tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post6795529687105658834..comments2024-02-17T04:06:00.805-05:00Comments on Just Not Said: Why people loved AliJohn Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-71116924653660055672016-06-14T00:58:44.565-04:002016-06-14T00:58:44.565-04:00I always respected him for refusing to enlist in t...I always respected him for refusing to enlist in the Army. He would have been given as easy assignment in the armed forces, fighting exhibition matches, traveling to promote the army etc...he may have even been able to defend his title while on leave. It took courage to refuse, he risked prison and it did hurt his income. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-17378269640407470582016-06-11T19:49:24.925-04:002016-06-11T19:49:24.925-04:00Steven --
Ah, okay, understood.
Yes, Ali was bas...Steven --<br />Ah, okay, understood. <br /><br />Yes, Ali was basically a good-natured guy. And yes, he should be given some leeway for the NoI stuff he soured at age 24. At the same time, people should be aware that no white person who ever said that all black people were the devil would ever have a chance of being rehabilitated, ever. And Ali never even really had to be rehabilitated, he was always popular with most of the American public. But the hypocrisy of our society in that regard is no reason to dislike Ali himself, who was mostly just a good-natured jokester. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-84224971070922422702016-06-11T19:32:32.334-04:002016-06-11T19:32:32.334-04:00Its more of an internet meme. Its an excuse for g...Its more of an internet meme. Its an excuse for getting teary eyed. <br /><br />I agree btw. Ali was defiant and could get himself worked up and he might have even believed that NoI rhetoric but he was never hateful to individual white people- quite the opposite. He had white friends and colleagues all through those years. He especially liked playing with kids and performing magic tricks for them. There are so many good stories about him like the one above. <br /><br />The most bitter I saw him was during his exile (on the Dick Cavett show) and he had reason to feel sour as he was unable to box in the prime of his life. And he did outgrow the NoI racism and move into orthodox Islam as Malcolm X did too.<br /><br />Besides, I'm not a liberal. I don't completely dismiss or ostracise somebody because of some views they hold at one point in time. I think about what kind of person they are overall and maybe like them anyway. I understand that people are imperfect.<br /><br />Millions of people are fond of Ali because he was a joker, a natural entertainer and the kind of person he was shone through. And because he was courageous and he made a brutal sport look graceful. <br />Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15276736643046430370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-36499437747005143572016-06-11T12:22:36.828-04:002016-06-11T12:22:36.828-04:00Shaun --
That's a great comparison. I never th...Shaun --<br />That's a great comparison. I never thought of that, but it's really true: both were showmen, both had sly senses of humor, both knew how to use their physiques to comic advantage, and both were affable guys who loved mingling with the crowds. Both were womanizers, both were supremely confident, and both enjoyed themselves tremendously. I think Schwarzenegger was more ambitious, in a broader sort of way, but they had similar natures.John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-82131516468622063482016-06-11T12:14:35.794-04:002016-06-11T12:14:35.794-04:00John - The temperament/play acting of Ali you'...John - The temperament/play acting of Ali you're describing reminds me of what I saw with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Pumping Iron. I don't know if you've seen it as a reference point of comparison.Shaun Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17425084501514329529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-90344730249874564522016-06-11T11:13:18.977-04:002016-06-11T11:13:18.977-04:00Andrew --
I honestly didn't get that from watc...Andrew --<br />I honestly didn't get that from watching him, but I only saw him in that brief clip. And I'm not arguing with you; a lot of people who make it to the top of the show business ladder, like a lot of the people who climb to the top of corporations, do so by being nefarious.John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-57739212476673546192016-06-11T11:00:49.852-04:002016-06-11T11:00:49.852-04:00My spidey sense has always given me the Heebee Jee...My spidey sense has always given me the Heebee Jeebees about Michael Parkinson. <br /><br />Michael Parkinson was a Saturday night tradition for us Anglo's. <br /><br />Andrew<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-733394377764025202016-06-11T06:40:58.883-04:002016-06-11T06:40:58.883-04:00Mark --
Ha, that's actually pretty funny, thou...Mark --<br />Ha, that's actually pretty funny, though I doubt Liston was saying it for humorous effect. Black people have a way of just cutting to the truth sometimes, especially when white people are being silly.John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-1231341843072696912016-06-11T03:11:25.055-04:002016-06-11T03:11:25.055-04:00Sonny Liston, that glowering, menacing, humorless ...<i>Sonny Liston, that glowering, menacing, humorless man</i><br /><br />I'm not saying Sonny Liston rivaled Richard Pryor, but he did have one good comeback that I heard in his ESPN-produced TV biography. In the '60s, a reporter asked him why he wasn't down South helping his fellow blacks in the civil rights struggle. He said, "I ain't got a dog-proof ass."Mark Caplanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15157338755022593966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-3185382528498203942016-06-10T21:40:51.151-04:002016-06-10T21:40:51.151-04:00Steven --
Chopping onions? Is that a British expre...Steven --<br />Chopping onions? Is that a British expression? John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-30476520733961342562016-06-10T21:33:40.401-04:002016-06-10T21:33:40.401-04:00I just came across this story and its one of many....I just came across this story and its one of many. I think somebody is chopping onions around here.<br /><br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36461015Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15276736643046430370noreply@blogger.com