If a tree falls in the forest and Fox News doesn’t report it, is it still Obama’s fault?
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That was just one of a string of examples Obama mentioned in a much longer (and eloquent, IMHO) statement calling for tolerance and understanding toward the countless Muslims who are an integral part of so many aspects of American culture. (I think Ali was one of the people he specifically had in mind since he was such a visible public figure.)
But just as it is the responsibility of Muslims around the world to root out misguided ideas that lead to radicalization, it is the responsibility of all Americans — of every faith — to reject discrimination. It is our responsibility to reject religious tests on who we admit into this country. It’s our responsibility to reject proposals that Muslim Americans should somehow be treated differently. Because when we travel down that road, we lose. That kind of divisiveness, that betrayal of our values plays into the hands of groups like ISIL. Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbors, our co-workers, our sports heroes — and, yes, they are our men and women in uniform who are willing to die in defense of our country. We have to remember that.
Of course, Trump couldn’t respond to the major points so he bizarrely chose to latch on to the “sport heroes” bit, even though he had previously bragged about his associations with both Ali and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
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Yes!
When Dr. Martin Luther King came out against the war in Vietnam in 1967, he was criticized by the mainstream press and his own advisors who told him to not focus on “foreign” policy. But Dr. King forged ahead and to justify his new stand, said publicly, “Like Muhammad Ali puts it, we are all—black and brown and poor—victims of the same system of oppression.”
When Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island, he said that Muhammad Ali gave him hope that the walls would some day come tumbling down.
When John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists on the medal stand in Mexico City, one of their demands was to “Restore Muhammad Ali’s title.” They called Ali “the warrior-saint of the Black Athlete’s Revolt.”
When Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) volunteers in Lowndes County, Alabama launched an independent political party in 1965, their new group was the first to use the symbol of a black panther. Beneath the jungle cat’s black silhouette was a slogan straight from the champ: “WE Are the Greatest.”
When Billie Jean King was aiming to win equal rights for women in sports, Muhammad Ali would say to her, “Billie Jean King! YOU ARE THE QUEEN!” She said that this made her feel brave in her own skin.
The question is why? Why was he able to create this kind of radical ripple? The short answer is that he stood up to the United States government… and emerged victorious.
–Dave Zirin
More:
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IMPORTANT REMINDER: be sure to avoid social media today if you don’t want to read a bunch of insecure white dudes complaining about how that awful boxer oppressed them with his racism.
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Christ, what a bunch of assholes.
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Well yeah, any time a black person uses the word “white,” they’re being totes racist, right?
I wonder if this is the bit from Ali that gets to those butthurt white dudes (again from Dave Zirin’s piece), his explanation for refusing to fight in Vietnam. I don’t see a single word in it that isn’t absolutely righteous. Ali became so much more than a boxer. And it seems to me that that “more” is so much more than what he achieved as a boxer:
Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality…. If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years.
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Having previously beaten Superman to a bloody pulp, Ali had decided to challenge Aquaman for the title “King of Atlantis.”
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As a white person, everything he said in that quote seems… well, completely reasonable to me to be honest.
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This Trump asshole doesn’t want black people counting his money, and wants to ban Muslims (even American citizens) from entering the country. But in a moment of national sympathy for a Muslim African-American, he’s first in line. What a piece of work.
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When I was a kid just 4 years younger than Ali, he was my hero. He was young and cute, had a smart mouth and a great attitude toward the system and I sort of had a crush on him too. As the years took all of us along he continued to be more and more of a hero.He stood up for himself and for other people who were struggling to get by in life. He used his fame and money to help other people. When speaking of Ali it really isn’t at all trite to say; He is The Greatest.
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Well, Ali eventually embraced Sufism. Perhaps Trump is one of those who believes that Sufism is not genuine Islam. He’s just trying to protect the faith!
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Dear 2016, please stop killing our heroes.
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Look at it this way: maybe we just have that many more visible heroes in today’s media-hypersaturated world.
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Well, that would imply he has some greater knowledge of Islam other than MUSLIMS BAD!!! I kind of doubt he’s aware of the various sects and schisms within the faith itself… 
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He has finally been freed of the failing body he’s been trapped in for decades…
Here’s hoping he’s up there with bruce lee seeing who’s got the faster punch.
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In absolute fairness to Superman; it was under a red sun, and he still gave one hell of a fight.
I’d still put good money on Ali for taking Aquaman out in the ring.
Foreman on Ali in the LA Times this morning -
“That right hand was the fastest punch I’ve ever been hit with. Never been hit so fast. It was like he was a lightweight. I didn’t even see it coming. I waited, my corner told me to hold it, I jumped up, the fight was over.”
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