Sharpton and the Jena 6

I've never particularly liked Al Sharpton. I think he is the epitome of racism in the country and does very little but hurt the causes he so vehemently fights against. (I'd also note that I wanted to put up a picture of Sharpton smiling but the only one that I found was with Ann Coulter- I thought that was just to weird to use.)

When the rape charges were finally dropped against the Duke lacrosse players I was drawn to Sean Hannity's open criticism of Sharpton. Using honest and accurate descriptions of Sharpton's past actions Hannity was able to paint a very convincing picture of his racist ways. Hannity chastised Sharpton the most for his handling of the Tawana Brawley case and frequently played clips with Sharpton uttering antisemitic remarks such as "diamond dealer". Hannity also constantly challenged ol' Al to step to the plate and debate him. When Sharpton FINALLY accepted, the debate at the National Action Network Convention was filled with more of the same; Sharpton's denials and dishonest answers aimed at creating hate.


At the center of the argument was Hannity wanting Sharpton to admit his mistake and to apologize for the things he said about the Duke lacrosse players which of course he refused to do. If some rich white kid's life gets ruined by Sharpton he probably had it coming right?

Around the same time was the Don Imus controversy which would have never been a controversy were it not for Sharpton. Of course there was Sean Hannity again asking where the outrage was for blacks that used the same speech in the same derogatory manner? AFTER all this was of course when Sharpton began to speak out about hip hop culture. No doubt that the only reason he took the stance at that time was because his hypocrisy was becoming apparent even to the most casual listener.

So today I was reading up on what is being dubbed the case of the Jena 6. Again Sharpton is jumping into the spotlight saying that the justice system must be based on the crime committed not who committed the crime- a fantastic point by the way. But what I discovered is that this is not what he is actually arguing at all. The comparison is between a case which happened recently of white kids who hung nooses over a tree limb vs. a group of 6 black kids (the Jena 6) who allegedly beat up a white kid.

Now this is not to say that the actions of the people with the nooses wasn't reprehensible. The prosecutor stated that based on the evidence there wasn't anything he could charge the boys with. (Which DOES seem hard to believe). But how can that be compared to attempted murder? Why is Sharpton jumping to the defense of a group of young black men accused of physical abuse when he has always jumped on the side of the prosecution when the races are reversed. His antics do nothing but enrage and his actions cause nothing good. Why doe Sharpton make cases about WHO did it rather than what the crime was. The hypocrisy is baffling.

Is there something I am missing about this Jena 6 case? Why are the two cases even being compared? I sure hope I'm missing something and this isn't just another vulturisitic attempt by Sharpton to steal the spotlight using a red herring race argument.

Please help me understand this!