Sharpton Confronts Sexist Star

[gerry]

BOO BIRD REV. AL

By AUSTIN FENNER

October 6, 2007 -- The Rev. Al Sharpton is threatening a boycott of the Knicks unless coach Isiah Thomas apologizes to all women for suggesting he has no problem with calling a black woman a "bitch."

"We are calling on him to apologize because of what came out during the deposition . . . when he said it was all right for black men to call black women 'bitches,' " said Sharpton.

"It is inexcusable for any man of any race to call black women or any women 'bitch.' "

Sharpton said his National Action Network would organize picket lines around Madison Square Garden during Knicks home games, unless Thomas says he's sorry.

The under-fire coach's inflammatory remarks came to light last month when a damaging videotaped deposition surfaced during the federal sexual harassment trial against Thomas and MSG.

A jury awarded former Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders $11.6 million for the harassment she suffered. The Garden fired Sanders from her job as the team's vice president of marketing after she complained about the shabby treatment. She had accused him of mouthing the insults "ho" and "bitch."

On the videotape, Thomas clumsily attempted to clarify his position on insulting a woman.

"A white man calling a black female 'bitch,' that is wrong with me. I am not accepting that. That's a problem for me," said Thomas.

When he was asked by an opposition lawyer if he'd have a problem with a black man calling a black women "bitch," Thomas responded, "Not as much."

Sharpton, who calls himself a casual Knick fan, didn't set a deadline for Thomas to apologize.

Representatives for Madison Square Garden did not respond to calls for a comment.

After Thomas' videotaped remarks aired in public, he responded from the witness stand and outside the courthouse trying to explain his own statements.

"Let's not mischaracterize what I said. What I said is, it is always wrong for any man to call a woman a bitch. I didn't do that, and I would never do it," Thomas said last month.

Sharpton said Thomas' remarks could set a "dangerous social pattern" if he's not challenged because of Thomas' status as a role model.

The Hall of Famer cemented his legacy as the captain of the Detroit Pistons, who won back-to-back world championship titles in 1989 and 1990.

Thomas and the Garden suffered a public relations nightmare from the Manhattan federal court verdict.

Thomas, who proclaimed he's "innocent" of the sexual harassment charges, plans to appeal along with the Garden.

Sharpton's organization launched an initiative to promote "decency" after radio talk show host Don Imus slammed the Rutgers University women's basketball team by tagging them as "nappy-headed hos" on his show.

Sharpton declined to discuss what he thought about Sanders' lawsuit against Thomas.

"Since it went public, he has to deal with it," said Sharpton. "I hope he has the decency to deal with it."

austin.fenner@nypost.com

[RGM]

Sharpton said Thomas' remarks could set a "dangerous social pattern" if he's not challenged because of Thomas' status as a role model.

Far too late to set that pattern in motion, but it will be another step in making it more commonplace and socially acceptable.

[elfeminista]

May Isaiah Thomas go to Woman-hater HELL and rot there.

The Man's World of Hyperactive Thyroid professional spectator sports and it's "feeder" schools. High school and College male sports are incubators for mysogyny.

I will bet you a dollar that none of the males here in g berg watch the Stupid-bowl.

[RGM]

May Isaiah Thomas go to Woman-hater HELL and rot there.

The Man's World of Hyperactive Thyroid professional spectator sports and it's "feeder" schools. High school and College male sports are incubators for mysogyny.

I will bet you a dollar that none of the males here in g berg watch the Stupid-bowl.

You owe me a dollar. Shall I PM you with my PayPal address? Oh yeah, make it a Canadian dollar, please.

[gerry]

Make that another bucko.

But if Sharpton's protest goes through, EF, there's one of those rare NYC anti-sexist actions for you to attend.

[axjxhx]

it's nice to see someone challenging the sports arena for one misogynistic statement...now how about calling attention to the statistics of sports players abusing and murdering their wives and girlfriends?

but, isn't sharpton standing up because he thinks it's just a race issue? do you really think he views this as standing up for women in general....or standing up for all the non-white identified women facing racist remarks? i ask this because i wonder what he was thinking when a white woman (nicole) was murdered by a black man (OJ). hm. i honestly don't know.

it's not that i don't appreciate sharpton's efforts, either. i just think that if he was speaking out for all women, he would be discussing the outrageous epidemic of sports stars violence against women. i just get the feeling that this is about telling the white man to stay out of black mens' business. sharpton has a <i>lot</i> of people to address if he thinks that no woman should be called a bitch.

