Rev. Al Sharpton - "Nothing but a PIMP!!"

            Reverend Al Sharpton's recent appearance at a rally in Hartford, Connecticut, caused some headlines recently when a fellow "member of the cloth" verbally accosted him.  Sharpton made the trip to Hartford at the behest of Rev. Dr. Boise Kimber to speak against violence after a string of shoots in the past month (Roberts, 2015).  After Sharpton and about 150 supporters march through the streets of the city, he spoke at the Shiloh Baptist Church.  During his speak, the reverend asked that everyone "contribute $100 to his organization, the National Action Network, to fund a memorial for the five deceased African Americans" (Smith, 2015).  Pastor Marcus Jarvis found offense to Sharpton attempting to solicit funds from his community who are already impoverished and struggling for jobs.  (Berry, 2015) reports, Jarvis walked down the aisle as he shouted, “How dare you ask the people of Hartford to give you their money!  You’re nothing but a pimp!”
            During an interview with Greta Van Susteren, Jarvis defended his position saying that he thought it was "hypocritical and contradictory to the cause."  He went on to pose the question, "How are you going to ask a crime-riddled neighborhood that's impoverished for a $100 each donation?" (Van Susteren, 2015).
            As a leader of his church and a leader in his community, Jarvis was concerned that Sharpton was potentially causing more harm to the community - possibly for personal gains and to further his own agenda.  This communitarian philosophy is the belief that "individuals are part of the community and derive their identity from that community - and the community members share a responsibility toward one another" (Rosenstand, 2013, pp. 197-198).  Pastor Jarvis contends that his community does not need "outside intervention or marches that really are not going to produce any type of solid results as to fighting crime and creating employment and jobs in a neighborhood that's rife with poverty" (Van Susteren, 2015).  Instead, he called for his fellow pastors to come together to fix their own problems in the community.
            Although Jarvis has received blowback from his own community for his actions, I cannot condemn him.  He was acting out of a love for his community and sot to protect those who he serves.  His concern is also understandable considering Rev. Sharpton's history, which has displayed a lack of moral character over the years.
            Reverend Sharpton was ordained as a Pentecostal minister as age nine and he later became a Baptist minister (Edwards, 2003).  With this profession, comes a code of ethics.  Ministers are known to believe in a hard universalism approach to right and wrong - defined by (Rosenstand, 2013) as the "ethical theory that there is a universal set of moral rules that can and should be followed by everybody."  Sharpton's actions fail to hold up to scrutiny based on this philosophy.  Some of Sharpton's questionable acts include failure to file and/or pay his taxes on numerous occasions (Melchior, 2015) (Buettner, 2014), defamation of character (Glaberson, 1998), inciting violence (Klien, 2011), and hate speech (Rolley, 2014). 
            The first amendment to the Constitution protects everyone citizens freedom of speech.  Although I do not agree with most things Al Sharpton says, I defend his right to say them.  That being said, I applaud Pastor Jarvis for standing up for his beliefs and defending his community.  In line with his duties to his church and to his God, he is a true shepherd tending his flock to the best of his ability.

References:

Berry, S. (2015, June 7). Black Pastor To Al Sharpton: ‘You’re Nothing But A Pimp!’. Retrieved June 12, 2015, from Breitbart: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/07/black-pastor-to-al-sharpton-youre-nothing-but-a-pimp/

Buettner, R. (2014, November 18). As Sharpton Rose, So Did His Unpaid Taxes. Retrieved June 13, 2015, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/nyregion/questions-about-al-sharptons-finances-accompany-his-rise-in-influence.html?_r=1

Edwards, B. (2003, June 13). The Rev. Al Sharpton. Retrieved June 12, 2015, from NPR: http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/democrats2004/transcripts/sharpton_trans.html

Glaberson, W. (1998, July 29). Plaintiff Is Awarded $345,000 In Brawley Defamation Case. Retrieved June 12, 2015, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/30/nyregion/plaintiff-is-awarded-345000-in-brawley-defamation-case.html

Klien, D. (2011, August 22). Al Sharpton: I made ‘mistakes’ during Crown Heights riots. Retrieved June 13, 2015, from Jewish Telegraphic Agency: http://www.jta.org/2011/08/22/news-opinion/united-states/al-sharpton-i-made-mistakes-during-crown-heights-riots

Melchior, J. (2015, February 2). Busted. Retrieved June 12, 2015, from National Review Online: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/397681/busted-jillian-kay-melchior

Roberts, L. (2015, June 6). Sharpton leads Hartford rally for peace, against violence. Retrieved June 12, 2015, from Fox CT: http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-website/edit

Rolley, S. (2014, May 1). Throwback Thursday: The Reverend Al Sharpton's Vile Hate Speech. Retrieved June 13, 2015, from Personal Liberty: http://personalliberty.com/throwback-thursday-reverend-al-sharptons-vile-hate-speech/

Rosenstand, N. (2013). The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics (7th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.

Smith, E. (2015, June 9). 'How Dare You': Pastor Calls Out Rev. Al Sharpton After He Asks People For Money. Retrieved June 12, 2015, from OpposingViews.com: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/connecticut-pastor-calls-out-rev-al-sharpton-after-he-asks-money

Van Susteren, G. (2015, June 8). Black Pastor to Al Sharpton: 'You're Nothing But a Pimp'. Retrieved June 12, 2015, from Fox News Insider: http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/06/08/black-pastor-calls-rev-al-sharpton-pimp-connecticut-rally