My principal told my students today that Elvis was a conscientious objector

[greenbriar]

we were talking about the 26th amendment lowering the voting age to 18 and the reasons why

which led to the Draft

Which led to do you have to register

what if you don't believe in war


and my principal who had stepped in my room went to tell them that Elvis and Cascius Clay were CO's...

I just kept my mouth shut until he was done and then said I was pretty sure Elvis served in Germany

[baldguy]

1. He didn't put that uniform on for the movies.

[muntrv]

2. Cassius Clay was originally not qualified to be drafted into the military. It

was later that the military changed a standard that suddenly made Clay/Ali eligible for induction.

[Ian David]

3. IIRC, is conviction was overturned or something about 10 years ago. n/t

[TexasProgresive]

4. Do you care to expand that statement?

Why was he not qualified- what changed?

[Aragorn]

18. easy to find

from Wikipedia:

In 1964, Ali failed the U.S. Armed Forces qualifying test because his writing and spelling skills were sub-par. However, in early 1966, the tests were revised and Ali was reclassified as 1A.<4> This classification meant he was now eligible for the draft and induction into the U.S. Army. This was especially important because the United States was engaged in the Vietnam War. When notified of this status, he declared that he would refuse to serve in the United States Army and publicly considered himself a conscientious objector.<4> Ali stated that "War is against the teachings of the Holy Qur'an. I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers." Ali also famously said in 1966: "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong ... They never called me nigger."

[tonysam]

25. Clay v. United States

Here it is:

link

[Winterblues]

39. I think he was the ONLY person ever to flunk the entrance exam...twice..

:shrug:

[Ian David]

5. I did a Google search on "Famous Conscientious Objectors"

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-29395.html

Conscientious objector
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientious_objector


http://www.pbs.org/perilousfight/social/objectors/

Who where the conscientious objectors to the vietnam war?
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_where_the_conscientious_objectors_to_the_vietnam_war

[lynne]

6. Elvis met Priscilla while serving in the Army in Germany -

- and I find it really scary that teachers give bad information on such an easily researched and well known topic.
http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvisandtheusarmy.shtml

[Angry Dragon]

7. Principal

It was the principal that gave the bad information. The teacher corrected the fact after he left.

[greenbriar]

8. after he left, I told them that very thing

and pulled up photos


also told them about the letter sent to Eisenhower about not cutting his "beautiful" hair that is in the archives at Abeline Kansas

[LuvNewcastle]

9. Not only was Elvis not a CO,

he met Nixon after writing a letter requesting that he be made a "Federal Agent at Large" in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (believe it or not).

[greenbriar]

10. now that I did not know

interesting!

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

15. Photo

One can only imagine what Nixon thought of this guy...

[tonysam]

19. The postal service sold and maybe is still selling

a bunch of photos relating that meeting. I have a slew of glossies of that meeting. Elvis was actually apolitical; he was a collector of official police badges. By the way, he wasn't stoned when he posed with Nixon; he had some kind of allergy, if I remember correctly.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

22. Nixon, on the other had, had just done two lines of coke...

nt

[midnight]

28. Jeff you are so quick....

[johnnie]

There is a great film about it

They used a little poetic license, but the movie is pretty entertaining and funny.

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0122474/

[regnaD kciN]

26. Especially since...

...Elvis showed up at that meeting pledging to help "fight the drug menace" while being obviously stoned to the gills.

[tonysam]

27. He wasn't stoned. I just wrote

he had an allergy that day. The notion he was stoned was yet another Albert Goldman fiction.

[tonysam]

11. WTF?

Elvis served in the Army; Ali didn't because he was a CO. As somebody pointed out, Elvis met Priscilla Beaulieu when he was stationed in Germany.

How old is that principal, by the way?

[greenbriar]

12. 45

and he claims to have taught history hehe

[tonysam]

14. That tells me everything

I mean, how could anybody say something that stupid that is so easy to find out?

[Beartracks]

16. I guess teaching and knowing are different things, eh? :/ n/t

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

13. I assume he's unfamiliar with the musical "Bye Bye Birdie"

Sheesh. Or that great "Happy Days" episode where the boys go out to meet the Elvis train in hoping to pick up some heartsick teenage girls.

[Obamanaut]

17. Teachers can indeed hurt kids with misinformation. nt

[greenbriar]

20. or correct those in authority who talk when not asked to

I was handling the discussion just fine he really didn't need to talk

in fact, he was there to ask me about a behavior incident the class before and I guess just got caught up in the discussion and was eager to show off..hehe

[Hekate]

21. Bizarre misinformation! Elvis served in the US Army in West Germany. He was drafted.

His Momma came out to cook for him, too. It was there that he met and courted a very young teenager named Priscilla.

As regards the Vietnam War -- it was not on any protester's radar in 1958, when Elvis entered the Army. We still were basking in the heroics of WW II, when we were the Good Guys. We sent "advisors" to Vietnam to stem the tide of Chinese aggression and to help out our old allies the French, whose colony it was. The average American probably had no idea this was even taking place.

I can't believe your principal could be so misinformed.

As for Cassius Clay, he became a CO following his religious conversion--he joined the Nation of Islam and became a Muslim, changing his name to Muhammad Ali. His draft number came up in 1967, by which time the Vietnam War was in full swing. A LOT of people thought that war was a bad idea, and Muhammad Ali was simply the most famous man to say no.

Hekate

[greenbriar]

23. I could hardly surpress myself

but I did not want to correct him in front of students

(I do like my job)

[TxRider]

34. I thought CO's served, just didn't fight.

Most who serve do not fight though.

[Hekate]

36. IF they accept your petition in the first place, you are supposed to get alternate service...

... like being a medic. You can still get shot at, you just aren't expected to shoot back.

You can also end up in prison.

Ali lost his title and didn't fight for another 4 years.

Hekate

[tonysam]

24. Egil Krogh of Watergate fame

was there at the meeting, and he wrote a book about it called "The Day Elvis Met Nixon." Naturally I have a copy of this book.

It is still in print:

link

[greenbriar]

29. very interesting

thanks

[TexasObserver]

30. Elvis was conscientious ... about eating peanut butter and bacon.

And popping pills.

But he met his wife while he was IN the military.

[niyad]

31. geez, didn't that principal see "bye, bye birdie"--which was a spoof on the reaction

of elvis' fans when he was DRAFTED.

[blogslut]

32. Those who can't teach become principles.

Amirite?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

33. You've got it wrong...

Those who can't do, teach.
Those who cant't teach, teach gym.

I shared that wisdom with my H.S. gym teacher one day.

He had me running laps out on the track until my 30th birthday...

[blogslut]

35. Well

I was afraid to express my true suspicions about school principals - they're all ex-gym teachers. :hi:

[immoderate]

37. This is so true.

Many American males attend college to play sports. On graduation and rejection by the pros, they become PE teachers. The advancement paths in education are administration, curriculum, and guidance, and they are mostly not qualified for the latter two. So they become principals.

--imm

[greenbriar]

38. hehe

if you only knew