# Discussion of Ali being racist \[mod title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 4, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549 "2016-06-04T19:45:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/121 "2016-06-07T01:09:28Z")
> [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](#): > > But we cannot let a racist be decorated a hero. Oscar Schindler was a member of the Nazi party, a war profiteer, and he cheated on his wife. Even so, he still saved 1,200 lives, and that’s what made him a hero despite his personal flaws. No one has ever said Ali was a saint, but his flaws do not erase his strengths. If the good he did in life outweighs the bad then yes, he can be lauded as a hero. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/122 "2016-06-07T01:28:03Z")
This Just In: Every Human who ever lived was Human. Do you believe that any one can be perfect? Why is it important for you that people agree with you on this? The guy just died, he’s somewhat of an important figure, and people are mourning. Why is it so important for you to make everyone see that he was flawed? (Which, you know, most adults could tell you about any other person on this Earth.) The bit about asking the other boxer to call him ‘n-r’ to create controversy. One read on that is a black guy (Ali) so used to hearing white guys call him that, especially in that era, that he didn’t think it would be injurious for the other guy to call him that. Thankfully, the other guy said no. Or does it have to be malice? ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/123 "2016-06-07T01:43:29Z")
> [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](#): > > I’ll make it easier for those of you who were too lazy. Those of you who actually did the work are better off for it. > . . . > > [Search Results for “business” – Peakmet AI Blog](http://www.eontarionow.com/curiosity/2013/10/17/iq-scores-of-the-famous-muhammad-ali-iq-78/) > [@](#): > > An IQ score of 145 or more is considered to be “genius” material. Famous people in this category include Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Paul Allen, \*\*Leonardo Da Vinci \*\*and Bill Gates. The . . . fuck . . . ? Such smart column. It gives me thinks. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/124 "2016-06-07T02:49:38Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Oscar Schindler was a member of the Nazi party, a war profiteer, and he cheated on his wife. Even so, he still saved 1,200 lives, and that’s what made him a hero despite his personal flaws. > > No one has ever said Ali was a saint, but his flaws do not erase his strengths. If the good he did in life outweighs the bad then yes, he can be lauded as a hero. Or look at [John Rabe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rabe). ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/125 "2016-06-07T03:10:56Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > There’s a difference between tolerating people and tolerating ideas. Right wing ‘martyrs’ are tolerated here. Their ideas? Hah! Their ideas are moronic. ---
**Author:** ![AlienVessels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@AlienVessels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlienVessels)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/126 "2016-06-07T04:06:36Z")
One IQ test result is meaningless and goofing off in high school when it’s clear you’re a gifted boxer at a time when that’s about the one ticket you have out of the lower classes also means squat. Neither are particularly precise measures of intelligence. His score got him out of military service until the service lowered the bar. Why the hell would you waste time in high school when you’d already demonstrated national level boxing skills? Some people can’t do the math. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/127 "2016-06-07T05:08:35Z")
They can do the math. They just can’t find the magic words that makes everybody else racist doucheturds like them. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/128 "2016-06-07T05:24:05Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > How about you put your money where your mouth is: post your IQ. Or else STFU. Guin, Guin, Guin. Don’t you know that would require him to actually have an IQ? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffes_Can_t_Dance)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/129 "2016-06-07T20:07:08Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > If the good he did in life outweighs the bad then yes, he can be lauded as a hero. Boy, that’s a low bar for heroism you’re setting there. I’d love to hear about all the good Ali did for anyone but himself. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffes_Can_t_Dance)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/130 "2016-06-07T20:15:00Z")
Thank goodness most of you are past the denial faze regarding Ali’s dim-witted racism. Sadly, you’ve moved on to the excuse-making portion of his defense. There is no excuse for racism. Racism is an ugly practice meant to keep fellow humans from looking beyond the trivial exterior. Racism is also driven by fear; fear of that which is different. Racism, is any form, should not be tolerated. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/131 "2016-06-07T20:19:43Z")
> [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](#): > > Thank goodness most of you are past the denial faze regarding Ali’s dim-witted racism. Sadly, you’ve moved on to the excuse-making portion of his defense. > > There is no excuse for racism. Racism is an ugly practice meant to keep fellow humans from looking beyond the trivial exterior. Racism is also driven by fear; fear of that which is different. Racism, is any form, should not be tolerated. Thankfully, by many statements through his later life, the older Ali abandoned the hateful and racist view of his younger days, and we can celebrate the great and positive man he became. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/132 "2016-06-07T20:28:37Z")
