Gothamist: The Reverend Al Sharpton Gets Critical, Rides Bike

JacqueMehoff

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:15:30 -0500

God Bless you Reverend Al Sharpton. this time on a Sunday.

BINGORAMAIREZ

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:37:41 -0500

You made them that way, by destroying their minds, families and souls by making them slaves and raping them. The Rev. Sharpton will get us payback from this government and we have our rightful monies we will no longer be in this problem. You love to touch the "jungle bunny women" but then you condemn them, HIPPOCRYTE !!!!

charlesbklyn

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:02:37 -0500

Talk about Critical Mass losing the legitimate label. If I were an organizer, I would be angered for losing 3+ years of important protest karma ... down the preverbal drain. And to all the commentators above who negatively elude to issues of race, you fall into the same despicable behavior as Mr. Sharpton. You deserve each other.

Snoopy

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:21:28 -0500

^^^ Think about it for a second. How many dollars have the Afro Americans sucked out of the decent tax payers pocket because their great ancestors worked for a living without getting paid? It probably comes out to a million dollar pension fund per every slave. I'll blame the mothers every day of the week because they keep spitting out kids they can't afford to take care of physically, mentally or economically. They are too busy filling out forms at the welfare department.

BINGORAMAIREZ

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:44:47 -0500

Dont blame the mothers, they are up against 300 years of institutional racism. They try to raise the kids good but society prevents them from doing so and the cops kill unarmed youth EVERY DAY !!!!

Snoopy

Sat, 31 May 2008 20:38:40 -0500

What might that "area" be? Keep your "area" safe from who? Al Sharpton doesn't do shit for the black community other than the moan and groan crap. Personally I don't give an F if the hoodies keep killing the other hoodies. It's just less welfare f's looking for a hand out because "their precious one" was snuffed tonight because some dude shot up the neighborhood. The mothers will only produce more.

BINGORAMAIREZ

Sat, 31 May 2008 18:35:18 -0500

The Rev. Sharpton will stop the police from killing innocents and he can prove the unequal treatment. He goes with white bike riders and nobody gets beaten or tossed in jail because they are white. If you cant deal with the facts... go to hell. he will help us rid our areas from the police in order to be able to live in peace.

fleshtone

Sat, 31 May 2008 18:04:00 -0500

@ starry: thank you. better than i would have put it.

starrygordon

Sat, 31 May 2008 17:47:05 -0500

Such violent assumptions of privilege are unfortunately widespread, and often have police sympathy. The resonance with the Old South are obvious. Hence the utility of mass rides. It's easy to run person down and drive away; not so easy with 40 or 400.

Snoopy

Sat, 31 May 2008 17:05:41 -0500

The Critical Ass is really just what they are. If some dumb fuck biker crosses me as I have the light at Houston Street going to the Pier 40 parking lot they are dead meat.

Armchair_warrior

Sat, 31 May 2008 14:54:08 -0500

jen i think you should stop giving attention to al sharpton. he'll fade away one day!!!!

VanessaNYC

Sat, 31 May 2008 14:51:13 -0500

babyhitler says: "if you want to piss off white people al sharpton is your man. too bad most of all the bikers are white." Too bad your comment makes no sense. I'm white and he doesn't piss me off. You say, "most of all the bikers are white." According to Jen, the cyclists invited Sharpton to the event.

starrygordon

Sat, 31 May 2008 14:38:32 -0500

Of course Critical Mass is political. It's a direct-action assertion of a claim of equal rights against a claim of privilege.

dr zippy

Sat, 31 May 2008 12:42:24 -0500

What part of "a ride to highlight unpowered transportation" is not political? If nothing else that is a demonstration (the ride) to promote a viewpoint (cycling is good).

jenspellnogood

Sat, 31 May 2008 12:33:58 -0500

28...long before you hipster douchebag wannabees co-opted it, cm was nothing more than 'a ride' to highlight unpowered transportation. the rnc just exacerbated it, and every asshole with a cause adopted it since.

matty

Sat, 31 May 2008 12:31:07 -0500

"critical mass was always 100% political, nothing but political, and that's what's so great about it." If politics means bike awareness, safety and recognition from the City about cyclist rights, than yes. Other than that no.

palestine

Sat, 31 May 2008 12:30:15 -0500

I participated in yesterday's critical mass, but I was there mainly to ride my bike and have a good time, not to hear Sharpton speak (I couldn't even hear him anyway). It ended up where myself and a couple other riders just started leaving the Rev Square and rallied up after making a few laps around Union Square.

ixvnyc

Sat, 31 May 2008 12:23:11 -0500

jenspellnogood (22), critical mass was apolitical? are you on crack? what did you think it was? a sports manifestation? a commercial enterprise? critical mass was always 100% political, nothing but political, and that's what's so great about it. the system wants people to be apolitical, so that they just consume and serve. but critical mass gives the people the opportunity to be political - taking their rights into their own hands.

babyhitler

Sat, 31 May 2008 12:16:29 -0500

if you want to piss off white people al sharpton is your man. too bad most of all the bikers are white.

matty

Sat, 31 May 2008 12:07:02 -0500

Did Jen do the video camera? Hahah, awesome!

