# Fire Sharpton?



## Wayfarer (Mar 19, 2006)

> Sharpton said that "as for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don't worry about that, that's a temporary situation."
> 
> Sharpton says the remark was distorted for political purposes and has apologized to "regular Mormons" for the slight.
> 
> Sharpton said he "wasn't saying that Mormons didn't believe in God, I was saying that we weren't going to have to rely on atheists"...


Spin Al, Spin. I think he let his religious bias get the best of him and he is trying to back pedal. Should Al be worried about Imus starting a campaign to get him fired?


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## rip (Jul 13, 2005)

Does he actually have a job from which to get fired? Other than as a professional PITA and occasional "spokesman-at-large for the entire Afro-American community whoever you are" in the national media, I have yet to see evidence of it. As for getting fired from it, whatever "it" is, Imus may well start a campaign for that; tit for tat, ya know. Should he be fired? IMO, no, nor should Imus have been fired. We, as a culture, have invented these men (and women) on both sides (and in the middle) of the political, racial and ethnic spectrum, created a climate in which they thrive and are quite deserving of them. They will climb and they will fall, and there will be others, perhaps even worse, to supplant them, until we, as a culture, have changed ourselves, hopefully for the better, so that they are no longer relevant.


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## ksinc (May 30, 2005)

My first reaction to "fire Sharpton" is: Sharpton has a job somewhere?


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## rkipperman (Mar 19, 2006)

ksinc said:


> My first reaction to "fire Sharpton" is: Sharpton has a job somewhere?


Same here.


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## Wayfarer (Mar 19, 2006)

Actually, does he not have a talk radio show of some sort?


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## rnoldh (Apr 22, 2006)

I've always thought that he's a race hustler and a pimp.

Can he be fired from that?


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## jpeirpont (Mar 16, 2004)

Wayfarer said:


> Actually, does he not have a talk radio show of some sort?


His show is pretty good, from what little I've listened.


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## rnoldh (Apr 22, 2006)

jpeirpont said:


> His show is pretty good, from what little I've listened.


Here it is;

https://www.sharptontalk.net/

I'll check it out.


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## Laxplayer (Apr 26, 2006)

I heard he's planning a march through Salt Lake City. :icon_smile_big:


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## Wayfarer (Mar 19, 2006)

Laxplayer said:


> I heard he's planning a march through Salt Lake City. :icon_smile_big:


:icon_smile_big: :icon_smile_big:


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## Beresford (Mar 30, 2006)

Sharpton's one of those people I thought could be a real leader, but he's always chosen to take the low road rather than the high road.


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## rnoldh (Apr 22, 2006)

No, He's talking with 2 of Malcolm X's daughters.

It seems like a decent show.

I guess Al Sharpton is a lot easier to take when he's not calling for a press conference (for any issue that will get him a bandstand), or doing his shakedowns, and hustles.

I never felt one bit that MLK or Malcolm X were race hustlers, let alone shakedown artists. Maybe the bar was set way too high for Al when he decided to become a self described Black Leader and Spokesman (to himself at least).


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## rnoldh (Apr 22, 2006)

Beresford said:


> Sharpton's one of those people I thought could be a real leader, but he's always chosen to take the low road rather than the high road.


Exactly, and maybe it's not quite fair to compare him to great men like MLK and Malcolm X.

But he's had his chances, and he always seems to choose to be the charlatan and huckster, as well a a self promoter.

I always feel that whatever cause he is involved in, is as much for Al S as it is for the cause.


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## tabasco (Jul 17, 2006)

OK, I admit it. I like rhetoric, speechifying, the poetry of "political" discourse. Sharpton, Jessie Jackson are current examples of "out there" speakers, rabble rousers and spin doctors ( I inadvertantly wrote "SIN" doctor). Amusing if seen as theater, annoying if seen as extortionist. 
I actually think those guys (and yes, them 're two peas in a pod) are as necessary in the ectoplasm of American experience as Jessie Ventura, and Ross Perot, or Lester Maddox, Adam Clayton Powell, Huey Long, or David Duke.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet: William Shakespeare

A rose is a rose is a rose: Gertrude Stein

M


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## Wayfarer (Mar 19, 2006)

I think you guys are giving Al a pass too easily. He made a pretty clear statement that in his eyes, Mormons are not "real" believers in God. He is not backpedalling and not paying the same price of he exacted from Imus. If I were Mormon, I would be marching on him.


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## crazyquik (Jun 8, 2005)

Wayfarer said:


> I think you guys are giving Al a pass too easily. He made a pretty clear statement that in his eyes, Mormons are not "real" believers in God. He is not backpedalling and not paying the same price of he exacted from Imus. If I were Mormon, I would be marching on him.


I would suspect that Mormons think the same of Reverend Sharpton though, right?

Isn't a key part of thier mission work to convert people to being "real" believers?


