Boxing has been strongly tied to social history in most Western countries and as we all know it seems to reflect the going trends, and opinions whether right or annoying...
What is racist and what is jibing are often narrow lines to some people. To me words mean very little, but if a white man was to say "I will never lose to a black man" it can be deemed racist, however if a coloured skin man was to say that in reverse...its nothing. In any case that is a greater social perception I think...
what I am interested in is what are the most racist quotes related to boxing you guys have heard or read.
Please do not treat this as an inflamatory post or thread, im just interested to read such quotes, as it comes from a conversation I had with my brother and the topic.
Thanks again
Kym
Most Racist boxing related quotes
Robinson, I say this in all seriousness. Go to the following site and do a search of the words "boxing" or "prizefighting" AND "person," "coon," "smoke," "darkie," "Sambo" (or any other racially offensive term of the times) and you will find more quotes than you can stomach. You can pick out the quote you think is the most offensive - many are in the running. To my late 20th century/early 21st century ears, they all are equally repugnant.
http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/home.html
Interestingly, its not just the combatants who use this language. It is the newspaper writers themselves.
Of course, those were the times. Even a "man-of-the-people" socialist like Jack London was a racist. So was Woodrow Wilson.
(And I apologize to anyone who is offended by those words, but you find them throughout the newspapers of the times.)
http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/home.html
Interestingly, its not just the combatants who use this language. It is the newspaper writers themselves.
Of course, those were the times. Even a "man-of-the-people" socialist like Jack London was a racist. So was Woodrow Wilson.
(And I apologize to anyone who is offended by those words, but you find them throughout the newspapers of the times.)
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HomicideHenry
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 18722
- Joined: 08 Sep 2005, 00:43
I know by and large people tried to make Gerry Cooney out to be a racist, though he never was, and his team made it clear with their slogan of: "Not the white man, but the right man."
Some of the so-called quotes from Jim Jeffries during the build up to the fight with Jack Johnson were obviously manufactured or doctored up from sportswriters of the times, as they sounded too much like something a king or president would have said going into a war, rather than a simple man like Jeffries would have done said.
There's been so many slurs and quotes throughout the ages, its hard to really remember, recall or to post every single one.
Some of the so-called quotes from Jim Jeffries during the build up to the fight with Jack Johnson were obviously manufactured or doctored up from sportswriters of the times, as they sounded too much like something a king or president would have said going into a war, rather than a simple man like Jeffries would have done said.
There's been so many slurs and quotes throughout the ages, its hard to really remember, recall or to post every single one.
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Collins2000
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 4175
- Joined: 06 May 2002, 06:13
HomicideHenry wrote:I know by and large people tried to make Gerry Cooney out to be a racist, though he never was, and his team made it clear with their slogan of: "Not the white man, but the right man."
Some of the so-called quotes from Jim Jeffries during the build up to the fight with Jack Johnson were obviously manufactured or doctored up from sportswriters of the times, as they sounded too much like something a king or president would have said going into a war, rather than a simple man like Jeffries would have done said.
There's been so many slurs and quotes throughout the ages, its hard to really remember, recall or to post every single one.
Never heard that before. You have some actual quotes?
actual quote from London
From the CBZ White Hope page -- http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/w-hope.htm -- is the quote really rascist?
was with Burns all the way. He was a white man and so am I. Naturally I wanted to see the white man win. Put the case to Johnson and ask him if he were the spectator at a fight between a white man and a black man which he would like to see win. Johnson's black skin will dictate a desire parallel to the one dictated by my white skin. . . . Because a white man wishes a white man to win, this should not prevent giving absolute credit to the best man who did win, even when that best man was black. . . . But one thing remains. Jeffries must emerge from his alfalfa farm and remove the smile from Johnson's face. "Jeff, it's up to you, and McIntosh its up to you to get the fight for Australia. Both you and Australia certainly deserve it."
-- New York Herald, December 27, 1908
was with Burns all the way. He was a white man and so am I. Naturally I wanted to see the white man win. Put the case to Johnson and ask him if he were the spectator at a fight between a white man and a black man which he would like to see win. Johnson's black skin will dictate a desire parallel to the one dictated by my white skin. . . . Because a white man wishes a white man to win, this should not prevent giving absolute credit to the best man who did win, even when that best man was black. . . . But one thing remains. Jeffries must emerge from his alfalfa farm and remove the smile from Johnson's face. "Jeff, it's up to you, and McIntosh its up to you to get the fight for Australia. Both you and Australia certainly deserve it."
-- New York Herald, December 27, 1908
This seems pretty damning... i can understand your anger, Ray.raylawpc wrote:I would like to know who edited my post!!!!:x I most assuredly did NOT use the phrase "jungle bunny" in my post as that phrase was not in the venacular in the early 20th century.
The phrases used in the early 20th century were offensive and distasteful enough without adding to them.
Buzz, who can edit our posts like this?
JohnShep, Ric, barry, KOJOE90, Broncano, BoxBuzzEzzard wrote:This seems pretty damning... i can understand your anger, Ray.raylawpc wrote:I would like to know who edited my post!!!!
The phrases used in the early 20th century were offensive and distasteful enough without adding to them.
Buzz, who can edit our posts like this?
didnt mean to imply that you had done it, BroncanoBroncano wrote:The word got edited automatically by the php software. It happens when you type the "n" word. You have Decagon to thank for that.
wouldnt it be better to replace it with [RACIAL EPITHET DELETED] rather than let someone be called a Jungle Bunny (which is still mildly offensive in places)
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pundit
- Heavyweight
I see now it deleted the word n*gger, which is what I originally wrote (except I used the "i" instead of the "*"), and substituted "juggle bunny".
Although I have some sympathy with concept of "political correctness," some words - however inflamatory they are now - have a historical context. We cannot rewrite history. Those words were used and should be discussed, in that context.
Although I have some sympathy with concept of "political correctness," some words - however inflamatory they are now - have a historical context. We cannot rewrite history. Those words were used and should be discussed, in that context.
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pundit
- Heavyweight
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pundit
- Heavyweight