Muhammad Ali - Hero or not?

[Jason76]

http://www.breitbart.com/sports/2016/06/04/muhammad-ali-no-hero-just-hypocrite-dodging-draft/

Do you think Ali was really a hero, or as the article suggests, a hypocrite and coward? Myself, I don't support all US wars. Nonetheless, how can someone use government programs and yet refuse to die for their nation? For instance, the Jehovah's Witnesses are not opposed to using government programs.

Also, the article mentions that not all whites were evil to Ali, with southern policeman teaching him to box, and white people in general making him rich.

 

[dogtowner]

Great boxer. The rest ? Meh

 

[Jason76]

Great boxer. The rest ? Meh

How about the argument which says that you can't force a person to go against their personal beliefs? At what point do you think the government crosses the line in forcing conformity? True, to many conservatives Ali seems like a traitor and a coward, but to others he seems a political hero.

 

[dogtowner]

How about the argument which says that you can't force a person to go against their personal beliefs? At what point do you think the government crosses the line in forcing conformity? True, to many conservatives Ali seems like a traitor and a coward, but to others he seems a political hero.

Not a traitor not a coward not a hero.
Just a boxer with a bit of flair.

 

[yiostheoy]

I recall Cassius Mohammad Ali Clay as being a showman and a boxer. Up until his time there was more dignity among professional boxers. So he was mostly just a mouth.

I recall being surprised that he did not accept some kind of alternative military service as a conscientious objector. At the time that he refused to be drafted the Viet Nam War was still quite popular in the USA and it had not turned completely bad yet like in 1968 two years later. So he seemed very unpatriotic.

I hope he paid a lot of income tax because he certainly did not give anything else back to the Nation that made him rich.

The sport he excelled in turned him into a vegetable. So he probably would have been better off not going pro.

Maybe his rope a dope strategy was not so smart in the long term after all. He would have been smarter to stick with float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

 

[yiostheoy]

How about the argument which says that you can't force a person to go against their personal beliefs? At what point do you think the government crosses the line in forcing conformity? True, to many conservatives Ali seems like a traitor and a coward, but to others he seems a political hero.

There are all sorts of philosophical political arguments that state we each have a big responsibility to our Nation and our society. You however seem to be focused more on the selfish side of self indulgence.

 

[Jason76]

Ali was a gigantic hardcore racist.

http://www.heavyweightblog.com/262/criticizing-muhammad-ali-is-racism

In addition to that, the rope a dope strategy was a type of cheating. Obviously some of his opponents were better boxers, assuming Ali didn't allow himself to get beat up. Anyhow, Ali's remarks regarding stuff outside boxing are enough to dislike or hate him.

It's funny how Hollywood made an incredibly misleading movie about him which tries to make him seem like Martin Luther King.

 

[dogtowner]

Ali was a gigantic hardcore racist.

http://www.heavyweightblog.com/262/criticizing-muhammad-ali-is-racism

In addition to that, the rope a dope strategy was a type of cheating. Obviously some of his opponents were better boxers, assuming Ali didn't allow himself to get beat up. Anyhow, Ali's remarks regarding stuff outside boxing are enough to dislike or hate him.

It's funny how Hollywood made an incredibly misleading movie about him which tries to make him seem like Martin Luther King.

Cheating ?