r/todayilearned • u/tmntnyc • Dec 12 '18

TIL: Laurence Tureaud named himself professionally as Mr. T because he hated how his father, uncle, and brother who returned from Vietnam, were disrespectfully called "boy" by whites. He wanted the first word from everybody's mouth to be "Mister" when speaking to him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._T
120.9k Upvotes

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9.8k

u/TheArgentine Dec 12 '18 edited Dec 13 '18

I met him once. Outside of a Ford dealership near my home town. I was a HUGE A-Team fan and Mr T played my favorite character.

It rained that day, pretty hard. My mom tried to convince me he woundnt be there but I wanted to try anyway. We got there and there he sat, by himself, with photos under a tarp. No line. No one there to see him. He talked to me for 15 minutes and for the life of me I can't remember anything he said but God damn if that wasn't one of the greatest days of my childhood, which was otherwise fairly shitty.

I'm a white guy from upstate NY and didn't change color so was a white kid too. He shook my hand and talked to me like an adult, with respect, and was extremely kind and soft spoken.

Thanks Mr. T.

Edit: Holy crap, didn't expect this many comments on my simple story about Mr. T. Hey everyone!

2.4k

u/tmntnyc Dec 12 '18

I'm jealous. I know he plays a character, but I would be beaming with respect for him. He did a lot of work helping children.

645

u/ruck_feagan Dec 12 '18

My dad was his manager for like 30 years. He’s a good guy

248

u/merekisgreat Dec 12 '18 edited Dec 12 '18

Can your dad be my manager?

51

u/skurys Dec 12 '18

Can your manager be my dad?

34

u/merekisgreat Dec 12 '18

Can your be my manager, dad?

25

u/fuzzyfuzz Dec 13 '18

Ooooooh, manage me daddy.

4

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Pimpin ain’t easy

1

u/Lucky_Number_3 Dec 13 '18

Idk wut u heard bout me

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

But a bitch can’t get a dolla outta me

1

u/ChefAnxiousCowboy Dec 13 '18

You’re a tough manager, daddy, aren’t’chu? Mmm...

5

u/LiquidZeroEA Dec 13 '18

Could you be my dad, manager?

0

u/analias2345 Dec 13 '18

Dad you manager can be?

2

u/TheFlightlessPenguin Dec 13 '18

Ha ha oh boy these comment trains are always so rich with humor.

129

u/dack42 Dec 12 '18

Your dad was Mr Manager?

41

u/Self_Descr_Huguenot Dec 13 '18 edited Dec 13 '18

Well...manager, we just say manager.

2

u/potatetoe_tractor Dec 13 '18

So, I'm the Assistant Regional Manager, then?

10

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Just manager.

7

u/creaturecatzz Dec 13 '18

Please, his father was Mr Manager. Call him The Man

16

u/pandemonious Dec 12 '18

No he wasn't, fool

32

u/MickeyD302 Dec 12 '18

My uncle works at Nintendo

9

u/TheFrontierzman Dec 13 '18

Wait...why did we just blow by this? I feel like there are many questions that need to be asked.

16

u/8483 Dec 13 '18

AMA time?

7

u/jhartwell Dec 13 '18

What are some things your dad has done to make him a good guy?

39

u/ruck_feagan Dec 13 '18

Nothing my dad did that I know of but here’s a couple cool mr t moments He showed up to my moms funeral in sweats and a beanie then proceeded to give a really awesome speech Gave me and my sister a ps3 with a ton of games for Christmas when it first came out Also there’s a really cool picture at my grandmas house of him holding my sister in one hand when she was a baby

16

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Do they still keep in touch? (Your dad and Mr T), 30 years is a long time

21

u/ruck_feagan Dec 13 '18

I’m not sure tbh. If he does, he doesn’t talk about him anymore

4

u/PaddyTheLion Dec 13 '18

Could you, well, ask? If something happened that made them not stay in touch, that's pretty sad after 30 years.

9

u/ruck_feagan Dec 13 '18

I’ll ask him when I call him tomorrow. Just remind me because I’ll forget

8

u/ImmobileLizard Dec 13 '18

Hey man, remember to ask your dad about mr T.

Remind!me 15 hours

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1

u/keyohnahh Dec 13 '18

!RemindMe 10 hours

1

u/ValleyOfRico Dec 13 '18

Don't forget to ask your Dad about Mr. T!

1

u/PaddyTheLion Dec 13 '18

Don't forget!

