Coming Out of the Nonconformist Pro Ali Closet

IN 1964, I was nine years old, and already beginning to become a nonconformist. I wanted to be different, maybe to get attention, maybe to avoid it. Already I was suspicious of religion, and was a budding reverse racist. A black celebrity, especially a great athlete, and I was good to go, an automatic fan. Because they were members of the less popular race, because my white friends and family tended towards bigotry, and because I wanted to separate myself from my milieu, I befanned myself towards black stars. Starting then, and to this very day my favorite football player is Gale Sayers, my favorite basketball player is Wilt Chamberlain, my favorite trumpet player is Louis Armstrong, because and not in spite of their blackness. I still don't like religion, and yes, my favorite boxer is Muhammad Ali. As a twelve year old in 1967, I thought Ali was getting the shaft by the boxing establishment for his stand against the Viet Nam War. I still think he got it. Obviously, in retrospect, Ali and the rest of the war protesters were right, and the establishment was wrong. Even at that age, I thought racism was the fault of my white colleagues, and I still do. At that age, I think I was smart enough to know when to keep my opinions to myself; Viet Nam opponents were considered unpatriotic by the white establishment. But now, things have changed. It is no longer considered unpatriotic to assert that the Viet Nam War was a mistake, its a little more acceptable to dislike religion, and middle class white people don't have to hide their love of black music, or black athletes. When I was a kid, I thought I had to keep quiet about my fanship of Ali, within my middle class white circles; I'm glad that is no longer the case. It turns out that Muhammed ali and the rest of the viet Nam war protesters were right on, and tens of millions of good, God fearing patriotic conservative Christian Americans were dead wrong about Viet Nam. We (the United States) lost the war, and it never should have been fought.