Anyone here read "Live Fast, Die Young the Life and Times of Harry Greb"?

Says a guy using two offensive slurs "dago" and "wop" in his username?

 

Most sites would block your name for being offensive. It would appear as Mr*******, if at all.

And you're trying to paint someone as racist?

Enough.

 

I find the use of the word disturbing and offensive. And if the passage is as presented, Greb being part of a racist mob isn’t a good look and paints a very ugly picture of the man that should be further explored.

 

The good thing about the thread is bring attention back to the book as it is without question the book on this legendary champ. Nothing else comes close.

 

Never seen a negative review of the book.

 

Again, where is there any mention of a racist mob?? Did you read the book or the articles outlining the case and the trial? A man, who happened to be black, was accused of accosting women on the street. He challenged anyone to fight. Greb took up the challenge and knocked him down. He pulled a gun and attempted to shoot Greb, missed, and shot Greb’s friend in the face. In the confusion he ran, was pursued by people who had witnessed the events, barracaded himself in a house, and began shooting wildly. He was arrested, tried, and convicted. This same man was convicted over twenty times over the next fifty years for numerous offenses, which ranged from assault, burglery, gambling, numbers running, and sodomy. I know because to do the story justice I researched and have his conviction record. At his trial he recounted his version of events nobody agreed with it. Greb and several other witnesses testified against the man and upheld Grebs story. You can sit there and “but, but, but... it was racist early 20th century America” but that doesnt give ANYBODY free pass to act like an ******* and get out of jail free. It also doesnt mean that everybody was a racist or every black person was a victim of a racist conspiracy. More to the point simply reporting the story as it happened doesnt make me a racist. If you have some evidence that this man was innocent of ALL of the crimes he was charged with then please bring it forward. If you have some evidence beyond a ridiculously liberal reading of the facts that this was some mob in white sheets intent on lynching the man then by all means bring it forward. I would just remind you that Greb was not the one accused by multiple witnesses of accosting women, starting a fight in the street, shooting someone in the face, etc. etc. he wasnt charged, he wasnt arrested, he wasnt found guilty, and he didnt serve any time, unlike this man who served twenty prison sentences...

 

Acck, your right of course, I was thinking of the book being from the 1910-1920 era, my apologies.

 

No, I haven’t read the book. Is the passage quoted in this threat an accurate quote?

If so, why did you choose to identify the man by using a racially-charged epithet? That, to me, is indefensible on your part as an author. Why do you refer to him as “black” here but use the N-word in your book?

Now, presuming the account quoted in this thread is as written in your book, and according to what you wrote in the post above, what this Clarence Jackson did was speak to white women — that’s what accost means. The book snippet quoted says “harassing” — if he was physically assaulting them, I assume you would have said so.

According to this account, he challenged anyone to fight him after being “reproached.” Do we have details as to what the “reproachment” consisted of? Was he called a racial slur? Did the group of people reproaching him (I don’t see there being a lot of witnesses if there’s not a mob, or crowd, or however you wish to characterize it) say, “Excuse me, Kind Sir, but we do not approve of what you said to these women”? — I kind of doubt it went down like that. The very fact that the race of the man in question and the women to whom he was talking was part of the record and that you made mention of it tells me all I need to know, really.

The basic truth of this seems to be: (a) man of color says something to white women on the street, (b) he is ‘reproached’ by multiple people (I’m guessing they were white), (c) he loses his cool, possibly afraid, possibly out of anger, and says in so many words ‘If you don’t like it step up and do something about it, fight me, (d) a man who is one of the greatest prizefighters of all times assaults him with his fists (which is different than you or I hitting someone on the street, it’s basicaly assault with a weapon or has been held up as such in some cases), (e) the man pulls out a gun and shoots at the person who assaulted him, from his point of view probably in self defense.

The ‘mob’ seems to have chased him to a houes and he barricaded himself inside and started shooting. Poor decision, for sure, but he probably thought they’d kill him if they got their hands on him.

Was he guilty? The court found him so. But tell me, was the jury of his peers perhaps all white? Or not. I have no idea. But of course I don’t have evidence of numerous charges someone I’ve never heard of faced years before I was born — to challenge me to do so is intellectually dishonest at the very least. And what would that have to do with anything. The person’s subsequent actions over the years, or previous actions or infractions, have nothing to do with this encounter and who was right or wrong. What does a ‘sodomy’ conviction have to do with this?

Tell me what I’m missing. And please explain your use of the N-word.

 

I didnt use a racially charged epithet. Feel free to look it up.

In regards to the rest of your nonsense: again, if you feel expert enough on the subject to judge without having read the book or any of the reports, instead relying on a post on a boxing forum, then by all means professor, feel free to write a book on the subject.

 

Just to be clear, you are saying this line is NOT in your book: “A 28-year old Negro named Clarence Jackson was being reproached for "harassing" a group of white girls.”

 

This attack on klompton needs to stop. This thread was started by a poster who has been banned 5 times and who was banned last month for unspeakable comments. He has zero credibility.

Klompton has never once to my knowledge said something that could even be remotely considered racist. Quite the contrary, he often defends black fighters who were victims of racial injustice.

Klompton wrote one of the best boxing books of all time. Buy it, read it, and educate yourself!

 

Im curious, I also wrote of a situation whereby Mike Milko was arrested. Where was all of the righteous indignation over how horrible I treat slovik people. I also discussed Jack Blackburn’s drunken shooting spree that resulted in a murder and his arrest. Was I being racist then too? In the article Im writing on Jeff Merritt I detail his numerous arrests, convictions, etc. should I edit that part of his life out to spare the sensibilities of those who think his problems were created not by himself but by the society that produced him? Give me a ****ing break. When you can show me anything but a ton of conjecture that you entirely imagined that shows Jackson was innocent of this and every other crime he was convicted of then speak up. Until Ill stand by my research, not bleeding heart crying of somebody who read one paragraph on a forum and is now an expert...

 

Actually, it’s your job as a researcher to find out what happened and put it into context. Being that the race of the person AND the girls he was talking to are in your account, as an author you would have done well to put it in the context of the time by talking to experts on race relations at the place and time.

But I’m not arguing his innocence or guilt, and it’s not relevant to whether or not you wrote these words in your book:

“A 28-year old Negro named Clarence Jackson was being reproached for "harassing" a group of white girls.”

If you did not, I apologize for believing the OP.

If you did, I remain offended and disturbed by it. And moreso that you said in a post to me above that you did not use a racially-charged epithet. Because if the N-word used above does not meet that description, I don’t know what does.