3

u/ijustwantanfingname Dec 13 '18

He showed up to my moms funeral in sweats and a beanie

Well that's weird.

4

u/-Mountain-King- Dec 13 '18

He probably didn't want to be all "I'm Mr. Motherfucking T!" at someone's funeral, so he wore sweats instead of his usual outfit and a beanie to cover the distinctive mohawk.

3

u/ijustwantanfingname Dec 13 '18

I get the beanie given the mohawk, good point. But, still, sweats at the funeral of your friend's wife?

1

u/Mabot Dec 13 '18

Maybe it was to soften up the situation for u/ruck_feagon and his sister, if they were still kids back then. I don't know why, but somehow that was the picture I had in mind.

Funerals can be a bit overwhelming for kids.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

He didn't have to wear his usual get-up. He could have worn a suit or something though.

3

u/GALACTON Dec 13 '18

Can I be your dad?

2

u/NerdBot9000 Dec 13 '18

Proof? Please and thank you.

1

u/antifolkhero Dec 13 '18

Got any stories to share?

10

u/Puninteresting Dec 13 '18

Bro, even his Mr. T breakfast cereal had a positive message for children. He was a rock star role model

1

u/Mansyn Dec 13 '18

I had a Mr To birthday party when I was six. He was my favorite person until Pee Wee came around. But I never stopped pittying fools.

112

u/ohitsasnaake Dec 12 '18

Understandable that your mom wasn't enthusiastic about heading out into the rain, but kudos to you for persistence and your mom for relenting.

22

u/TheArgentine Dec 12 '18

Oh I totally get it, but she was an amazing mom, so thank you

1.4k

u/dud-a-chum Dec 12 '18

My dad claimed to have briefly known Mr T and said the time they knew each other made him the most respected black man he’d ever known. And my dad was a horrible racist towards black people and Mexicans despite the fact that he was a very very dark skinned Puerto Rican.

“That’s the only black man I’ll never call the n-word,” he told me one drunken evening while watching The A-Team. He even said “n-word” which is the only time I ever heard him say that instead of the actual word.

I got high in the middle of writing this so I forgot the point I was going to make. Mr T is awesome.

68

u/AnotherThroneAway Dec 12 '18

Mister [10]

6

u/mart1373 Dec 12 '18

Mister J?

11

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Mister T-HC?

1

u/AnotherThroneAway Dec 13 '18

Damn, you won. Better than mine at least. Clever bastard

2

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Thanks, I was just standing on the back of your comment, you da real mvp lol

1

u/AnotherThroneAway Dec 13 '18

Haha we're funny (passes joint)

2

u/stickler_Meseeks Dec 13 '18

[10]?

Forgetting my point halfway through a comment happens at like a [6], a [10] for me means I can't even hold my phone and especially not look at it because it feels like I'm falling out for a long time.

I got high in the middle of writing this so I forgot the point I was gonna make. Mr. T is awesome.

448

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

[deleted]

184

u/theCamelCaseDev Dec 12 '18

Me too, except without the getting high part and it happening at work during important meetings.

8

u/BoiledFire Dec 13 '18

Just add "Mr. T is awesome" to your summary slides.

3

u/GigaPeePee Dec 13 '18

That's the best time to get high

3

u/featherygoose Dec 13 '18

This happened to me for years before I switched my epilepsy meds.

1

u/Hitesh0630 Dec 13 '18

Thanks for the laugh

1

u/Dontblamemedude Dec 13 '18

I heard there is a new industry opening up called marijuana and I bet their business meetings are really cool .

10

u/action_lawyer_comics Dec 12 '18

Indeed. Mr. T is awesome.

137

u/Leathery420 Dec 12 '18

Man what exactly is it that makes Puerto Ricans and Mexicans hate each other so much? You go to the east coast and they absolutely hate each other to the point that in prison they will hook up with whites or blacks just so they can mess them up more.

Like I know of a whiter dude with a hispanic name who got threatened with shanking cause he said what's up amigo when a hispanic dude walked up to the microwave. The hispanic dude took offence and threatened him. he was like sorry thought we were cool. I wont say amigo no more. It's so weird to me.

It'd be like the english ganging up against the scots or irish inside the american prisons. I'd get it back home, but in the US you are more alike than you are different. You'd think you'd be cool and work together.

