Time To Get Real

Al Sharpton vs. The Boondocks

Let me start off by saying that I've never really liked Al Sharpton. Maybe it was the pimp perm he always had. Maybe it was the bad suits that hugged his obese body like a hand squeezing a tube of toothpaste. Or maybe it was the fact that he was way too racially sensitive at a time when it's time for everyone to move on to heal the nation.

In any case, my dislike for Al Sharpton has grown to a kind of sweet hatred only Wednesday from The Addams Family could understand.

Here's the whole story:

Associated Press
Al Sharpton Criticizes 'Boondocks'
01.25.2006, 03:48 PM

The Rev. Al Sharpton has asked for an apology from Cartoon Network for an episode of edgy animated series "The Boondocks" that shows the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. saying the n-word.

"Cartoon Network must apologize and also commit to pulling episodes that desecrate black historic figures," Sharpton, a civil-rights activist and former Democratic presidential candidate, said in a statement Tuesday.

"We are totally offended by the continuous use of the n-word in (cartoonist Aaron) McGruder's show."

The episode, "The Return of the King," aired Jan. 15, the day before the national holiday honoring the slain civil-rights leader. It shows King emerging from a coma and using the n-word in an angry speech venting his frustration toward sexually explicit hip-hop videos, among other things.

In the episode, King is branded a traitor and terrorist sympathizer for his "turn-the-other cheek" philosophy of nonviolence in response to post-Sept. 11 retaliation. Exhausted, he moves to Canada, but his speech provokes a second civil-rights revolution.

Cartoon Network released a statement Tuesday saying the episode is a tribute to King and "in no way was meant to offend or `desecrate'" his name.

"We think Aaron McGruder came up with a thought-provoking way of not only showing Dr. King's bravery but also of reminding us of what he stood and fought for, and why even today, it is important for all of us to remember that and to continue to take action," the statement said.

McGruder, who has been called a "genius" and "the angriest black man in America" as he skewered everything from the Bush White House to Black Entertainment Television, began writing "The Boondocks" comic strip, on which the TV series is based, in 1997.

The strip, known for its risky political and social satire, follows the adventures of two black children living in a white, middle-class suburb.

Sharpton said he could appreciate McGruder and his achievements, but added: "This particular episode is over the line."

"The Boondocks" airs Sundays at 11 p.m. EST on Cartoon Network. It is the centerpiece of the Adult Swim late-night block of programming.









Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed


WTF! "WE"? Who the fuck is we? Did black people get together one day and say, "Al Sharpton is our black leader. We will answer all questions through him." Fuck no! Ask one black person what they think about Sharpton. Ask one. I dare you. You know what they'll say? Fuck Al Sharpton!

He's never even seen The Boondocks episode. The Boondocks episode was a "what-if MLK had been in a coma this whole time". The point the cartoon was trying to get across, would be that MLK would most likely be disappointed with black people today. He only used the n-word in the cartoon because he was giving a speech, and no one was paying attention to him. So he got mad and called all the hip-hop people ni66as.

Look at it this way. Wouldn't you be mad if you were MLK, and you saw only a fifth of the crap that's going on today?Like gangsta hip-hop culture, bitches shaking their asses on BET, not to mention the drug and jail problems, and he general "Whatever! Whatever! I'll do what I want!" attitude of this generation. It would break your heart from the sheer shame of it.

Which Al Sharpton has yet to speak out about. Our self-proclaimed-who-has-yet-to-change-anything leader has done nothing about anything. Bill Cosby, and Chris Rock have all done more to speak out about the state of black culture in the past few years than Al Sharpton has ever done. And that's seperatly, as individuals, people. Not even together.

I can't wait until the day when someone asks Al Sharpton, "What the fuck do you do exactly, but cause trouble?". The creator of The Boondaocks is black for crissakes! Is he under the impression that Aaron McGruder is Hispanic or something? Gosh, this guy is retarded. I have a headaches just thinking about the whole situaton.

I'm getting some advil right now.