JacqueMehoff

Sat, 31 May 2008 12:00:09 -0500

much better than bloomberg's fake and phony bicycle stunt. God Bless You Al Sharpton.

sonyactivision

Sat, 31 May 2008 11:58:38 -0500

They should invite the Pope next year. The Pontiff on a bike would instantly validate the many generations of nuns who pedalled so hard and got nowhere.

Jen Chung

Sat, 31 May 2008 11:46:21 -0500

I added another video of people greeting Sharpton--he spent a bit of time taking photographs with people of all different races after his bike ride.

jenspellnogood

Sat, 31 May 2008 11:30:06 -0500

4 & 14!! the sharpton appeasers are clueless lemmings, he's a charlatan and a criminal. cm was always an apolitical event, and the rnc protesters caused it great harm, and now sharpton has stuck a knife in it.

rtd2101

Sat, 31 May 2008 11:24:42 -0500

White people hate Al Sharpton. And that's why I love him. He's a media whore, but there's nothing I love more than white folks getting all worked up over every little thing Al Sharpton does.

Anna_Merkin

Sat, 31 May 2008 11:11:53 -0500

berniegoetz, try your best not to be a tool. I know it's tough for you, but try. Great follow up coverage, Jen. I'm no fan of Sharpton, but this was amusing if not marginally useful in drawing attention to the issue that Critical Mass wanted to be known.

dr zippy

Sat, 31 May 2008 11:11:08 -0500

what's up with all the "sharpton is fat" remarks? He may have been overweight at one time, but he's looking pretty slim now.

berniegoetz

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:57:05 -0500

Thanks for making sure to include the fact that the Sharpton haters were WHITE, Jen. Of course there's still no pressure to mention the race of non-whites in crime pieces, though.

Armchair_warrior

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:56:36 -0500

what a attention whore al shaprton is.

BINGORAMAIREZ

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:49:47 -0500

He will help us put the criminal police in prison. We need to get the cops out of our areas so that our youth can stop dying. The cops hate Rev. Sharpton because he will protect the criminals and youth from them that they think they can kill because they are of color and violated some minor rules. Stop fronting the ipods and prada glasses on 125 st. and making these poor kids envious, they are just trying to get some. Thats why the chinee was killed on 125 st. when he should have gave the two boys his ipod because he was showing off "I have this and much more... look at me... you will never have this". Thats why he ran into traffic, not the boys fault

starrygordon

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:40:47 -0500

Critical Mass doesn't operate from bourgeois concepts like "credibility", in other words, approval from the authorities and boss media. It's just there, a group of people asserting a claim to equal rights against a system in which certain people are normally given privilege. Then people (including the cops) have to react to them, either on the side of privilege or on the side of equality. That technique was widely used in the Civil Rights movement with considerable success. As long as the activists stick to their principles, the assertion of equal rights, then the appearance of celebrities of whatever flavor can't hurt them in spite of whatever reputation they have been given by the media.

MFer

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:24:53 -0500

The only thing critical mass here is his weight. The movement has just lost all credibility.

Snoopy

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:20:31 -0500

That bike must have been working overtime. Hope the tires are recovering this morning.

BINGORAMAIREZ

Sat, 31 May 2008 09:50:46 -0500

nomnomnom

Sat, 31 May 2008 09:31:07 -0500

@fakenewyorker Fat floats right? So I would think he could at least do that.

fakenewyorker

Sat, 31 May 2008 09:03:11 -0500

do you think he can swim? if yes and he takes his jogging suits out of mothballs we have a triathlete on our hands.

Jerky

Sat, 31 May 2008 08:39:22 -0500

Go Al Go! If you want to see NYPD's corrupt fascist cops in action, blatantly breaking the law, check out some of the past Critical Mass ride videos...they're priceless.

Jen Chung

Sat, 31 May 2008 08:37:22 -0500

I'll have more on this later, but Sharpton was invited by Critical Mass and other civil rights activists to join yesterday's rally, because not only do their causes have similar goals, he can draw attention to an issue like few other people. And people do love to hate him--while some people were excited to see him yesterday, at one point, when he was riding up University, these two white couples were like "Was that Al Sharpton?" "God, I hate him."

BongoBoy

Sat, 31 May 2008 08:30:09 -0500

Sharpton's a joke and a fraud. Guess when the rest of the city is thinking about yet another crane collapse, the traveling Rev. Al minstrel show gets another crack at some cause or another. Oh, what cause? Fat Al's riding a bicycle.

lornagrl

Sat, 31 May 2008 08:25:24 -0500

Nice work Jen!

Spiritof76

Sat, 31 May 2008 08:02:37 -0500

Well, I suppose if a circus bear could be taught how to ride a bike, why not Al Sharpton?

MFer

Sat, 31 May 2008 07:41:59 -0500

So he basically co-opted someone else's demonstration for his own. Nice. Next to protest the police shooting of Sean Bell he'll turn up naked for PETA. He didn't by any chance tart himself up like a mermaid for the parade? He's as phony as his hair.

VanessaNYC

Sat, 31 May 2008 07:25:37 -0500

I don't care what the haters say. I love you, Mr Sharpton.

Ph

Sat, 31 May 2008 06:55:30 -0500

I'm impressed.

Rocknrope

Sat, 31 May 2008 06:47:13 -0500

Nice chasework Jen!