This must be a joke post. It really must be, because I have trouble reading it without bursting into laughter. Not the funny kind of laughter I get from Boxed Ears, but the "you can't really be this ****ing stupid" brand of laughter. LOL Yeah, Indians in America really hit the jackpot. Up to 90% of many larger tribes' population were exterminated by the early 1900's (smaller ones were completely eliminated) and the reservation education system was designed to eradicate cultural identity of those who survived. It wasn't even until 1924 that all Indians were considered U.S. citizens, something the blacks got more than 50 years prior. Around this time the Dawes (and later the Burke) acts were introduced to nab even more of the reservation land from under them. How much media protest against a race do you need when you've already practically wiped them out? Indisputable my ass. You know your boxing. Stick to that, because the rest of your history is about as rock solid as Eric Crumble's chin if you honestly believe that tripe. Peace, and best wishes. :!::hi:
Well my ancestors were of various European decent and we were just barely Americans at this point in time. We had our own share of various prejudices but like they say" What don't kill you makes you stronger. Jack Johnson overcame but did not extend a hand to fellow black boxers but it seems like Johnson is overlooked and Dempsey is not. Joe Louis went out and did what he had to do and helped a lot of black contenders get a title shots, sparring partners and trainers and make money such as John Lewis and Walcott despite the fact5 that a white challenger would generate more money. I feel bad for guys like Wills who may have deserved a title shot but there have been many fighters that were put on a shelf for various reasons such as politics, lack of drawing power and race. I still think Dempsey would have beaten Wills
Wow. You are not well read, my friend. Native Americans, specifically tribes in California and arguably the Comanche, are the only actual victims of a program of genocide in North American history. Perhaps you would be well served to go visit the Pine Ridge Reservation in in the Dakotas or the remnants of the San Carlos reservation of the Apache in Arizona. Then again, for your safety, I don't recommend you visit them.
If i was 14 i'd of been pulling up Lightspeed Rescue or Dino Force. I'm talking original early 90's Mighty Morphin on GMTV, that was on after Mr Motivator, back when men were men. The Blue Ranger was the geek btw, the worst one, he was very annoying. He looks exactly how i'd imagine bodhi to in real life.
Here's my feeling on this ... Dempsey was not afraid of anyone in his prime to the point of avoiding a bout .. he was a legit hardcore warrior and badass who came up the hard way ... however as he got a bit softer he did listen to the arguments of his promoter and manager and allowed himself to be swayed to avoid Wills . he did not demand to defend his title against the best and he is accountable for that ... it is mostly forgotten today how bad the outcry there was for Dempsey to give Wills his shot ... Dempsey was not such a puppet when it suited his needs .. he did end up dumping Kearns ... to me he is not free of charges ... he could have made it happen. In addition, I find those who make excuses for Dempsey not making the fight happen and adding insult to injury by referring to Wills as "slow" without any back up for it to be simply dishonest. The man's nickname was "The Black Panther" ... he was classes above who Dempsey did defend against and it's a disgrace.
Those talking about the attrocities perpetrated on native americans and their standing in boxing are the very definition of splitting hairs. Yes the native americans suffered BUT they absolutely were not black balled in the sociological sense in this country in the same manner as blacks. Period. During this time period one of the greatest american sporting heroes was Jim Thorpe, a native american. As you said yourself, Jack Dempsey had some native american and used to tell everyone of this fact. Had he been possessed of african american blood do you really suppose he would have been bragging about it back then? Fighters like Leo Gates and Clay Turner took promotional photos of themselves in native american head dresses, when they could have easily passed as anglos in anglophile dress. So dont sit here and preach to me about the indian wars when the two are entirely different subjects. And for the record I have cherokee blood, have ancestors who walked the trail of tears, and studied this subject as an anthropology major in college.
Seamus, I'm not trying to make light of what anyone suffered at anyone's hands, but I usually take to task anyone who makes this particular assertion, moreso because I just want to get an answer than disagree or argue. The term "genocide" is a very specific term, referring to crimes committed against groups with the intent to destroy the existence of the group (unless one goes to Wiki, which seems to allow people to alter definitions arbitrarily). You cite the Lakota as an example. If "genocide" were the aim of the US govt, then why didn't they completely wipe them out? They had almost all tribes gathered on reservations by or near the turn of the century. That being the case, if the extermination of the race were the goal then that goal could have been pretty easily and expeditiously achieved, right? The govt made a deal that if the Lakotas stopped fighting then they would be left alone (sorry, I don't have the exact wording of the deal handy). Red Cloud and his followers stopped fighting and were, for better or for worse, spared. Crazy Horse and his followers continued to fight and were killed. So the question I always ask (and never get an answer to, only personal attacks and charges of everything under the sun by the more reactionary types) is this: If genocide was indeed the goal, then why didn't the govt carry it out to its end? Don't tear m'head off, k? Just askin...:hi:
I for one would like a specific example of a native american fighter getting denied a title shot or opportunities at a title during the era of the color line because of his heritage. Good luck on that one.
Well, I'm not into to any of that. We all see posts or thread that we're not into, so skip it. Getting offensive about it isn't the way to go...
... and sometimes it gets really laughable. You know what's really funny though? How the internet allows disturbed people like this poster to hide behind their anonymity and safely hurl invectives.
Maybe I wasn't clear in my post, but genocide as far as Native Americans is concerned occurred only in certain tribes of California and I would argue the policy was in effect, though not entirely successful, with the Comanches (tho the Spanish and French wanted the same with them). My recommendation was that Klompton go take a look at some of the Lakota reservations in SoDak or the Apache San Carlos reservation in New Mex/Arizona for a look at a completely marginalized population... and some damn scary places for non-natives to be. I was not suggesting the Lakota were victims of genocide. I have friends who are Lakota, so that would be kind of silly. And yes, I have been through this genocide argument with my Master's degree professors and am pretty much regurgitating their opinions on the matters. They were Native Studies PhD's... and located in the Pacific Northwest of the US.
