TODAY'S TALKER: Al Sharpton Insults Mormons

The pot can call the kettle black, but woe unto those who point out the similarities.

I think Al Sharpton should NOT be given any press. He is a loud mouthed bigotted hypocrit. Plain and simple.

He won't apologize, he has no need to. He insulted a white Christian Mormon. By being a Reverend and a "man of God", he should know better, but he doesn't.

Did he ever apologize for Tawyna Brawley?
Did he ever apologize to the Duke Lacrosse Team?

I'm not sure how the title of this article reflects the content. Why would anyone consider the Sharpton quote an insult? This one comment, probably taken out of context, does not reflect anything I know about Al Sharpton so I believe the author of this semi-article presented this statement/question from a dishonest, incomplete perspective, probably with an agenda.

To answer your questions, no, I do not think Sharpton owes anyone an apology, nor do I think it is sensible to demand an apology - ever.
I think religion should be kept totally separate from politics. Any candidate who runs on his/her religion will never receive my respect or my vote.

Sandy, you are sad. Sharpton did say these things, and regardless of Romney's professional aspirations Sharpton owes him an apology -- as he would to anyone playing any role in life with a religious or philosophical belief. Have you ever heard of a guy named Don Imus?

Why would anyone consider the Sharpton quote an insult?

Careful there, the operating principle, one that Sharpton himself has insisted on and exploited ad-nauseam, is that offense is to be judged by those who hear offense, not by those who insist that what they said was not meant as being offensive.

Greg,

I've hears of Don Imus but I can't compare this to "nappy headed hos", can you! Imus and Sharpton are definitely two of a kind! I still say the ones Romney has to be concerned about are the right wing radical evangelical Christians who hate Mormons so badly. Not old slobber mouth Sharpton! He couldn't hurt Romney or help him if he tried!

Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson owe the american people more than one apology .Look at the harm they did to the la cross players at duke u . Those boys will never out run the false acusations made aganst them . and those charges were forced forward ,by pure raceial hatered

Sandy, so "religion should be kept totally separate from politics" where does that put the REVEREND Al Sharpton and his quest for the presidency?

Al Sharpton is a Media whore. If it gets him on camera he will comment on anything. The media keeps on introducing him as a leader in the African American Community which is a total fiction. I never got a vote. No one I know got a vote so how did he get to be a leader? But his comments don't even compare to Imus's.

the Rev. Al Sharpton not only insulted Mitt Romney, but he insulted those of us who do believe in God and not the Rev's bigotted, racist hate speech.

Again, where is the apology to the Duke Lacrosse team. Their lives were ruined for a year, a whole year and God knows what their life is going to be like. And really, what damage was done to the basketball team, they were laughing....until the press, Sharpton and The REVERANNNNDDDD Jesse Jackson filled their heads with mush. Did the lacrosse team get on Oprah? No. Did the Lacrosse team get scholarships offerred? No. Did the Lacrosse team get hate mail, death threats, lose sleep, miss out on school, live with being falsely accused before the nation, going to bed at night, wondering if you were going to jail? Yes.

What does this have to do with Al Sharpton? Plenty. He is setting an example. He has a following and he needs to be as responsible as Imus should have been. BUT, Imus has said stupid things for years, he's an entertainer, a "shock jock'', you can change the channel, or don't listen to Imus. Al Sharpton is "in your face" and clamours for media attention and gets it. He is also running for president, again. That puts him in a different catagory and he should be responsible for his actions and words. And yes, he owes Mitt an apology.

For what its worth, I am a Mormon, and it is not clear that Sharpton is insulting Mormons -- its ambiguous at best. He could be simply stating the position which the Christian left might take asserting that campaign positions taken by Mitt Romney are in his mind offensive to God. I am getting weary of this business of suggesting that whatever Mitt Romney may stand for at any given time (you have to be careful because it changes depending on what he is running for and who he is addressing) is synonymous with what the Mormon Church stands for, or what all Mormons stand for. I am basing this comment strictly upon the sentence which is specifically quoted in the article -- if Sharpton went on to assert that those who believe in God would not vote for a Mormon, then that would be a horse of a very different color.

The bigger question is how does a seven line article wind up being a featured article. Is this the tabloid approach of putting out a provocative title without much more and then expecting the sharks to swarm in?

I'm not Sharpton fan, but I honestly see nothing insulting about that remark. He has certainly made many, many others that are cruder, more obnoxious and more pointedly insulting - usually they are blatantly race-baiting - than this.

The last two comments trump what serious comment I was about to make.

Sharpton is off base, but political candidates have to take a bit of guff. That said, I don't think Romney or any LDS Mormon will reach the Presidency. The view of many non-Mormons is that Mormonism is cultish.

I don't agree with this, but I run into so many non-Mormons in my daily life (I'm not Mormon but I'm from Utah and my great-grandfather had 6 wives. etc. etc. etc..my parents left the church...so my POV is of understanding both LDS and non-LDS) and the LDS church has made a valuable step in the right direction in repoistioning the Book of Mormon as A New Testament of Christ.

However, the key belief of the BOM is flawed, in the view of all the other Christian denominations. For that reason alone, Mormonism will not be accepted into the mainstream.

do I hear an Amen?
And all GOd's people, I say, and ALL God's people said AMEN

Al Sharpton is a used car salesman. He knows that he can say and do anything without repercussion.

I personally don't care what he does. He's a racist, radical, trouble-maker and hate monger and he loves the limelight! If people would stop paying attention to him he wouldn't have an audience.

Al Sharpton is a completely worthless human being devoid of any redeeming qualities or value to society.

End of story.

