The Anonymous Widower

The Boxer, The Philosopher and The Model

It sounds like the title of one of those jokes, but it is a story I picked up in Wikipedia.

Years ago, C used to know the late Dee Wells and her sister.  Dee was a respected journalist and was married at the time to the rather famous philosopher Professor A. J. Ayer. I was browsing through his entry and found this story.

He taught or lectured several times in the United States, including serving as a visiting professor at Bard College in the fall of 1987. At a party that same year held by fashion designer Fernando Sanchez, Ayer, then 77, confronted Mike Tyson who was forcing himself upon the (then) little-known model Naomi Campbell. When Ayer demanded that Tyson stop, the boxer said: “Do you know who the fuck I am? I’m the heavyweight champion of the world,” to which Ayer replied: “And I am the former Wykeham Professor of Logic. We are both pre-eminent in our field. I suggest that we talk about this like rational men”. Ayer and Tyson then began to talk, while Naomi Campbell slipped out.

Does this illustrate that words are stronger than fists?

January 1, 2012 - Posted by AnonW | World | Celebrity, Philosophy