MSNBC host, race profiteer and Obama confidante Al Sharpton received the honor of an invitation to participate in debate about U.S. race relations, hosted by the Oxford Union in London. Set for Friday, Jan. 23, the event will feature participants representing the ideological spectrum: a Black Panther leader, a liberal writer and a pair of conservative radio hosts. Oxford-style debates adhere to the classical form: point, counterpoint — with the audience voting on each side’s position once at the beginning and again at the end, after all parties have had a chance to influence opinion.
A debate — that means there would be articulate, informed people offering ideas and challenging others’ ideas. Live-action discourse in real time isn’t exactly Sharpton’s métier, so credit him for doing the obvious and chickening out.
According to Breitbart, Sharpton was slated to defend the position that America is “institutionally racist” and had confirmed that he would participate before “shocking his esteemed hosts” and reversing course.
Sources have indicated that Sharpton, who is an informal adviser to both President Obama and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, has asked Oxford for an opportunity to speak but not debate the counter argument. ‘He wants to control the event, because he won’t debate the facts and the real issues including how his own conduct impacts race relations in the U.S.,” stated [conservative debater David] Webb. “He doesn’t want to be exposed for what he really is — a shakedown artist and racial coward. After years of conning people into giving him money by fanning the flames of racism, he’s just too afraid to have a civil, fact-based conversation about the issues of race in America.”
Sharpton is still planning to attend the event, and is even being allowed to speak outside of the debate format and field questions from the audience. But the persuasiveness of his opinions won’t be assessed alongside those of his would-be colleagues.
