Imus, Al Sharpton and Opie and Anthony

Near Lake City, FL - Imus used the phrase "Knappy Headed Ho's" to describe the national champion Rutgers basketball team on his nationally syndicated radio show last month. In doing so he incurred the wrath of Rev. Al Sharpton, race activist, presidential candidate and all around lens hound. Even though Imus apologized publicly and then personally to the basketball team, Rev. Sharpton pressed his organization's efforts demanding Imus be removed from both MSNBC and CBS Radio.

Rev. Sharpton got his wish. Imus was fired. So much for all that good Christian noise about forgiveness.

Now we fast forward in time to a debate during which Rev. Sharpton said, "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don't worry about that; that's a temporary situation."

Sharpton said, "I don't believe you can really believe in God if you believe that God created some inferior to others. I believe that, and as a minister I have a right to advocate that. That's not bigotry. That's really saying I don't believe God is a bigot."
KSL News: Public Reacts to Sharpton's Comments on Romney, Mormons

Uh-huh...

If those are not two bigoted statements worthy of any Klansman, I don't know what would be.

Now Rev. Sharpton is back peddling something fierce, making apologies and arrangements to meet in person with Mormon elders. Rev. Sharpton is offering lame explanations for his statements. He is working hard to get back on message as a leading political activist and defender of the race.

I don't see a gray area here. Either Imus needs to be reinstated with back pay and a really sincere apology from the people that fired him or Al Sharpton needs to lose his radio show, be fired from all his leadership rolls and live out the rest of his life in relative obscurity.

Speaking of the self appointed bigotry watch dog role Rev. Sharpton is so fond of playing, why isn't he all over Opie and Anthony for their Condoleezza Rice rape skit? There were definite racial overtones to that one. In my view it was far more offensive then the "Knappy Headed Ho's" comment.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been accused of "selling out her people" because of her conservative positions on most issues. Of course Opie and Anthony continually beat the Bush administration, the war and all things even remotely conservative to a nauseating degree.

Is it possible that Rev. Sharpton is not interested in going to war over racial slurs when the person being slurred does not set well him politically? Or maybe it is somehow acceptable to look the other way when the people doing the slurring are forwarding his political agenda.

Possibly both?

Edit: I was wrong above. Al Sharpton did call for Opie and Anthony to be fired. An anonymous commenter on another blog directed me to a story carried on the NY1 web sight:

This news comes as another pair of shock jocks -- CBS and XM's Opie and Anthony -- find them selves under fire once again -- this time for comments a homeless man made on their show about raping Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, First Lady Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth.

The pair apologized for the comments, but that has not stopped the Reverend Al Sharpton from calling for their firing.

Sharpton says he hopes to meet with officials at XM about the incident.
NY1: CBS Fires Two More Shock Jocks For Inflammatory On-Air Remarks

Oddly enough and for whatever reason, his demand for Opie and Anthony's career heads did not get a great deal of media play.

A tip of the hat to the anonymous commenter. I would rather stand corrected then stand in error.

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Bigotry dwarfs the soul by shutting out the truth.
- Edwin Hubbel Chapin