A new voice has come up to attack the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign. And this one carries special weight. It belongs to the son of one of the most influential African-Americans of the 20th century – Muhammad Ali. His son Muhammad Ali Jr was speaking at the fourth death anniversary of the legendary boxer when he tore into the Black Lives Matter campaign that has become the primary political catalyst in the wake of George Floyd's death and the protests following it.
Speaking to New York Post, Ali Jr. didn't hold back his verbal punches and delivered some nasty blows to the protesters who have held the attention of American people for the last couple of weeks. "Don't bust up s**t, don't trash the place. You can peacefully protest. My father would have said, 'They ain't nothing but devils.' My father said all lives matter. I don't think he'd agree (with Black Lives Matter)," he was quoted as saying.
Muhammad Ali's Son Hits Out At BLM Campaign
In fact, Ali Jr went one step further in assailing the protesters. He declared the whole movement as 'racist.' "I think it's racist. It's not just black lives matter, white lives matter, Chinese lives matter, all lives matter, everybody's life matters. God loves everyone. He never singled anyone out. Killing is wrong no matter who it is," the boxing legend's son said.
So far, the main thrust of opposition to Black Lives Matter has come from conservative voices in the media as well as politics. President Donald Trump too has shown a willingness to castigate the vandalizers of public and private property and question whether the protests have genuinely been only a reaction to the brutal and fatal assault on Floyd by police.
The Officer Was Doing His Job: Ali
When quizzed about the specific problem of police brutality and the disproportionate number of African-American victims to it, Ali Jr expressed his confidence in the force. "Police don't wake up and think, 'I'm going to kill a n—-r today or kill a white man.' They're just trying to make it back home to their family in one piece."
Even on the specific incident that triggered the whole nationwide protests, Ali didn't outrightly condemn the actions of the police. "The officer was wrong with killing that person, but people don't realize there was more footage than what they showed. The guy resisted arrest, the officer was doing his job, but he used the wrong tactic."