> [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](#): > > Thank goodness most of you are past the denial faze regarding Ali’s dim-witted racism. Sadly, you’ve moved on to the excuse-making portion of his defense. > > There is no excuse for racism. Racism is an ugly practice meant to keep fellow humans from looking beyond the trivial exterior. Racism is also driven by fear; fear of that which is different. Racism, is any form, should not be tolerated. You have no knowledge of history. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/133 "2016-06-07T22:01:38Z")
> [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](#): > > Boy, that’s a low bar for heroism you’re setting there. > > I’d love to hear about all the good Ali did for anyone but himself. - took a very firm stance against a war (Viet Name) - supported numerous charities, among them the —Andrea Bocelli Foundation —Athletes For Hope —BeatBullying —Buoniconti Fund To Cure Paralysis —Celebrity Fight Night Foundation —HELP USA —Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation —Keep Memory Alive —Michael J. Fox Foundation —Parkinson Society Maritime Region —Project A.L.S. —Special Olympics —The HollyRod Foundation —The Miami Project —UNICEF —Watering Seeds Organization (Also several charities bearing his own name) -Causes supported: —abuse victims — AIDS & HIV sufferers — ALS — Alzheimer’s Disease — bullying — bancer — children’s causes — family/parent Support — health — homelessness — human rights — hunger — literacy — mental challenges — Parkinson’s Disease — handicapped — poverty — slavery & human trafficking Also know for volunteering at soup kitchens, shelters, visiting the ill in hospitals, and basically doing a lot of little things that added up to a lot of good for the people whose lives he touched. Those little acts aren’t flashy and don’t usually get on the nightly news, but they’re the real work of helping others. In 1981 in Los Angeles he talked a man out of committing suicide. In the 1990’s he traveled to Iran to try to help with an exchange of prisoners during the Iran-Iraq war. He also traveled to Iraq in 1991 to attempt to convince Saddam Hussein to release American hostages. In 2011 he wrote a letter to Iranian officials asking them to release hikers held for two years in that country, using his fame to attempt to intervene on their behalf. Not a comprehensive list of the man’s attempts to do good in the world. Did he always succeed? No, but as late as 2011 he kept trying to help others despite his very real physical afflictions and limitations. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffes_Can_t_Dance)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/134 "2016-06-10T14:50:14Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Thankfully, by many statements through his later life, the older Ali abandoned the hateful and racist view of his younger days, and we can celebrate the great and positive man he became. He never disavowed his racist past. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffes_Can_t_Dance)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/135 "2016-06-10T14:56:29Z")
Still waiting for the many reasons that Ali was “great”. Broomstick’s list of charities in which Ali “supported” was a desperate attempt. Anyone else wanna give it a real shot? Being great at a sport does not make one a great man; especially when said man promotes racism. Great men: MLK, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/136 "2016-06-10T15:13:42Z")
> [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](#): > > Still waiting for the many reasons that Ali was “great”. Broomstick’s list of charities in which Ali “supported” was a desperate attempt. Anyone else wanna give it a real shot? > > Being great at a sport does not make one a great man; especially when said man promotes racism. > > Great men: MLK, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, etc. What the fuck does “supported” mean? That he gave Monopoly money? You were given many valid reasons, all of which you dismissed without _any_ valid reason. It’s rather obvious now that you are going to trash-talk this man no matter what other say or put forth as evidence, and that any attempting to fulfill any request from you is just a waste of time and effort. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/137 "2016-06-10T15:27:54Z")
> [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](#): > > He never disavowed his racist past. Cite? Several of his statements (cited throughout the thread) in the decades following the 70s are a clear disavowal of these past opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/138 "2016-06-10T15:42:01Z")
Apparently Mohammed Ali beat him up as a child or something. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/139 "2016-06-10T16:05:27Z")
Given what Ali suffered through, I think we can give him a bit of a pass on many things. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Giraffes\_Can\_t\_Dance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffes_Can_t_Dance)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549/140 "2016-06-10T16:20:35Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Cite? Several of his statements (cited throughout the thread) in the decades following the 70s are a clear disavowal of these past opinions. I can’t “cite” something that doesn’t exist. You’re making the claim that X happened. The burden of proof is on you. You’ll probably site some ambiguous quote or something in that vein. What you will not be able to find, because it doesn’t exist, is a statement from Ali in which he disavowed his racist, segregation-supporting past. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-ali-being-racist-mod-title/756549.md?page=8)