Over one millions served in Viet Nam and 59,000 died there with 87% of those being caucasions. None of us wanted to go to Nam and possible die but it was the law at the time. We could have avoided military service but ruin our lives. Clay made millions in the ring and then put down his country and bad mouthed it. I think he was a low down coward.
2007-12-04 08:47:10 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Clay said Viet Cong never called him a ****** but the real person to worry about was the little guy with Ak47. I did not give a rats rear end what they called me. It was not easy for a white male from a consevative community to say hell no I am not going to Viet Nam and I realize for some of you this is hard to understand because many of you Gen x folks for all your life have been given only yes to all your wants and needs. I do not care what Bush did or the Amish did or the pope but still attest that Clay avoided the draft because he was afraid to go or listened to radicals filling his mind with crap. On person who answered hit the nail on the head when he said Clay was willing to beat some poor jerks brains out but he did not want to hurt any Viet Cong, good going my friend.the bottom line is Clay had to live with his on conscious and many others who let their brothers go in their place and give their live. This would have been difficult for me to live with.
2007-12-04 09:58:18 · update #1
i do not care what Bush did during the VN war or the Amish, or thousands who chickenout and went to Canada. The only thing i am saying about Cassius clay is that he made a decision to avoid duty in Viet Nam when hundreds of thousands had no choice but to answer the call to duty. Each person has to live with this decision for the rest of his life and its true that if some of those who did go to VN would be alive if they did not. I am at peace with myself for accepting the challenge and could not look a VN vet in the face today if i had not and say i went to Canada or because I was a celiberity boxer, football player, went to Canada. I have talked to many people who went this route and they feel a little less of themselves for this decision. I just believe Cassius Clay let himself down and more than likely if he served in the military he would not have been placed in a front line combat unit. he no doubt would have got preferential treatment there also.
2007-12-05 02:19:57 · update #2
Michael S you did not read my first paragraph in the edit section. It was not words that would hurt you in VN but booby traps, Ak47s, snakes, leeches etc. Clay was hurt because someone was calling him a name? He could get in the ring and punch an opponent senseless and jump with glee afterwards but flattened when someone called him the N-word which I doubt was very seldom. Clay was listening to white haters like Jim Brown pro football player and other black radicals and it shortened his career.
2007-12-05 08:51:18 · update #3
So, what? Neither did the AMISH.
It was a bogus war, and plenty of blacks died also.
Also, I don't believe in ANY religion, I think it is all make believe, but he didn't want to fight because of his religion NOR do the Amish.
I think the Amish and Ali were smart to stay out of bogus wars that don't even have anything to do with the average citizen.
Also, plenty of white people like Bush and Chaney avoided the draft as well, and what is so outrageous about that is they are sending others to DIE.
2007-12-04 08:56:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
You are exactly right, he was a coward. It seems that a lot of answers here feel that it was O.K. to refused to serve when called if you felt that the war was "unjust." Well guess what, that wasn't their decision to make. They were citizens of this country and asked to serve. There were all sorts of excuses that people made to avoid doing their duty and all of the excuses had one thing in common, they were all made by cowards. They should have all been hunted down and publicly executed, after receiving a fair trial, of course, which as citizens of this great nation, they are entitled.
2007-12-05 03:32:05 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
While I believe a great deal of his support base came from blacks because he was black too, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that he avoided military service.
Think about it - do you want someone like him going to war with you? A conscript who has no motivation to support his country's will through force and lacks all desire to serve in the military.
2007-12-04 09:41:11 · answer #3 · answered by Gotta have more explosions! 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually I have no problem with Clay,
He didn't run and hide, he didn't use daddy's influence, he didn't use deferments to avoid the draft.
He stood up and said, this war is against my personal beliefs, and paid the price for it.
So I don't consider going to prison for your personal beliefs, dodging the draft.
He could have easliy enrolled at a university and recieved a draft deferment.
2007-12-04 10:23:22 · answer #4 · answered by jeeper_peeper321 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Muhamed Ali was a spokesperson and a figure head for many people of many races. His stand for his religious objections was paid for with a very heavy price. He was jailed and banned from boxing during the peak years of his fighting career. I am 'white' by the way.
2007-12-04 09:00:47 · answer #5 · answered by abproff04 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I support everyone that went to Vietnam and everyone who didn't. Black or white or mexican, or indian or japanese or chinese, of arab or...
There was a legitimate disagreement on the legitamacy of the war. Are you suggesting you should fight a war you think is wrong? If you think a war is wrong, it is your duty NOT to fight.
BTW about 12% of the population is black so 12% of the deaths were black.
2007-12-04 08:58:21 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
He had principles. And he was not the only one who either refused to join (and went to jail for it) or went "conscientious objector". A few hundreds - if not more - also went to Canada to avoid that "unjust" war. I have no qualms with that. And I am a Vietnam Vet.
2007-12-04 09:51:22 · answer #7 · answered by robert43041 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
His quote went something like: "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong ... They never called me ******."
Now THAT is a tough point to argue!
2007-12-04 09:08:40 · answer #8 · answered by Michael S 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
well how many other people service there and die the people who die there are the only ones to know the Truth to that statement
2007-12-04 08:56:31 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I answered your question about Tuskegee airmen, and now I see you don't really care about history, or the Tuskegee airmen, you're just a racist.
You're pathetic.
2007-12-04 08:55:20 · answer #10 · answered by Roy H 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