIW, I voted for Obama, twice, and stand by those votes. I wouldn’t trust Sharpton as far as I could throw a handful of feathers. No melaniphobia here. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/49 "2014-12-30T05:27:51Z")
I keep seeing posts on facebook that Rev Al owes $4 million in taxes. Frankly I haven’t given enough of a fuck to research this. Anyone care to comment? ---
**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 30, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/50 "2014-12-30T05:32:12Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > FWIW, I voted for Obama, twice, and stand by those votes. > > I wouldn’t trust Sharpton as far as I could throw a handful of feathers. > > No melaniphobia here. No one is asking you to trust Sharpton or throw a handful of feathers. Are you willing to consider an opinion that Sharpton shares and espouses if it passes on the merits? Would you change your opinion if you discovered that Sharpton happened to agree with it? I certainly “get” not trusting certain people. I would doubt my own opinions if I found myself agreeing with Sean Hannity or Dick Cheney. I would seriously re-examine them. I find myself frequently agreeing not only with Sharpton’s opinions, but with the skilled way he frames them. I find myself deeply disappointed in Obama’s positions. I’d consider either of their arguments. I’d consider an argument from John McCain. I’d consider an argument from Mitt Romney. Usually I disagree, but I consider them. I consider McCain to be of far lower character than Al Sharpton. McCain betrayed his first wife when she was in handicapped and in need. It is the reason the Reagans couldn’t stand McCain. Sharpton has never done such a thing. ---
**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 30, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/51 "2014-12-30T05:34:06Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > I keep seeing posts on facebook that Rev Al owes $4 million in taxes. Frankly I haven’t given enough of a fuck to research this. Anyone care to comment? I have no clue. I find it hard to believe that a man who is broke and owes tens of millions of dollars in a judgment could ever make enough money to woe $4 million dollars in taxes. But what do I know. General Electric pays zero dollars for income taxes for years on end. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/52 "2014-12-30T06:18:51Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > General Electric pays zero dollars for income taxes for years on end. That’s simply not true. > **[Warren: GE Pays No Taxes - FactCheck.org](https://www.factcheck.org/2012/04/warren-ge-pays-no-taxes/)** > > Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren evoked corporate tax punching bag General Electric Co. in a recent ad, claiming the corporate giant pays “nothing – zero – in taxes” to make a point about misplaced values. But that’s not accurate. We... ---
**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 30, 2014, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/53 "2014-12-30T06:47:06Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > No one is asking you to trust Sharpton or throw a handful of feathers. Are you willing to consider an opinion that Sharpton shares and espouses if it passes on the merits? Would you change your opinion if you discovered that Sharpton happened to agree with it? > > I certainly “get” not trusting certain people. I would doubt my own opinions if I found myself agreeing with Sean Hannity or Dick Cheney. I would seriously re-examine them. > > I find myself frequently agreeing not only with Sharpton’s opinions, but with the skilled way he frames them. I find myself deeply disappointed in Obama’s positions. I’d consider either of their arguments. I’d consider an argument from John McCain. I’d consider an argument from Mitt Romney. Usually I disagree, but I consider them. I consider McCain to be of far lower character than Al Sharpton. McCain betrayed his first wife when she was in handicapped and in need. It is the reason the Reagans couldn’t stand McCain. Sharpton has never done such a thing. So anyway, as I asked earlier, you seem to be claiming that Jews upset about Sharpton for his anti-Semitic comments and gays upset at him for his references to “homos” and “faggots” are racists who hate him because he’s black. Are your going to answer? Additionally you’ve rather stupidly proclaimed that Sharpton was “mistaken” in trusting Tawana Brawley. Once again, as I asked before 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? I await what I’m sure will be incisive answers. ---
**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 30, 2014, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/54 "2014-12-30T06:49:55Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > That’s simply not true. > > [Warren: GE Pays No Taxes - FactCheck.org](http://www.factcheck.org/2012/04/warren-ge-pays-no-taxes/) So how much did they pay in federal income taxes in any of the past 15 years? The link you have shows that GE refuses to say. It’s a public company. Are they ashamed of how low it is? I would imagine so. [http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/26/us-usa-tax-corporate-idUSBREA1P04Q20140226](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/26/us-usa-tax-corporate-idUSBREA1P04Q20140226) You and I pay many times the rate GE does in actual percentage of gross income or gross profits. And so do most major corporations. To riff off of Mitt Romney: corporations are people, my friends, people like me who don’t pay taxes like the little people, people who send jobs overseas. Corporations get effective representation in Congress, and we the human people, do not. That is tyranny. ---
**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 30, 2014, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/55 "2014-12-30T06:52:10Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > But what do I know. General Electric pays zero dollars for income taxes for years on end. Oh please. That’s a myth that 30 seconds of googling would have pointed out was false. Aren’t you a lawyer? I’m not asking to be insulting, but that seems a really odd mistake for a lawyer to make. May I ask where you got your law degree? Once again thanks in advance for your answer. ---
**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 30, 2014, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/56 "2014-12-30T07:05:16Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > So how much did they pay in federal income taxes in any of the past 15 years? The link you have shows that GE refuses to say. It’s a public company. Are they ashamed of how low it is? This is a truly jaw-dropping statement. A few posts ago you rather imprudently made the demonstrably false claim that GE paid “zero taxes”, now you seem to be admitting that they do actually pay taxes. If you were aware that GE actually paid taxes but merely contend they are too low why did you earlier proclaim > [@](#): > > But what do I know. General Electric pays zero dollars for income taxes for years on end. That’s really curious. Could you explain? Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/57 "2014-12-30T08:06:36Z")
For a politician/pundit who advocates big government, and who is all for fairness, equality and fighting social injustice he does have a tendency to underpay his own taxes. [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html?\_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html?_r=0) ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/58 "2014-12-30T11:21:42Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > For a politician/pundit who advocates big government, and who is all for fairness, equality and fighting social injustice he does have a tendency to underpay his own taxes. > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html?\_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html?_r=0) Thanks. He comes across as a real gem. ---
**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, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/59 "2014-12-30T12:49:25Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > (snip) Are you willing to consider an opinion that Sharpton shares and espouses if it passes on the merits? Of course I would. Now, if Charles Manson expressed the same opinion, would you consider him for public office? Hey, that stabby stuff happened before Tawana Brawley was even born. Also, the fact that I don’t trust Sharpton makes me consider the possibility that he is espousing an opinion that he doesn’t really believe. > [@](#): > > Would you change your opinion if you discovered that Sharpton happened to agree with it? Of course not. That sleazeball doesn’t get to determine my positions on the issues. Here may be the breakdown: much politics today is conducted on a “tribal” level. To many people, the worst sin is to side with “the enemy”. Sharpton is not my “enemy”. He’s just a corrupt, grandstanding self-promoter who I hope never acquires any real power. > [@](#): > > I certainly “get” not trusting certain people. I would doubt my own opinions if I found myself agreeing with Sean Hannity or Dick Cheney. I would seriously re-examine them. See my previous comment. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-sharpton-as-bad-and-as-powerful-as-the-right-makes-him-out-to-be/708442/60 "2014-12-30T12:58:34Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > For a politician/pundit who advocates big government, and who is all for fairness, equality and fighting social injustice he does have a tendency to underpay his own taxes. > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html?\_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html?_r=0) The list of Democrats who don’t pay their taxes is as long as the list of anti-gay conservatives who are actually gay. As in, pretty long. Hypocrisy, not just everyday hypocrisy but extreme, “Do as I say while I carouse and have a great time doing what I told you not to do” hypocrisy seems to be a common trait among the political class. [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=2) [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=4)