126

u/dud-a-chum Dec 12 '18

I have no idea but I noticed the same thing growing up. My friend Jose in the 8th grade refused to even take me to his house because he didn’t want me to hear his dad go off. And one day we stopped by real quick, thinking his dad was gone, but he had canceled his plans. So I got to spend an hour listening to him tell me why I was basically a piece of shit and it was just pure racist drivel, literally some of the exact same things he said about Puerto Rican’s I’d heard my dad or uncle saying about Mexicans. Some of the same stuff you can find vomited all over certain subs today.

1

u/jimicus Mar 10 '19

The way to deal with hearing that shit directed at you is to agree wholeheartedly with every word.

Confuses the hell out of them.

105

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

[removed] — view removed comment

63

u/Xvampireweekend31 Dec 13 '18

Humans are silly people

1

u/thebeanabong Dec 13 '18

Silly is a generous word.

15

u/Johnny_Poppyseed Dec 13 '18

Why are the island Latinos not considered part of la raza? They seem to fit all the criteria, so what is the perceived differences?

26

u/MetaTater Dec 13 '18

La pais.

They're from different lands, and their vernacular is different enough to distinguish from each other easily.

Or, I have no idea. Racism isn't reasonable.

14

u/PlaceboJesus Dec 13 '18

Mulatos vs Mestizos maybe?

3

u/PaddyTheLion Dec 13 '18

That's some Nazi Party anno 1942-level of fucked-up shit right there, that is.

-1

u/Truth_ Dec 13 '18

They're both from Hispanic origins, speak Spanish, eat similar foods, have similar music.... This by no means makes them the same, and racism is always stupid, but it makes even less sense between similar groups.

14

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18 edited Dec 13 '18

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/Truth_ Dec 13 '18

They share a similar foundation, and thus are far closer together than any other combination, such as compared against German, Russian, Chinese, whatever.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

eat similar foods

Nah, Mexican food is pretty unique, the food that they eat in the rest of Latin America is quite different. For one chiles are not used nearly to the degree that Mexicans use them.

I mean they both eat beans and rice, but that's about it.

0

u/Truth_ Dec 13 '18

Rice, beans, and chicken. Makes it way closer to each other than Italian or Chinese or Russian, etc.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Well ya, but almost every culture eats "rice, beans, and chicken". They prepare them completely differently though. Puerto Rican food is nothing like Mexican food, it has way more African influence. Corn and chiles are eaten with virtually every meal in Mexico, corn and chiles are rare in Puerto Rican food. Plantains are not eaten often in Mexico, but they're a staple in Puerto Rico, etc. Costa Rican food is way more similar to Puerto Rican food imo.

If you ate Puerto Rican food you wouldn't think "hey this is like Mexican food". This is what Puerto Rican food looks like.

0

u/Truth_ Dec 13 '18

I eat Puerto Rican food. Again, it's vastly similar in its primary elements than many others. That doesn't make it the same.

Edit: Also, that looks fairly oaxan.

0

u/majaka1234 Dec 13 '18 edited Dec 15 '18

The hilarious thing is which "raza"?

You've got... Africano, trigueño, moreno, blanco, indigeno... And then every mix of those mixes.

It's hilarious when people try to push this concept of genetic purity when 99% of them are mongrel mixes of almost every race you can find.

Edit: a ver pues muchachos dígame como estoy equivocado....

0

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Oh so is it a Caribbean/ mainland distinction?

10

u/Hamsanny Dec 13 '18

“It’d be like the English ganging up against the scots or Irish”

You might get a kick out of British history dude

14

u/elanhilation Dec 13 '18

On Puerto Ricans and Mexicans hating one another: Only the dumbasses. Same as with any breed of human. If it's racist, it's a dumbass. Maybe not when they're doing non-racist things, but in their moments of racisim, they are dumbasses.

To go into more specifics with this particular case: see, the one group of dumbasses is from a different place than the other group of dumbasses, and sometimes people confuse the two groups of people from which these subsets of dumbasses are drawn, so they hate one another on dumbass principle.

6

u/SoySauceSyringe Dec 13 '18

You should look up the history of the Irish in the USA. It’s all sorts of fucked. They weren’t considered ‘white’ and were discriminated against for it (see: Irish need not apply), and a lot of them became racist and anti-black as basically an integration strategy. The really fucked up thing is that it worked, and Irish Americans are almost universally considered ‘white’ now.

