Teddy Atlas: The athletes: boxers, fighters, and others, are not heroes. Soldiers are

[danny stash]

When Edison Miranda survived after being abandoned by his mother and rose to become a top middleweight, that was heroic, because it required courage. Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano rising from extreme poverty to become world heavyweight champions was heroic.

Killing people with bombs and powerful guns in some impoverished country like Vietnam or Iraq is not heroic. Muhammed Ali was the greater hero when he chose to go to prison, rather than be part of it.

I see your living in canada huh. The only reason you dont live under an opressive regime like the **** germany of the ww2 is because of the bravery of people like my grandfather. I am not pro war by any means but that statement you made is ****ing bull**** buddy. While sit at home and type on your computer in the comfort of your canadian home millions of kids your age did not have the opportunity you did so they chose the army. NO ONE chooses to go to iraq or afghanistan or vietnam or D day or germany etc. They are doing their duty protecting our freedoms. YOURS AND MINE. I am not saying i agree with the war but pieces of **** like you sitting on your couch talking boxing and who's their favorite boxer (hero) need to stop and think about what I am saying. Their are alot of boxers who in my opinion achieved hero status for thier accomplishments in and out of the ring ALI being one. However, it was a choice of his to duck the draft and did not make him a hero. A martyr maybe but not a hero. His work to achieve racial equality and his work for his people is what made him a hero in my eyes. Please people think before you write on this board because alot of our boys and girls are in the service and they are ****ING HEROES!!!!!!!!!

[El Jesus]

my brother! I even had to read your post twice! It was like day-ja-voo, or how ever you spell it, but i feel you. 250 days in hot blazing desert, so I know exactly what you're talking about.

Drill Sergeant always said...."no one made you sign that contract, you came here cause you wanted to". Like you, I enlisted when it was "BE ALL YOU CAN BE", where it took me 5 years to make Sergeant because of point system that caters to combat MOS'. A new Soldier, 20 years old, just having 2 years of Military experience, is promoted to NCO status! That, IMHO, is setting up a young Sergeant for failure. Like the the old saying..."wisdom comes with age". Two years is insufficient time to have received vital training.

The other day I saw an E2 with two rows of service ribbons! At first I thought he must have just gotten de-moted...but when I asked him, his time in service was only 8 months! WTFO!

It is no wonder the The Commander in Chief gives the Military a pay raise just about every other January. And DA is offering such huge incentives to keep folks from ETS. The fact is, 80% of Enlisted Soldiers just do one tour (4 years) and get out....It's all about that GI Bill, never mind that being patriotic business.

Like you brother,...I had to eat ****.....AND LIKE IT! The Military is a great place. Crossed the Atlantic 14 times and through the Army, I've watched the Sun rise from 15 different Countries. Learned a great deal, saw the world, jumped out of perfectly good airplanes....but it will never take the place of Family. In the Army, it's "Duty First".

But you know what I say? "Duty First,...Family ALWAYS"!!!

LOL @ NCO in just a matter of months. The army promotes faster than the air force though, so they have alot more slots for NCO's to move up. But i think you understood my point the best, im not going to pretend and buy into the whole heroic crusade ideal because i think that would be unquestionably arrogant. People in the civilian world already get mad when you try to put it on people about how "I WAS IN THE MILITARY AND IN THE MILITARY I DID THIS AND THIS AND THIS" etc. Once you leave the military and take the uniform off your just like anyone else. To be a hero to me you have to do elevate yourself amongst your peers and do something to be called that. If you went overseas, did your job and came home, then thats what you did, but if you rescued some folks or did some crazy **** to keep others alive, then to me you are a hero. You see what im saying?

But this is me after my article 15. Notice i have 4 ribbons, one of them im not wearing because i couldnt find it.

I honestly think your one of the only people here other than a couple others who really understands where im coming from.

[ecuastoh]

You know why you have that right? I bet you do. The americans fighting for you to have that right. I know people disagree with the war and blah blah blah but to be out right disrespectful about soldiers is crazy. You many not agree but don't be disrespectful toward the people that gave you the right to talk **** on this forum.

