The Rev. Al: 'I fight for victims'

By James Baehr | Friday, March 1, 2002

Al Sharpton appeared a small man behind the slim podium in the apse of Rollins Chapel flanked by large, fake plants and the dull, brown wall coverings that protect the innocent eyes of Dartmouth students from the religious-themed stained glass windows they conceal. He stepped into the Chapel a good thirty minutes late, and the room grew silent under his gaze. He immediately began speaking, and his resonant, singsong voice commanded the undivided attention of all present. He was here at Dartmouth College on February 17, he told the audience, to highlight 'several areas of concern,' including Arab racial profiling in the wake of September 11, restrictions on civil liberties, the military buildup since the attack, social justice issues, the tax bill, public financing of elections and public service. He assured the audience several times that he was not merely here as a precursor to a run for the Democratic presidential primary, although no one suggested that he was.

'I am not trying to win favor here tonight,' Sharpton began, 'I believe in saying what I believe even if people disagree with me... those of you who dislike me after this event, I hope you sleep well tonight, because I will.' The crowd laughed. 'If you're intelligent, you will believe everything I say.'

Sharpton began his speech by talking about the profiling of Arabs in the wake of the September 11 attacks, and suggested that the Bush administration was using the current environment to restrict civil liberties. He cited such incursions as wiretaps, pulling in Arab men for questioning and violations of attorney client privilege by permitting law enforcement officials to listen in on conversations at their discretion. Sharpton defended himself as a loyal, liberal American and said, 'I do not believe that to be a patriot is to be a right-wing Republican.'

Sharpton indicated that the current new powers could be used against those the administration believes to be a threat, restricting freedoms. 'These acts may have to do more with silencing dissent' than stopping terrorism, Sharpton noted. 'I would take the same position if the Democrats was [sic] in office.' Sharpton contended that profiling of any sort was 'immoral and unethical.' 'Maybe because of Enron, we ought to profile white males,' Sharpton said to hoots from the crowd. He urged the administration to 'undergird, support and uphold the things that make America America in the first place.'

'Tax breaks to the rich' was another object of Sharpton's ire. Sharpton suggested that Reagan's tax breaks in the 1980s did not lead to higher employment, and that Bush's tax breaks now will not lead to greater economic activity in a denunciation of 'trickle down economics.' He said that even Vice-President Bush called Reagan's tax cuts 'voodoo economics,' but Sharpton claimed that 'it went from voodoo economics to doodoo economics — that's my phrase.'

Sharpton congratulated the actions taken by the House in passing Campaign Finance Reform, but urged full public financing of elections. He claimed that money alone has become the sole qualifier for the holding of public office. He noted that many people suggested he wasn't credible to run for the Presidency but wondered why previous criminal defense lawyer Senator John Edwards (D-NC) is considered a viable option: 'I fight for victims, I go to jail, I'm not credible. He fights for victims, he makes millions of dollars, he's credible.'

Sharpton also decried the 'disenfranchisement of voters' in Florida in the 2000 Presidential election. He said a national voting standard was a necessity for America today and remarked that other countries must think it odd that we cannot properly run a democracy.

Ending his speech, Sharpton strongly encouraged the pursuit of public service. 'Life should not be about just what you can do for yourself.' As a minister, Sharpton noted that it was highly difficult to deliver funeral eulogies for those deceased who have not done anything for their fellow man. 'Most people should not even have a funeral,' Sharpton said, 'so we don't have to justify lives without meaning.' He said that students today need to take principled stands on the issues they care about, and that 'somebody ought to disagree with you.' He said that in this media dominated age, 'we are far more concerned about approval than about conviction.'
Attacking the apathy and self-interestedness of this generation's youth, Sharpton reminded the crowd to 'stand for something, or you will fall for anything.'

Though Sharpton incessantly mentioned that he was not 'necessarily' in New Hampshire for a presidential run, he frequently hinted his ambitions to the crowd. For example, in response to a question about usurping the role of Jesse Jackson, Sharpton wondered, 'Why am I being compared in the media to my mentor? Why don't they compare me to the guys I'll be running against like [Tom] Daschle, or [John] Kerry or whatever the other names are...it's not good to publicize your opponents' names.'

The Rev. Al: 'I fight for victims'

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