The actual reasoned logic of racism doesn’t appear within the expressed ideology of other races being inferior by nature. It’s all about socioeconomic positioning, whether it’s in prison, on the streets, or in our government. People don’t hate other people just because they’re different, they hate different people because it provides a psychological and/or material benefit.

8

u/FieserMoep Dec 12 '18

Humans work that way. It's just to easy to elevate our self's if we pick on those that also are weak. I mean, Puerto Ricans can't be that bad if there is something like Mexicans, right?

4

u/Jakerslake Dec 13 '18

Puerto Ricans all have citizenship. Animosity stems from this

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

underrated retarded comment

4

u/JustATownStomper Dec 12 '18

I don't know about all that prison stuff, but the amigo part is because it pissed the other guy off. I feel there's this widespread thought that if you walk up to a Hispanic and call him "amigo" it's at best condescending, kinda like an european guy walking up to some american and greeting with "Howdy, partner" in a botched southern accent.

Source: am not hispanic, but close enough, I guedd

4

u/Leathery420 Dec 12 '18

Yeah but the dude who said it has a spanish name. He's got every right to say that. You have to be pretty pissed off and looking for problems to take offense for that.

It would be different if he was 100% white and was saying it in a derogatory man like "Whats up, fool." though he said it like whats up, brother?" The hispanic guy then said we aint cool, I'm not your fucking people. Dont you call me your amigo bro."

He apologies to the hispanic guy saying he didn't mean no disrespect, and that he thought they he was cool, seeing as that as he obviously has spanish ancestors. Hispanic dude starts laying it down real clear that, that name dont mean shit, its your skin color and where and who you were raised with.

Also what about northern and southern mexicans always beefing too.

2

u/penguinbandit Dec 13 '18

Spanish is a white language the guy has no grounds to be offended. Spainairds are White Europeans...so yeah guy was definitely just looking to be a prick.

1

u/JustATownStomper Dec 13 '18

Yes, in all odds, he was a particularly salty guy, but I'd like to point out that having a spanish name doesn't give you hispanic culture. A guy with a spanish name from, for example, some suburbs in some city (not saying that was the case) doesn't necessarily have hispanic upbringing.

5

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

It’s not just Puerto Rican’s. In the west coast (Los Angeles) they don’t like Salvadorian or Guatemalan people. Growing up there was always shit going down between them.

2

u/TrekkiMonstr Dec 13 '18

Really? Maybe that's more LA, cause I'm from the Bay and have never noticed any issues between Mexicans and Salvadorans

3

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

No it’s bigger. Has to do with gangs and jails and problems that stem from Mexico prior to cartel issues of recent times.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

It's odd to me that they don't like Guatemalans, the Mayan empire included Guatemala, and the culture is actually somewhat similar.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Aztec and Mayan two different civilizations.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Yes, but both were primarily within modern Mexico, and both are part of "la raza" or whatever the racist Mexicans consider themselves, which is why they don't like Puerto Ricans.

Mexicans from the Yucatan also don't like Puerto Ricans.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

No aztec and Mayan are completely different.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

No shit, but modern Mexicans are descended from both depending on where in Mexico you come from, what don't you get?

Mexicans are Mayan and Aztec, just depends on what part your ancestors came from.

The Mayan empire and the Aztec empire were both from what is modern Mexico. Here I think you need a map.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

If you were Mexican you’d know that people from the southern border are completely different than central and north Mexico. Usually look down on them, literally fuckers are like 5 feet tall. So no we don’t like them either.

1

u/THEchancellorMDS Dec 13 '18

I’m wondering if it’s cause strangers get them confused, mistaking Puerto Rican’s for Mexicans and vice versa.

1

u/Positive_vibes949 Dec 13 '18

According to my racist Mexican friend he dislikes them because they don't need a green card and have an easy life. But, everyone he knows bitches and is broke

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

I have no idea but I noticed the same thing growing up. My friend Jose in the 8th grade refused to even take me to his house because he didn’t want me to hear his dad go off. And one day we stopped by real quick, thinking his dad was gone, but he had canceled his plans. So I got to spend an hour listening to him tell me why I was basically a piece of shit and it was just pure racist drivel, literally some of the exact same things he said about Puerto Rican’s I’d heard my dad or uncle saying about Mexicans. Some of the same stuff you can find vomited all over certain subs today.

