I posted yesterday Jena & civil rights , in which I noted among other things that while America has some highly intelligent civil rights leaders such as Thomas Sowell and James Coleman, our country also has some really dumb ones such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
Didn't Jackson and Sharpton make fools of themselves during the Duke Hoax?
Last night at Liestoppers Forum I came upon the following post by Tony Soprano, one of the citizen journalists whose made a very significant contribution to the fight for justice in the Duke Hoax case.
Soprano links to an audio in which Jackson and Sharpton, appearing last Spring on separate programs, “discuss” the Duke Hoax.
Listening to the audio, I was reminded of Churchill’s observation that it's better for some people to remain silent and have people think they’re fools, than to open their mouths and remove all doubt. (Subsequent to posting this, a commenter signing as C said Lincoln, not Churchill, made the observation. A quick scan of net sources confirms it's most often attributed to Lincoln and occasionally to others. A hat tip and thanks to C. - JinC )
If you’ve got nine minutes, I hope you give the audio a listen. Then tell me which one you think comes off sounding like the dumber of the two.
Jackson has my vote. Now Tony’s post:
This is good audio of Jesse Jackson attacking the Duke LAX players.Thank you, Tony.
Jackson starts around the 2:40 min mark - you should listen to the Jackson portion!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luqD-jyBfs0
Interestingly, Sharpton believes that the authorities charges are important and significant in the Duke case- they (the authorities) must have convincing evidence.
He's taking the exact opposite position in JENA.
8 comments:
From time to time I find myself wondering much the same thing, though as for the Churchill quote...I seem to recall hearing that same quote attributed to a host of other sources, most often Lincoln, but never before Churchill!
--C
Hey John - if you're so smart, why aren't you as rich as they are?
Never underestimate your enemies. They're evil but they're not dumb.
Ralph:
I'm curious as to why you equate money with being smart. I'd argue that Sharpton and Jackson are rich because they are willing to take advantage of people within their communities. They are pimps.
Couldn't we all be rich if we were willing to compromise our values for money? I've always wondered why anyone would trust the word of any Reverand who is supposed to be leading a congregation by example and yet has become filthy rich.
It's too bad the media doesn't go talk to men like Jim Coleman and Thomas Sowell when it wants the opinion of a prominent black leader. Instead it puts Sharpton and Jackson on the air and makes everyone think much less of so called black leadership.
"Couldn't we all be rich if we were willing to compromise our values for money? "
Many criminals do not become rich.
Anyway, the distinguishing thing about Jackson and Sharpton is not their IQ, it's their ethics.
And I fully agree with your complaint about the media treating these crooks seriously.
Dear C,
I think you are closer to the mark than I was. See the post now for a comment I added after the observation.
And thank you.
Dear Ralph Phelan,
I don't know that either is richer than I in terms of financial assets in their own names.
On the other hand, I'll bet both men control the use of financial assets not in their names that are much greater than my wealth.
I always appreciate your comments.
A while back you gave me a poke for commenting on something you thought was slight - Hillary telling a mostly male audience of largely union workers "I'm your gal" - while ignoring more important matters such as the sub-prime mortgage situation.
I hope I have time this weekend to use the essence of your comment to say something about how I blog.
Please keep an eye out for it. I'll be interested in your reaction.
Dear Anon @ 11:28,
Thanks for a very discerning comment. You are so right about the effect you ID of MSM putting the Sharptons and Jacksons front and center while largely ignoring the Sowells and Colemans.
Dear RP,
I agree their lack of ethics distinguish them but if you listen to the audio they say a lot of dumb things that smart hustlers wouldn't have said.
Thanks again to all three of you.
John
"they say a lot of dumb things that smart hustlers wouldn't have said"
When it comes to what's "smart" for a hustler to say I'll defer to the experts, in this case Jesse and Al.
Remember, their goal is not to gain your respect, it's to separate the rubes from their money.
Jackson and Sharpton are not dumb, nor are they civil rights leaders. They are smart, totally amoral con men. They both use race to enrich themselves. hey would use anything available, but race works well for them.
I wouldnt call them dumb, that would be entirely too charitable. instead call them self centered race mongers who put their own self promoting interests above those of their purported constituents.
Now if you wanted to call the people who support them dumb, well at least catastrophically gulible, I would buy that.
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