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Respected Contributor
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Registered: ‎09-12-2010

I'm trying my best to avoid the ridiculous non-stop coverage of this draft dodger, but it sure is hard.

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Registered: ‎11-28-2012

This is from his Wiki bio

 

Ali stated: "War is against the teachings of the Qur'an. I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers." He famously stated: "Man, I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong."[110]

Esteemed Contributor
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Registered: ‎01-22-2012

@MomCat wrote:

I'm trying my best to avoid the ridiculous non-stop coverage of this draft dodger, but it sure is hard.


One does not become a saint just b/c one dies....

Esteemed Contributor
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Registered: ‎01-22-2012

Thousands and thousands Americans died while ali would only participate in an Allah war.

Esteemed Contributor
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Registered: ‎01-22-2012

Young talented great Americans, like Ted Williams, gave up millions and millions to go fight with their brothers for America.

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Re: Muhammad Ali is Dead

[ Edited ]

@febe1 wrote:

Young talented great Americans, like Ted Williams, gave up millions and millions to go fight with their brothers for America.


Ted Williams did NOT go to Viet Nam. His service was World War II and the Korean War. 

 

Ted Williams also fought his draft classification in 1942. He was classified as 1-A, he felt he should be 3-A because he was the sole support of his mother. He eventually won but there was negative public reaction. Quaker Oats dropped him. He enlisted in the Navy Reserves in 1942, went active duty in 43 and was commissioned in 44. He also happened to play baseball during those years.

 

From Wiki:

 

Williams name was called from a list of inactive reserves to serve on active duty in the Korean War on January 9, 1952. Williams, who was livid at his recalling, had a physical scheduled for April 2.

 

I personally wouldn't be giving Ted Williams high-fives. He fought the draft and being called up-

Respected Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I think we all would agree that Viet Nam could never, and would never, be called a religious war. Ali stood by his religious convictions whether you approve of those convictions or not. 

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@muttmom wrote:

This is from his Wiki bio

 

Ali stated: "War is against the teachings of the Qur'an. I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers." He famously stated: "Man, I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong."[110]


_______________________________________________________

 

Yep, that would be what we call the Louisville Lip.  Heart   But it stops short of the rest of the quote of something along the lines of "ain't no Vietcong ever called me a ..........".

 

That is one of the reasons I do respect him.  As he went on his speaking tour he talked about how he wasn't born with the same rights as white Americans.  He questioned how even if he considered war acceptable (which he didn't), how a war that was  about rights that weren't even allowed black Americans could be seen as so important. That is why he worked so hard for civil rights. 

 

After winning the Olympic medal, he was refused service in a resturant, was not allowed to use certain bathrooms, could not ride certain buses, etc. 

 

I applaud him on those efforts.  I have a hard time understanding some of the things we did back then.  Ali grew up not having the same rights as white Americans.  He had a totally different perspective and concentrated on trying to promote civil rights and acceptance of all people.  And that, I totally understand.


* Freedom has a taste the protected will never know *
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Posts: 338
Registered: ‎03-25-2015

@febe1 wrote:

@MomCat wrote:

I'm trying my best to avoid the ridiculous non-stop coverage of this draft dodger, but it sure is hard.


One does not become a saint just b/c one dies....


While you are certainly entitled to you opinion, you cannot deny the facts that he was a humanitarian and gave back time and time again to many organizations.  These things are highly documented through articles and photographs. 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,413
Registered: ‎01-22-2012

@febe1 wrote:

Young talented great Americans, like Ted Williams, gave up millions and millions to go fight with their brothers for America.


 
Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero
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Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero
Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero 4.09  ·  Rating Details  ·  1,981 Ratings  ·  68 Reviews
He was The Kid. The Splendid Splinter. Teddy Ballgame. One of the greatest figures of his generation, and arguably the greatest baseball hitter of all time. But what made Ted Williams a legend – and a lightning rod for controversy in life and in death? What motivated him to interrupt his Hall of Fame career twice to serve his country as a fighter pilot; to embrace his fans He was The Kid. The Splendid Splinter. Teddy Ballgame. One of the greatest figures of his generation, and arguably the greatest baseball hitter of all time. But what made Ted Williams a legend – and a lightning rod for controversy in life and in death? What motivated him to interrupt his Hall of Fame career twice to serve his country as a fighter pilot; to embrace his fans while tangling with the media; to retreat from the limelight whenever possible into his solitary love of fishing; and to become the most famous man ever to have his body cryogenically frozen after his death? New York Times bestselling author Leigh Montville, who wrote the celebrated Sports Illustrated obituary of Ted Williams, now delivers an intimate, riveting account of this extraordinary life.

Still a gangly teenager when he stepped into a Boston Red Sox uniform in 1939, Williams’s boisterous personality and penchant for towering home runs earned him adoring admirers--the fans--and venomous critics--the sportswriters. In 1941, the entire country followed Williams's stunning .406 season, a record that has not been touched in over six decades. At the pinnacle of his prime, Williams left Boston to train and serve as a fighter pilot in World War II, missing three full years of baseball. He was back in 1946, dominating the sport alongside teammates Dominic DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, and Bobby Doerr. But Williams left baseball again in 1952 to fight in Korea, where he flew thirty-nine combat missions—crash-landing his flaming, smoke-filled plane, in one famous episode.

Ted Willams's personal life was equally colorful. His attraction to women (and their attraction to him) was a constant. He was married and divorced three times and he fathered two daughters and a son. He was one of corporate America's first modern spokesmen, and he remained, nearly into his eighties, a fiercely devoted fisherman. With his son, John Henry Williams, he devoted his final years to the sports memorabilia business, even as illness overtook him. And in death, controversy and public outcry followed Williams and the disagreements between his children over the decision to have his body preserved for future resuscitation in a cryonics facility--a fate, many argue, Williams never wanted.

With unmatched verve and passion, and drawing upon hundreds of interviews, acclaimed best-selling author Leigh Montville brings to life Ted Williams's superb triumphs, lonely tragedies, and intensely colorful personality, in a biography that is fitting of an American hero and legend.
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