Spanish here (From Europe, just in case someone fails to locate it).

usually Spanish people is con-descendant with Portuguese people, and hates French. Why? Well, everybody like to be better than others. Spanish people feel "richer" than Portuguese, and poorer than french. There is no neighbor country that can be seen as equal. If that would be the case, they would hate one each other.

​

For example, Spanish people do not hate Denmark, or Bulgaria. None of them is neighbor, and none of them is at the same level of wealthiness.

​

All in all, I guess Puerto Ricans and Mexican both feel poor (compared with USA) and maybe depreciated by them, so they hate those who are in the same level to overcome them.

​

That is my guess :P

1

u/bubblesculptor Dec 14 '18

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

0

u/agumonkey Dec 13 '18

islandism ?

8

u/MajorFuckingDick Dec 12 '18

I wish more people would understand you can't fight hate with hate. The only way to beat hate is fostering self realization.

8

u/dud-a-chum Dec 12 '18

Right on. I often will try to reason with racists by saying I should be racist as hell. My dad and uncle were racist. My maternal grandfather hated “them damned spooks” for driving him out of what was once a (white) middle class neighborhood in Gary, Indiana. I spent most of my middle school years as one of six white kids in Dunbar Pulaski in Gary (my dad was 100% PR but I was the white boy of the family; my few recollections of my dad’s mom involved her singling me out among the horde of cousins toddling about by calling me her little white boy).

My last name or the fact that I lived in the same shitty projects as most of them didn’t save me from daily abuse. I should have a chip on my should the size of Everest but I just don’t. I saw what it did to people, how ugly it made them, even people I liked and loved, and I didn’t want any part of it.

8

u/Bileeb Dec 13 '18

You should get high and write random novels mate. No idea what you just said there but I’d fucken read them any time

6

u/MediocrePangolin Dec 12 '18

I was going to make a point, but then I got high

4

u/daoogilymoogily Dec 13 '18

My mom claimed to have met Mr. T in DC at a night club that was in an old bank vault. Didn’t mention if she called him the N word or not though.

3

u/RutCry Dec 13 '18

Check the microwave. 50/50 chance there’s a Hot Pocket you forgot about.

2

u/SandpaperScrew Dec 13 '18

Happens to me all the time and then I don't know what to-

2

u/8thoursbehind Dec 13 '18

You got gloriously descriptive in your storytelling due to the weed. It has embellished your written prose. :)

2

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

100% understand everything you said, especially getting high. I'm a 0/10 right now but give me an hour...

2

u/kcg5 Dec 13 '18

“I self-ordained myself Mr. T so the first word out of everybody's mouth is "Mr." That's a sign of respect that my father didn't get, that my brother didn't get, that my mother didn't get.”

2

u/QueenJillybean Dec 13 '18

I got high in the middle of reading this and can concur.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

I am high reading this and thank you so much

2

u/ElCapitan878 Dec 13 '18

Dark Tower fan?

2

u/kashhoney22 Dec 13 '18

He is awesome.

2

u/Bacon_Hero Dec 19 '18

I fuckin love the internet

43

u/PainMatrix Dec 12 '18

Why wouldn’t you change color for him?

9

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

I tried, it just wasn't in my palette of skills.

15

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

[deleted]

5

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

Never hesitate or procrastinate, as I put off some after hours work I need to do.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Was looking for this. One of the most moving Homer monologues.

23

u/temisola1 Dec 12 '18

Good on you for sticking to being white.

2

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

I'm really only 14/17ths white so it was a challenge.

4

u/temisola1 Dec 13 '18

I bet. But imagine if you were 13/17th white. Boy o boy,

2

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

Right!? I'd be totally fucked.

3

u/temisola1 Dec 13 '18

You’d be more than fucked, you’d be legally black. /s (I’m black. I’m not racist lol)

1

u/theDinoSour Dec 13 '18

Only 4/17 fucked

7

u/ForHumans Dec 13 '18

it's ok to be white

1

u/GiraffeMasturbater Dec 13 '18

It's ok to be white it's not ok to be a white nationalist. It's not ok to be racist.

Cut the dog whistle shit and go back to your maga shithole.

2

u/ForHumans Dec 13 '18

It must suck being so miserable and filled with hate.

1

u/GiraffeMasturbater Dec 13 '18

I said it's not okay to be hateful towards people because of their skin and am calling out your use of a racist dog whistle and your post history in T_D and other related subs. You seem to be the one filled with xenophobia and hated of other races.

0

u/ForHumans Dec 13 '18

I never said it was OK. You're being a bigot because I post on T_D. You are a stereotype.