[gerry]

i'm not sure how he stood on OJ

but recently he was a major player in getting Don Imus fired after the Rutgers Women's B-ball team incident. and as you say, his influential role is with Blacks, so that's his work and focus.

[delphyne]

It was noticeable that Sharpton and Jesse Jackson were the only men quoted who objected to the sexism of Don Imus's remarks as well as their racism (the controversy even reached this side of the Atlantic). It's heartening now to read Al Sharpton saying it's not OK for any man to call any woman a bitch.

I can't remember that last time (if ever) I've heard a male public figure making that kind of statement.

[bluecoat28]

but, isn't sharpton standing up because he thinks it's just a race issue? do you really think he views this as standing up for women in general....or standing up for all the non-white identified women facing racist remarks? i ask this because i wonder what he was thinking when a white woman (nicole) was murdered by a black man (OJ). hm. i honestly don't know.

He's standing up for all the women of color who have to put up with sexism. I DO believe OJ murdered Nicole, but I understand how some civil rights activists may speak out less about it (maybe Sharpton and others have spoken out against that case, but I didn't do research about it), because african-american men have been scapegoated in this country as rapists of 'white' women. Men who identified with "white power" promoted the idea of african-american men as "lustful beasts" and "brutes" (that's what today's pornographers are doing with the "monster cock" & "black dicks/ white chicks" websites. Guys (no matter the color of their skin) must be held accountable for violence against women, but it's important that we understand the history of racism in this country (racism still thrives today, it's just more subtle sometimes). Also, we need to understand that it's difficult for women of color who have been abused by men of color to speak out, because they might be seen as a "traitor to the race". Race doesn't exist (biologically), but it is a powerful social construction.

As people become more educated about sexism, the fight against sexism and racism and homophobia will coalesce more. I am going to do a powerpoint hopefully on the racism of pornographers in the future.

axjxhx, skim this (look at the pictures): http://www. ferris.edu/jimcrow/brute/

I broke up the link, but I don't believe they use track back.

[Andrew]

Sharpton's come up on this board before, and while I still don't trust him, he at least has thrown what influence he has on the right side in this case.

[elfeminista]

I have a little story that was told to me by an old russian Jew years ago. Two Cossacks are dragging two jewish men off to jail in tsarist Russia. as the cossacks are drunk they accidentaly bump int each other at the intersection. The one cossack says hey you stupid ass, why did you bump into me? The other cossack says, "You are calling me a stupid ass?.. Here!" and he punches the first cossac's Jew. The first cossack says, "You think I am going to let you get away with that?...Here!"... and he punches the second cossack's Jew"

Moral of the story is....


Racism doesn't stop black white and hispanic us soldiers from gang raping and murdering women and girls and burning their bodies.

My ex used to say "men together are men/to/get/her".

And I am sorry, but I am not one to hold my tongue because of fear of commiting political blasphemy, I am going to say something that I have become aware of acording to my observations. There are plenty of black men out there who will rape and kill white Women *because* they are white Women. It is the same as the KKK doing it to black women. There is plenty of evidence to this and in New York alone, there have been numerous crimes where black males have singled out white Women to do unspeakable crimes to. The same thing is very likely true with many Hispanic anf other minority males. That is why the chicken or the egg matters here. I believe the first and the root of brutal oppression is gender based.

Men are men.

I am glad Sharpton made the statement that he did. But also This thread brings to mind the need for radical feminism, Why it is so important.

To keep the focus on all Women.

[gerry]

There are plenty of black men out there who will rape and kill white Women *because* they are white Women. It is the same as the KKK doing it to black women.

EF

According to a statistical report i read a couple years ago, the vast majority of rapes in the US are INTRA-RACIAL. And that there is no real statistical
evidence that Blacks rape white women more than white men rape Black women (it is a higher rate but it is too small to be statistically valid, because the Crime Bureau numbers come from small samples)

And why should this come up under this thread, when a Black male public figure is making these rare anti-sexist comments (see Delphyne's comment)

[elfeminista]

very simple mr gerry=
"Men who identified with "white power" promoted the idea of african-american men as "lustful beasts" and "brutes" (that's what today's pornographers are doing with the "monster cock" & "black dicks/ white chicks" websites. Guys (no matter the color of their skin) must be held accountable for violence against women, but it's important that we understand the history of racism in this country (racism still thrives today, it's just more subtle sometimes). Also, we need to understand that it's difficult for women of color who have been abused by men of color to speak out, because they might be seen as a "traitor to the race". Race doesn't exist (biologically), but it is a powerful social construction. "

And I agree with all of this.