Are you ******ed? He's a veteran nobody gave him ****, he EARNED the right to his opinion. And even if you aren't a veteran, HUMANS have a right to voice their opinion. Disagreeing is not disrespecting and being quiet about something that you know is wrong is cowardly.

[DELETED ACCOUNT 06]

I see your living in canada huh. The only reason you dont live under an opressive regime like the **** germany of the ww2 is because of the bravery of people like my grandfather. I am not pro war by any means but that statement you made is ****ing bull**** buddy. While sit at home and type on your computer in the comfort of your canadian home millions of kids your age did not have the opportunity you did so they chose the army. NO ONE chooses to go to iraq or afghanistan or vietnam or D day or germany etc. They are doing their duty protecting our freedoms. YOURS AND MINE. I am not saying i agree with the war but pieces of **** like you sitting on your couch talking boxing and who's their favorite boxer (hero) need to stop and think about what I am saying. Their are alot of boxers who in my opinion achieved hero status for thier accomplishments in and out of the ring ALI being one. However, it was a choice of his to duck the draft and did not make him a hero. A martyr maybe but not a hero. His work to achieve racial equality and his work for his people is what made him a hero in my eyes. Please people think before you write on this board because alot of our boys and girls are in the service and they are ****ING HEROES!!!!!!!!!

Steady on Danny. Canadians did fight, kill and die in WW2 and WW1. There in Iraq too. If you think Canadians didn't fight and die as hard as yankee's then your out of order on that one. It was a World War, not U.S.A vs Germany, like Hollywood likes to interpret.

[Steelhammer86]

I see your living in canada huh. The only reason you dont live under an opressive regime like the **** germany of the ww2 is because of the bravery of people like my grandfather. I am not pro war by any means but that statement you made is ****ing bull**** buddy. While sit at home and type on your computer in the comfort of your canadian home millions of kids your age did not have the opportunity you did so they chose the army. NO ONE chooses to go to iraq or afghanistan or vietnam or D day or germany etc. They are doing their duty protecting our freedoms. YOURS AND MINE. I am not saying i agree with the war but pieces of **** like you sitting on your couch talking boxing and who's their favorite boxer (hero) need to stop and think about what I am saying. Their are alot of boxers who in my opinion achieved hero status for thier accomplishments in and out of the ring ALI being one. However, it was a choice of his to duck the draft and did not make him a hero. A martyr maybe but not a hero. His work to achieve racial equality and his work for his people is what made him a hero in my eyes. Please people think before you write on this board because alot of our boys and girls are in the service and they are ****ING HEROES!!!!!!!!!

There's a difference between a necessary war like WW 2 and a war like Vietnam. Because the Japanese and Germans were invading other countries and committing atrocities, it was necessary to defend freedom in WW 2.

My father was in the RAF in the Battle of Britain ("never have so many owed so much to so few" - Winston Churchill). His older brother - a top welterweight boxer in Britain and in the elite Royal Scots - was KIA in Belgium in 1940. His other brother became a POW after being captured by the ****s at Tobruk.

I would be among the first to volunteer for a necessary war like WW 2 (or Afghanistan, which is necessary to stop terrorism). However unnecessary wars like Vietnam and Iraq are wasteful in the cost in human lives and suffering. Muhammed Ali made the right decision all those years ago and I will always respect him for it.

[werewolf]

Teddy Atlas is a psychotic. He fits right in with the criminal world of pro boxing.




ww

[Parody]

How did american lives become more valuable than the lives on the women and children dying daily in iraq? Hundreds of thousands of iraqi civilians are dead because of the war we started. Saddam was a piece of ****, he was an evil tyrant, but under him, the country was stable, the sunni and *****e population knew their place, even if it was unfair, it was stable, now its a ****ing free for all. As a ****** i will tell you right now, Bin Ladin hated Saddam, Saddam had a secular government and by Bin Ladin's standards, had a very "western" type rule over the people.