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## Wayfarer (Mar 19, 2006)

crazyquik said:


> I would suspect that Mormons think the same of Reverend Sharpton though, right?
> 
> Isn't a key part of thier mission work to convert people to being "real" believers?


Probably. However, not the point (unless you are Mitt Romney). It was not a bunch of young men in white shirts and ties riding bikes that just ran Imus out of a job due to an intolerant statement, that would be Reverend Al. You know, the guy that just said Mormons do not really believe in God.


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## jpeirpont (Mar 16, 2004)

Wayfarer said:


> Probably. However, not the point (unless you are Mitt Romney). It was not a bunch of young men in white shirts and ties riding bikes that just ran Imus out of a job due to an intolerant statement, that would be Reverend Al. You know, the guy that just said Mormons do not really believe in God.


I don't know, Imus had a history of attacking Blacks, and I'm not sure what Sharpton said was comparable to what Imus said. Plus the Mormon's don't seem to be bothered, so no one else should be.


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## Wayfarer (Mar 19, 2006)

jpeirpont said:


> Plus the Mormon's don't seem to be bothered, so no one else should be.


Nah, sorry, that is bad logic. Just because the wronged group is not raising a stink does not mean said group was not wronged. Face it, Sharpton slammed Mormons and said they do not "really" believe in God and then tried a classic spin explanation. It was an intolerant statement, actually one that was probably based in ignorance and maybe even a few other things, like fear and prejudice. Pretty much the things he claims to fight against.

I of course do not expect Al to pay any sort of price for this and really, I could care less. I have said many times here I am godless but I do think if you chase someone out of a job for an ignorant and harmful statement, you really should watch your own mouth for ignorant and harmful statements and if you make one, have the cajones to admit you did, do not attempt some lame spin attempt.

Just my two cents.


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## rip (Jul 13, 2005)

jpeirpont said:


> I don't know, Imus had a history of attacking Blacks, and I'm not sure what Sharpton said was comparable to what Imus said. Plus the Mormon's don't seem to be bothered, so no one else should be.


Racial bigotry vs. religious bigotry, hmmm.... I would posit that, over the years, religious bigotry wins out big-time in terms of the violence done by it. But if you're on the receiving end, I guess it doesn't matter much exactly what is driving the bigot who is trying to kill you. Of course, one considers the possibility that Sharpton's comment was a bit of both; LDS, a few black members notwithstanding, is pretty much a white boy's club.

Pierpont, I imagine that if the Mormons had an Al Sharpton, you would find out that many of them were bothered by that comment.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I am NO fan of Al Sharpton.

But in fairness, a lot of Christians do not believe that Mormons are truly Christian. They believe in a book that was handed to Joseph Smith in the early 1800s which most Christians do not accept.

Al Sharpton was saying what a lot of Christians say in private.

I think ministers should be allowed to comment on the differences between faiths without being subjected to Political Correctness criteria. They cannot do their jobs otherwise. I'll leave it to Mr. Sharpton's followers to decide if he is a true servant of God. (I'll admit to my own skepticism, given some of Mr. Sharpton's escapades.)

Even though Mr. Sharpton used political correctness and demagoguery to push Mr. Imus out of his job, that does not make it right to interfere with his conduct of his ministry. Two wrongs do not make a right (no matter how satisfying it would be to make Mr. Sharpton a victim of his own sword.)


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

I voted for Dukakis. In our last election I did not vote for Angelides, in spite of my recent conversion to orthodoxy through a Greek church. I have personal and religous issues with LDS. But Romney himself said he was running for the presidency and not as patriarch ( I may be paraphrasing.) Thats good enough for me, another Catholic Kennedy and I will listen to his positions, debates and speeches as a participant, an educated participant in our democratic process. I highly doubt Al will make a dent in Romney's present support. And perhaps Romney is savvy enough not to waste his time or energies pushing back. Perhaps this is the best way to handle Sharpton, ignore him to the point of irrelevance.


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## guitone (Mar 20, 2005)

What is a regular Mormon?


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## Wayfarer (Mar 19, 2006)

guitone said:


> What is a regular Mormon?


Cream and sugar


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

Regular Mormon? There is the largest LDS church headquartered in Salt lake City. There is also a smaller, distinct branch still headquartered in Nauvoo. That division is not unlike Sunni and Shi'ite with issues of leadership after Smith was killed. And then scattered mostly in Northern Arizona, Southern Utah and Idaho are very small close knit communities still practising polygamy, a counterargument to the LDS position on gays when girls as young as 12 are being married to men in their 50s.


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

And then there are the 'Jack Mormons' more simply put backsliders who retain much of the good social traits of LDS but are not adverse to drink or robbing Bolivian banks.


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

Oh, And the genius of one John Browning, many of whose designs simply refuse to become obsolete and keep getting reissued when all this new stuff fails.


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