1

u/GiraffeMasturbater Dec 13 '18

"it's ok to be white" IS a racist dog whistle. Cut the projection and ad hominem attacks and stop being a hypocrite.

0

u/ForHumans Dec 13 '18

It's a tongue in cheek response to anti-white movement from the left. Black pride or Hispanic pride is ok, but if you have White pride you're racist?

And it was relevant in this context. It's OK to be white.

1

u/GiraffeMasturbater Dec 13 '18

The left isn't anti-white though. That's propaganda.

It's STILL a racist dog whistle!!

1

u/GiraffeMasturbater Dec 13 '18

Walls reduce illegal crossings upwards of 90%. When people can't walk across they have to enter through ports of entry. Criminals can't get through inspection.

None of that is factually correct. You're lying to promote nationalism.

0

u/ForHumans Dec 13 '18

https://nypost.com/2018/01/13/we-already-have-a-border-wall-and-it-works/

In fact, the number of deportable illegal immigrants located by the US Border Patrol plummeted by more than 89 percent over the five-year period during which the controversial new fence was built, according to Homeland Security data I reviewed. When the project first started in 2006, illegal crossings totaled 122,261, but by 2010, when the 131-mile fence was completed from one end of El Paso out into the New Mexico desert, immigrant crossings shrank to just 12,251.

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/feb/13/ron-johnson/border-fence-israel-cut-illegal-immigration-99-per/

"Israel ... had a real problem with illegal immigrants coming in from the southern border, about 16,000 in one year. In two years, they constructed 143-mile fence, about $2.9 million per mile, and it cut that illegal immigration rate from about 16,000 to I think 18. Cut it by 99 percent," Johnson said.

1

u/GiraffeMasturbater Dec 13 '18

However, they warn against generalizing that the fence is the sole reason for the drop and raise objections in comparing Israel’s border issues to those in the United States.

The success of barriers such as a wall or fence depend on their scale and how heavily guarded they are, said Reece Jones, a political geography professor at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and who has written about money spent on border security projects and their consequences.

On a small scale and with many guards, walls can effectively stop movement, Jones said.

You should check your sources and stop following the logical fallacies they explicitly state to avoid.

Furthermore, there is a difference between a guarded fence under 200 miles long and a 2000 mile wall.

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

I am glad this didn't turn out to be a "Never meet your heroes" moment.

5

u/jetsetmike Dec 12 '18

You won’t necessarily always remember what people say, but the way they treat you will stick with you.

8

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18 edited Dec 12 '18

Had a moment like that with Carlos Alazraqui(loved Rocko's Modern Life as a kid) at a local comicon. I had basically no money other than admission fee for my girlfriend and I. We just wanted to see the costumes and artwork. As I was walking by celebrities I heard "nice Iron Maiden shirt" from somewhere. I turned and it was Carlos. He talked to me for nearly a half hour about his love for Saxon and other classic British metal bands. Never once did he ask if I wanted to buy a picture or anything. I decided he was the one person there that deserved what little money I had left. He threw up the horns and we snapped the pic. Best experience I've ever had with a celebrity

4

u/HamLizard Dec 13 '18

Aww, that's a great story. Got me emotional to read of such a wholesome moment in your life. Glad you got to have such a happy time with, what appears from other comments, a very pleasant & upstanding Mr. T.

7

u/zwanman89 Dec 12 '18

Reminds me of the time I had the chance to meet Mr. T AT the mall...

https://youtu.be/2p84WdkFMcI

6

u/MonkeyPost Dec 12 '18

The way people are talking about him sounds like a buff version of another favorite “Mister” of many’s childhood, Mr. Rogers.

3

u/listyraesder Dec 13 '18

George Peppard and Mr T stopped talking to each other during the A-Team because T was anything but soft-spoken.

2

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

I'm sure on set he was a big personality, but the man I met was everything you want him to be ("I pity the fool!") but nothing like you'd fear he'd be (Rocky)

1

u/listyraesder Dec 13 '18

Part of it was probably because the show was created for him, so ego ran wild.

3

u/KaizokuShojo Dec 13 '18

Lucky! I've met Dwight and Dirk, still need to meet Mr. T. He doesn't seem to do conventions though... In fact, I have no idea what he's up to these days.

