The Rev. Al Grows Up

Is this what it has come to in the 21^st century? No, I’m not talking about a bunch of supposedly reputable scientists screwing around with data to promote a dubious, at best, leftist agenda. And I certainly don’t mean the New York minute-like fall of the most idolized sports figure (and a fellow golfer, no less) on the planet. Something even more shocking. Yours truly is agreeing with Al Sharpton. You heard right boys and girls. The Rev. Al and me are on the same page.

I suppose a few specifics are in order. For those of you that don’t pay attention to the sports world, Washington’s professional basketball team, known as the Wizards, has a very, very good basketball player whose name is Gilbert Arenas. He’s an all-star with contract worth over $100 million, and by all accounts a decent human being. Not long ago Arenas and a teammate were playing cards for big money. And to make a long story short there seemed to be an argument over a debt. A little verbal jousting goes on and the next day, Arenas brings a gun into the locker room. You can guess the rest. Guns across state lines, guns in the workplace; not to mention the fact that the Wizards used to be called the Washington Bullets. Their owner changed the name to the Wizards because of all the shootings down in DC. And to top it all off, there’s the “two young and rich black men pointing guns at each other” angle. Not a good day for the politically correct crowd. So you can imagine the maelstrom that Mr. Arenas found himself in.

Into this storm steps none other than our man Al. Professional race-baiter, agitator and all-around hideous human being. Al’s the guy that gave us Tawana Brawley, et al., and is reported to have cried racism when he saw a white collie barking at a black cocker spaniel. Rev. Sharpton has watched young black men turn their guns on each other for decades. He’s watched the black family disintegrate right before his very eyes since the 60s. And somehow, through all of this, has managed at every turn to blame white America. That’s his right, however wrong-headed his philosophy may be. And it’s gotten to the point where only guilt-ridden white liberals and certain parts of the black community take him seriously.

Unfortunately, Rev. Sharpton is one of those people who yells really loud so you can’t help but hear him no matter how dumb he sounds. But here’s the good news; this time Al’s making sense. He got up on his high horse in a newspaper interview and urged the NBA commissioner David Stern, to come down hard on Arenas. Al says you’ve got to send a message because this behavior is destructive and isn’t what the black community should be looking up to and praising. Go figure. I mean, not one rant about how The Man (and you know you who are) had brainwashed Gilbert into thinking he just HAD to protect himself in an NBA locker room with a firearm.

Lately, Al has even been seen with Newt Gingrich talking about responsibility, better behavior and common-sense school reforms, for the love of Reagan! Well, good for Al. It’s said that a lot of conservatives were once liberals who’d gotten mugged. And the 20^th century is littered with conservatives that were once liberals who became disillusioned with everything from communism to the welfare state to Jane Fonda. And if Al has finally seen the light, welcome aboard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving him a homey-hug just yet. But if a guy like the Rev. Al can alter his thought processes even just a little, then maybe there’s hope for the republic yet.