Don Imus, or Al Sharpton. Will the REAL racist please stand up?

Let me first say that I can't stress enough how inappropriate, ill-advised, and outright stupid Don Anus', I mean Imus' comments were. That being said we must face the fact that his poor attempt at humor is vastly different from the deep seated bigotry and hatred like the kind that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackass, I mean Jackson, traffic in.

Webster's defines a racism as; 1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination. This describes Sharpton and Jackson to a “t”. These two have demonstrated time and time again that they hold white folks in low regard simply because they are white. That is the epitome of racism. But blacks can’t be racists, can they? You bet they can, and Jackson and Sharpton are leaders of that movement.

If you’ll remember back to 1984 during Jackson’s ill-fated run for president, he referred to New York City as “Jaimetown”, an obvious racial slur towards the Jewish. The word “Jaime” carries the same weight of offense to Jewish people as the “n” word does to blacks. Yet Jackson can use this epithet willfully and purposely, insincerely apologize weeks later, and go on with his life and career as if nothing happened, and not be thought of as a racist?

Don Imus makes a poor attempt at humor meaning no hurt by it, apologizes publicly, and somehow that’s not good enough for Jackson and Sharpton. They want Imus fired and his head on a platter. Don’t even get me started on how Sharpton lied about the whole Tawanna Brawley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawana_Brawley) incident which caused countless lives to be ruined because of his false, racist accusations.

I am not defending Imus’ remarks. He doesn’t need or deserve to be defended. He should not have said what he said. End of story as far as Imus is concerned. Jackson and Sharpton do not deserve to be given the mantle of harbingers of all that is good and right and the ones from and through whom Imus must receive his absolution and/or forgiveness either. They are the last people who should carry that mantle. Both of these men carry, and proudly flaunt, the title of Reverend. God help their congregations. Their brand of hate-filled rhetoric and bigotry isn’t anywhere near Christ-like or reverent.

Jackson and Sharpton’s comments on the Imus matter are a clear cut example of the pot calling the kettle black. However, in the world of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, if the pot actually did call the kettle black, the pot would be called an evil racist. Unless of course the pot was also black. Then it would be okay.

Jim Chitty