Read My post.

[axjxhx]

... african-american men have been scapegoated in this country as rapists of 'white' women. Men who identified with "white power" promoted the idea of african-american men as "lustful beasts" and "brutes" (that's what today's pornographers are doing with the "monster cock" & "black dicks/ white chicks" websites. Guys (no matter the color of their skin) must be held accountable for violence against women, but it's important that we understand the history of racism in this country (racism still thrives today, it's just more subtle sometimes). Also, we need to understand that it's difficult for women of color who have been abused by men of color to speak out, because they might be seen as a "traitor to the race". Race doesn't exist (biologically), but it is a powerful social construction.

As people become more educated about sexism, the fight against sexism and racism and homophobia will coalesce more.

you are much better at getting to the questions i was trying to ask. the history of slavery and the means to justify racism throughout make this issue more complicated for the very reasons you bring up. (thanks for the link, too).

i just don't trust the media in regards to al sharpton. the corporate media is so racist, the whole issue of this being about women's rights is likely going to get swept under the rug. is there any evidence that sharpton's following is taking this issue seriously? i know i have my dad to pretty much let me know what the white racist man's consensus is on sharpton, which is that he is a "n*****." ugh. i know a certain demographic that is always going to ignore sharpton because they are racists. these people also would not take a woman very seriously, either. interestingly enough, all of the racist men i have known also (love to use &) hate women.

i really am grateful for sharpton's stance in this issue. i just get the feeling that the myopic media is going to try to turn the issue into something laughable. you know, to be able to laugh at something that is hard to understand because there are so many people out there convinced that racism and misogyny are a thing of the past.

[bluecoat28]

I'm not religious, so I don't care for Sharpton's religious beliefs, and I also don't know much about Sharpton, but I found this quote from an NBC5 story:

"Sharpton's National Action Network is spearheading a nationwide effort to discourage use of words offensive to women -- even if they're used in songs by popular black hip-hop artists or rappers.

'Our position has nothing to do with whether the person using the language is black or white, rich or poor, friend or foe,' Sharpton said on Saturday, reiterating what he has been saying since the trial ended. 'We cannot have different standards for sexism or racism.'"

When the transcripts are up on the CNN website for Sharpton's latest appearance, I'll post em. He said something about how no man has the right to call a woman a "b". I'll put the quotes here later.

RANT:
I'm annoyed with this new song called "Crank That" by Soulja Boy, because it's popular among young people (it's currently #1 on Billboard's) The line quoted the most is "supa soak dat hoe"... There is no "supersoaking of whores" in the music video, but it bothers me how I hear all these middle school boys, my younger sister, and college guys sing it. I like the beat of the song obviously, but I HATE that line. I remember when I was younger I used to watch Jay Z's "big pimpin" video and have no problem with it-- I liked the song, many people did. We just don't think about it critically (I didn't have a feminist consciousness then). It's not just rap music that is sexist though (obviously)... Do you all remember that song "Scotty Doesn't Know"? That was another favorite amongst college students. The band Lustra doesn't say the word "hoe", but it's a form of porn/misogyny that was extremely popular (it was rock music). I also got upset that my younger guy cousin wrote a song called "rump roast" (yes, referring to women's bodies). He said he wrote it as a "satire" . If my younger cousin ever gets famous, I hope I get the courage to teach him about why he needs to be responsible with the lyrics he writes. I told him that I don't like his song "rump roast", even if he meant it as a joke. I also emailed a letter to Food Network about the TV show Good Eats, because Alton Brown was tying up a piece of meat, and he said something like "you can do this to your mom and leave her on the train tracks".

[axjxhx]

'Our position has nothing to do with whether the person using the language is black or white, rich or poor, friend or foe,' Sharpton said on Saturday, reiterating what he has been saying since the trial ended. '<b>We cannot have different standards for sexism or racism.</b>'"

too awesome

[elfeminista]

"'Our position has nothing to do with whether the person using the language is black or white, rich or poor, friend or foe,' Sharpton said on Saturday, reiterating what he has been saying since the trial ended. 'We cannot have different standards for sexism or racism.'"


too awesome "


Yes. Now let's see 100 other males in politics say that.
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