Now that the dust and ashes have settled in Ferguson following the decision by the Department of Justice not to pursue any criminal charges against Officer Darren Wilson for civil rights violations in the shooting of Michael Brown, perhaps it’s time for some reflection on the part of the media on whether or not they should continue their on-air relationship with one Al Sharpton.
As we all remember, immediately following the shooting of Michel Brown in the St. Louis County community of Ferguson Al Sharpton rolled into town with his one-man circus and fanned the flames of racial unrest. Unrest that indeed resulted in flames with the burning and looting of whole city blocks in this small suburban city.
While he would be loath to admit it Sharpton knew from the very beginning that the shooting of Michael Brown was not a ‘racial incident’. Sharpton knew that Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson fired in defense of his own life the fatal shots that killed Mike Brown, and NOT because Mike Brown was a young black man. Even with the investigation far from over the pertinent facts were clearly there for all with an open mind to see.
While Sharp-ton might not be the sharp-est knife in the kitchen drawer, even with his diminished capacity for rational thought (or is it his lack of honesty), he clearly knew this was nothing more than a case of a young man who made some very bad choices. Starting with his getting high on marijuana and then committing the robbery of a convenience store and roughing up the manager, Brown’s decision-making that day was a typical example of the way of thinking of some young black males after being raised in a dysfunctional community.
The unfortunate fact is that in many predominantly black communities young men are often forced to grown up hard and mean on the streets where the only influences they have are from other young men who also grew up hard and mean on the streets. And all too often growing up unsupervised because their mothers are forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet because they receive no help from absent fathers.
Sharpton is well aware of these facts yet he chooses to inject the specter of racism into every situation or incident so he can try to maintain his own relevancy in a society that is rapidly growing tired of his old, stale game.
The news media knows what Al Sharpton is yet they regularly set aside time on their programming schedule providing a venue for his antics whenever he arrives in a community that experienced another tragic death of a young man who made poor choices.
So until the news media stops playing his game the Al Sharpton Road Show will continue to roll into communities where he isn’t welcome, and where he contributes nothing to the discourse or discussion on what needs to be done to change the future (or lack thereof), for far too many young black men in America. All the while lining his pockets with as much money as he can scam from the grieving families and friends.
The sooner Al Sharpton is relegated to standing anonymously on a street corner holding a tin cup and sign that reads “Please help, scams don’t work anymore”, the better for America.
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