by designs 22 Replies latest watchtower scandals
With the help of JW attorney Hayden Covington the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Muhammad Ali's exemption status to the Draft. I admired him for taking his stand.
Meanwhile we young JW guys were being hung out to dry by the Wt. goons- Knorr, Franz and Schroeder. I still have my rejection letter from the Org. refusing to help.
I remember; I was 13 years old.
Didn't know about Watch Tower, though.
That was to come 2 years later.
What a time all of that was. Brothers on the West Coast were being sentenced to Federal and State camps in Lompoc Ca., Safford Az., Bishop Ca..
Terry Walstrom "Terry" who posts on here has quite a story to tell.
Such waste!
I have never been much of a fan of boxing, but Ali has been a hero since he refused the draft
I like what Ali said to the draft board when they asked him why he would not go to Vietnam.
"Co's no vietcong ever called me a nigger"
Karter.
I agree, although boxing is a sick sport, I admire Ali for refusing to go to war.
Designs and snowbird:
If you read Terry Walstons story it was years later the wts flipped flopped again so anyone conscripted could do alternative work instead of facing imprisonment.
Knorr, Franz, Scroeder. Their names live in infamy. Have any of those characters ever been in side a prison? Yet they abandoned young men to that fate, why? To save the wt money?
Designs: The letter of rejection would make good public viewing.
Muhammad Ali?.. hes a good bloke. Anyone recall him lighting the caldron at the Olympics?
I never thought of dodging the draft (1966). Friends of mine,
one moved to Canada, three became black Moslem, two Black
Panthers, three or four in the US organization.. None served in
the military.
Two weeks before going into the Army one of my friend invited me
to a party in his home. Great, a lot of women I thought. It was a
gathering for the US organization, no women just guys.
So what happen after I served in the military, I became a JW.
Those guys, Panthers, Moslem and US, became professors, news
paper editor, Governments jobs, preacher and one still in hiding.
I've always admired him. It's sad that he has suffered the worst effects of a boxing career, with the brain damage. I'll never forget what he taught me - stick to your ideals, and as a fighter, KNOW you are the best! "Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee."
He was the first rapper. He was a symbol of standing up for what he believed in. They would NEVER have taken the belt from a white champion - that person would have been exempted from military service, somehow, some way!
jam - I have friends who were draft dodgers - one was my cousin, another became a famous science fiction writer (even won a Hugo or two) ... it was a conscience driven choice for the friend .... for my cousin, I think "not so much" (he is a self-serving person anyhow), but I think each person had their own decision to make. Is it okay if some ran because they were afraid? I think so. I know that I wouldn't have been able to do it.
Man, I can only imagine how TRULY scary that must have been - you were conscripted! Little more than a child, really, being sent off to ... HELL.
And honestly, after hearing what my ex-fiancee said about jungles and trip wires, seeing your friends ... well, I won't go there ... and all that truly unimaginable stuff (for those of us who have only ever lived on 'civvy' street) that goes along with it, I give you my undying respect and admiration, for being the man you are today.
I'm wondering about the friend who is still in hiding - there was a pardon for draft dodgers, so ... I dunno, if he was a Black Panther, maybe there are 'treason' charges that will follow him for the rest of his life ... sad.
I know it took your life from you in one way - maybe it's why you joined the religion, I don't know. Just know that, to this person, reading your words for years, you seem kind and heck, someone I would want to know. You're not bitter (which is a major accomplishment), and that is a real example for all of us to look up to.
xo
tal