Sandy,
Give me a break! Mormons do believe in god, so his comment does call for an apology. What if I came out and called you a Satanist (add in the media so the entire world hears my comment about you), I think that you would want an apology as well. The world tends to have an incorrect perception of mormons to begin with, and this doesn't help.

I personally am an inactive mormon of 13 years with no desire to go back, but the fundamental belief that they have is the same as everyone else! The only big difference is, mormons actually follow the rules that their church puts in place for them, unlike some other religions where the parisioners break every rule and only show up for church on major holidays.

As for Al Sharpton.... I think that man talks before he thinks! If anyone is prejudicial, it's that man! If you have any color skin other than black, you are the devil to him.

Dana B, I completely agree with you. Well said.

I just had one question. Why is it ok for a black man to make bigotted remarks about Mormons but there is not one white man in America right now that can say anything about black people without being fired or worse. I think Al Sharpton should look back at his own stupidity from the Tawana Brawley incident and go jump off a bridge. He is a sorry excuse for a human being.

Al Sharpton = comic relief. Problem is, he takes himself seriously.

I don't think Reverend Charlatan mentioned Romney by name. I think he said "the Mormon candidate." It struck me as offensive, nonetheless. His excuses since then ring hollow, though.

I'm sure he's a great guy to know. Just ask the line of big-name Dems who have to kiss his ring, politically. Hill, Obama (who flubbed the name of Sharpton's group during his speech, drawing a chorus of corrections from the crowd), and any Dem who wants to win in NY has to kiss his...ring. This goes for statewide elections, as well, though he has a much more negative image in most local governments.

He has more juice than most people realize, even though I call him Charlatan, only half in jest. This guy is a serious political player, who gets a pass for offensive statements that Mitt Romney couldn't (and wouldn't) make about Sharpton, and his Ministry.

It will add to the many statements that may one day "do an Imus" back on Rev. Sharpton. That's public life, after all. Only time will tell, though he has been successful for a long time with his "message" (shakedown act).

Religion will always be in the political debate, but it should be based on values, not doctorine. The Mormons are a recognized religion by the US government, and as such, deserve the same respect that Catholics get. Oops! Bad example! Maybe the respect that Jews get? Oops! Another bad example. How about Evangelical Christians? Wait, Jimmy Carter (JC) was one of them, and he wasn't disliked for his religion! People will always have a reason to dislike a candidate for office. Religion is one of many reasons.

A final note: You didn't ask if Rev. Sharpton should be suspended, or fired, from his radio show. Some people must be asking that. Still, a great topic.

Thanks, GET!

I guess you have to have heard it. I just heard today, the actual comments made by Sharpton and yes, they were insulting to Mormons. Without the voice inflections I was unconvinced but hearing it clearly implied that Mormons don't really love God, rendering it insulting.

I am wondering whether other liberal Mormons are getting weary of fending off attacks on their religion because people are equating Romney with Mormonism. The PBS documentary is spawning a lot of nonsense from supposed experts. The latest I heard on NPR was that the Church banned African-American women from holding leadership positions. What a crock, there should be some responsibility on the part of the talk host shows to see if what these random people has any basis in reality before they parade them out as experts. I've seen and heard this kind of irresponsible reporting before -- whoever is wanting to kick up a fuss goes in search of the 90 day Mormon (person who was baptized did not bother to learn any doctrine or how the Church worked before going inactive.) Its annoying.

Sandy,
Give me a break! Mormons do believe in god, so his comment does call for an apology. What if I came out and called you a Satanist (add in the media so the entire world hears my comment about you), I think that you would want an apology as well. The world tends to have an incorrect perception of mormons to begin with, and this doesn't help.

And other people believe in God. And those other people who believe in God will defeat this guy. No comment calls for an apology and as far as I am concerned, no person has a right to "call for" an apology. Apologies should come from the heart, and are for the apologizer, not the apologee although it is rewarding at times to receive a sincere apology.

With what little we were given here, we can each put the statement in whatever context we choose. That's mine.


If you came out and called me a satanist, you would be wrong. I don't believe in your God or your Satan. If you pull one sentence of mine out and make a statement like that about me, you will be wrong and unfair. Whether or not you discover how wrong you are and decide to apologize will be entirely up to you, not something I will ask (or demand) of you.

My perception of Mormons comes from observing the ones I know, not anything I have seen in the media or anything I will hear a politican say. I see each as an individual, with varying opinions of their behavior. If I list the pros and cons of all together on one page, the negatives outweigh the positives and that perception will not change until the individuals I encounter change.

I have no problem with an attack on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormon Church) so long as the attack is based on actual facts or actual doctrine as practiced in the Church. What I don't approve of is attacks not based on facts or distortion of doctrine to the extent that it does not even come close to being actual doctrine.

I am concerned, however, that by the constant clamoring attacks on Romney because of his religion that eventually moderate Mormons and liberal Mormons like myself will get so disgusted with the media that they wind up voting for Romney just because society cannot differentiate between a political candidate that happens to be a Mormon and the Mormon Church. (Not that I am very likely to ever support Romney no matter what attacks occur, but I suspect that it might influence some Mormons to do so.)

I would vote for the guy who says that his/her religion is private and should not enter into the campaign. That's the way I believe things should be. There are many reasons not to elect Mitt Romney and they don't have anything to do with his faith. It is just plain ridiculous that candidates must pass the religion test to get elected in these contemporary times of ours.

Joe, I agree completely. What we are seeing is the Falwell legacy in all of its ugliness. A heavy burden is falling upon devout Mormons who do not support Romney because they are duty bound to defend their religion which winds up looking like they are defending Romney. Romney is a frigging weathervane he is whatever his current audience wants him to be -- and his politics smells like a Bush who can speak in full sentences.