Bin Ladin thought Saddam was too westernized and couldnt stand the way he ran things. Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction, he was a ********* to his own people, but not to the american people, he had no plans on attacking the united states nor did he care too. He was fine oppressing his own people, and dont lie to me and tell me we remove every evil dictator, we dont, especially if its not a reigon of valuable natural resources, which is why we dont give a **** about africa for the most part unless its indirect action.

Im sick of this 9-11 excuse, american lives are lives, a life is a ****ing life, and with well over 500,000 dead iraqi civilian lives taken due to the US occupation, Sunni militia, *****e militia, Al Queda militia, nobody cares about it. I dont value one countrymans life over another.

If the USA cared so much about freedom, where were we during the Rwanadan ethnic cleansing? Where are we now in Sundan/Darfur reigon? THEY are the ones who really needed our help, god forbid we stop the ACTIVE murder of millions, by ACTUAL *********s committing ethnic cleansing. Instead we de-stabalize a country and make it worse than it was when we got there, opened up a can of worms and are caught in the middle of a civil war.

I guess as long as america is safe, the innocent lives lost in Iraq, the children dying there dont matter as much so long as were safe.


How about people just going to school? How about people being blown up while just eating at a cafe? You speak as if we live in isreal fearing for our lives.

Imagine for a minute your a civilian in iraq, in your daily life, one day your getting pilfered by the newly active local militia that used to be supressed during the Saddam regime, then Al Queda tries to come and overtake your reigon, then your getting your hosue searched up by US Forces searching for whatever. All of this **** wasnt happening when Saddam kept everything under control.

One thing about the West, we never learn when it comes to the middle east. Everytime the west tries to invade or establish something in the middle east and its unwarranted, we get our asses kicked. These people have been fighting for thousands of years, and all of the sudden, even with our advanced technology were going to just walk all over them and establish "democracy"? Not gonna happen, we need to leave them alone and let them fight their own battle and let them establish their own government.

And that comment about turning the middle east into a parking lot, nobody would ever forgive us for that, if the holy city of mecca was destroyed, you would have the ultimate holy war on your hands, every ****** from moderate to extreme would make sure this place suffers for the rest of our time on earth, ever ********* cell would go active and sympathy for our country would go out of the window, and we would be living like the **** strip, everyday.

I agree with most of the stuff...Bush said they went for Saddam because of the Weapons of mass destruction....Well mr bush, did you find those so called weapons? Not really...Saddam might be a dictator but its Bush who has killed more people in Iraq then saddam himself, I have got stats how many people have got killed since they sent the army there, and this is civilians not not their army, army seperately killed...I just think about the innocent children

[Super Cartel]

way off topic this one is now lol

[amagnin]

I think this speech was bull****. I mean I agree that the soldiers are heroes, but boxers and fighters are too. I felt kind of betrayed when Teddy said that boxers aren't heroes. Boxers are heroes. Look at all the heroes like DLH, Erik Morales, Barrera, and so many others who conquered impossible obstacles with courage and bravery, just like the soldiers. It would have been better had he said that both are heroes. How did you feel about him saying this?

I understand your point but disagree. Athletes provide INSPIRATION for other individuals in society and may be role models and overall great individuals but not heroes (in my opinion). While athletes entertain us and often do so at risk to their physical health, they are paid and the end result is usually (overwhelmingly usually) not death. On the other hand soldiers are paid very little to protect our freedom whether or not it is under direct attack right now. Boxers/athletes wouldn't be able to enjoy their position of noteriety if we didn't live in a safe place. So in the end these guys die to make our lives easier/better for little to no money or fame. I love athletes and especially boxers and I find that their stories and lessons often provide good learning for us...they do not qualify as heroes.

[renren40]

I'm a soldier...there are soldiers and fighters that are heroes but not all...i know some dirtbags in the Army that I would not go to war with...think about it...there's more than millions in the military....u think all are badasses?

some boxers are heroes cuz they came from poverty and they are setting good example to stay off the streets and out of jail....and some boxers are on roids

be openminded people