Ali was a hero for me. It was difficult for me to hear him say these things because people around me were complaining about his politics, and I remember kinda going along with the thinking that he should just stick to boxing. But there was (obviously) something else at work, and just as with Bill Russel and Jim Brown and Abdul-Jabbar, what I eventually came to realize was that these guys were even more amazing than I had tho't. Because - how much greater could they have been if not for having to carry all that extra baggage?
And btw, for anybody looking to turn this around and say it's a good example of "black racism" and "reverse discrimination" and "the same goes for a white guy having to face ten thousand black rattlesnakes" - that just boils down to Standard-Issue White Guilt Projection; you're voicing the fear that if you let up on him at all, the black guy would treat you just as shitty as you've been treating him, which means you're pretty much admitting to being the bigot you're so afraid you're being accused of being.
So try this instead - try to imagine what great things you could accomplish if you weren't having to carry all your extra baggage.
And btw, for anybody looking to turn this around and say it's a good example of "black racism" and "reverse discrimination" and "the same goes for a white guy having to face ten thousand black rattlesnakes" - that just boils down to Standard-Issue White Guilt Projection; you're voicing the fear that if you let up on him at all, the black guy would treat you just as shitty as you've been treating him, which means you're pretty much admitting to being the bigot you're so afraid you're being accused of being.
So try this instead - try to imagine what great things you could accomplish if you weren't having to carry all your extra baggage.
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