What strikes me most about Sharpton is just that he's dumb. I only caught excerpts of the show, but he clearly has no idea what it means to debate, nor does he understand the concept of hypocrisy. Black people surely have better people to put forth as representatives than this useless douchbag.
And therein lies my problem with how many whites view blacks in this country. The question is not why we need a "better representative" to speak on the "ills of Black America", the question is why the hell do we need a representative
at all? Do you--as a white woman--need a representative to speak for you? It seems that in this country what stands for one stands for all when pertaining to black people.
I am a hardworking, taxpaying, socially conscious black woman with two degrees who can handle myself if I'm offended by "the man"; I did not--nor did any of my counterparts--elect Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson to be my mouthpiece and I am tired of white america assuming that they are.
Al Sharpton feeds off of people throwing him bones whenever there is another "black" scandal; the Don Imus' and Trent Lott's of the world flock to him apologetically to make amends when they've said or done something the media finds racially offensive. This is not the solution to any real problems; that is a means for Al Sharpton to gain notariety and wealth and a means for people to point the finger at Al Sharpton for doing so. It's also a means for the "offenders" to spout more racism, such as when Don Imus likened his comments to those made by rappers. Him saying that seemed to make it okay by implying, "well, they do, why can't I?" In order for that philosophy to be true he would have to prove that all blacks listen to rap music, that all blacks use the "n-word" and that we're all uncouth, unproductive members of society. But that's okay, because as I said, I believe the majority of white america really does lump us all into one, large, dark, mass of flesh.
I am not attacking you; I am just tired of white americans assuming that we want--or need--representatives. Martin Luther King stepped up at a time when black america needed direction because we didn't possess the same freedoms we do now. But in the year 2007? I can take care of myself, thank you very much, and I will
individually decide what offends me and how I shall handle it if I
am offended.