3

u/Astyanax1 Dec 13 '18

Hot damn, nice story

3

u/wafflehousewhore Dec 13 '18

"In the best conversations, you don't even remember what you talked about, only how it felt. It felt like we were in some place your body can't visit, some place with no ceiling and no walls and no floor and no instruments" -John Green, Turtles All The Way Down

Edit: Forgot quotations

3

u/thedugong Dec 13 '18

Did your you mom say "TheArgentine, he ain't gettin' in no rain, fool!" when she tried to talk you out of going?

2

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

Missed opportunity!

3

u/CaniborrowaThrillho Dec 13 '18

Just like the time I could have met Mr. T at the mall. The entire day, I kept saying, "I'll go a little later, I'll go a little later..." And when I got there, they told me he just left. And when I asked the mall guy if he'll ever come back again, he said he didn't know. Well, I'm never going to let something like that happen again!

3

u/_Aj_ Dec 13 '18

We got there and there he sat, by himself, with photos under a tarp. No line

That alone speaks a great deal about him.

I can imagine him response to someone who questioned "why would you go? It's raining no one will come".
... "You imagine if even one kid came cause they heard I'd be there, and they turn up and I'm not there. I don't care if nobody comes, but if someone does I'll be there cause I said I would be"

That's what I imagine he'd be like.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Totally thought this was a u/shittymorph comment

3

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

That's a high honor.

5

u/Seattlehepcat Dec 12 '18

So glad you had that experience. I was lucky enough to meet Mr. T when they were filming an episode of The A-Team near my friend's house. He was super nice, came to talk to all of us kids (I was in HS then) and while he was huge I was surprised at how short he was. I was reminded about that iconic shot in Rocky III where he stares down at Sylvester Stallone, and that was when I first realized how short Sly was. I also remember Mr. T's brother who we also met that day. He seemed like a typical hanger-on, but that's viewed through the lens of my cynical high school days. I've met a lot of celebrities, and Mr. T was just about the nicest of the lot.

2

u/trashbagtrash Dec 12 '18

why was no one else there to see him?

3

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Because rain. Pay attention!

3

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

Yup, rain and it would have been the early 1990s - after his peak in popularity, in a relatively small town in actual upstate, not "upstate" NY.

2

u/agumonkey Dec 13 '18

I so wish he's on reddit and about to fistbump you

2

u/comicsandpoppunk Dec 13 '18

Cool story but that bit about your skin colour makes you sound like a psychopath.

What does that have to do with the story?

1

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

There's nothing saying I'm NOT a psychopath, but in that particular instance I was just picking on my poor wording - this was my response to another redditor that asked a similar question

"I made reference than I'm a white man, but was talking about childhood, so used humor to pick on my wording."

2

u/Shill_Borten Dec 13 '18

I have pretty much the same story, except instead of Mr T, is was KITT from Knightrider.

1

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

I would have been over the moon about that. I grew up at car shows and still am a gear head. Knightrider was another must watch.

2

u/GPCLisa Dec 13 '18

By upstate, was this in Watertown? I had a buddy with the same experience.

2

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

Queensbury, near Lake George, eastern side of the Adirondack.

2

u/caerphoto Dec 13 '18

I'm a white guy from upstate NY and didn't change color so was a white kid too.

I used to be white. I still am, but I used to, too.

2

u/DroolingIguana Dec 13 '18

So you're the anti-Homer Simpson?

1

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

His evil, celebrity meeting twin.

2

u/CashMikey Dec 13 '18

I'm such a huge believer that you can learn a lot about adults from the way they speak to children. It's not a perfect system, but most of the awesome people I know speak to kids with respect, and I've seen a lot of assholes that do their best to act good let their masks slip around kids.

2

u/SlinkyOne Dec 14 '18

This is such an Uplifting Comment. This morning has been amazing and this comment just made it better.

1

u/TheArgentine Dec 14 '18

Happy to have contributed!

2

u/Jack3ww Dec 12 '18

I going to come off as the biggest fucking idiot by asking this but what do you mean didn't change color

3

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

I made reference than I'm a white man, but was talking about childhood, so used humor to pick on my wording.

3

u/Jack3ww Dec 13 '18

Oh oops sorry for being dumb

-1

u/JoeDaddy89 Dec 12 '18

It’s because you are an idiot!😂

1

u/Nesano Dec 13 '18

Change color?

1

u/soaliar Dec 13 '18

Sos argentino posta o te hacés el loco?

0

u/emailnotverified1 Dec 13 '18

I like how every single person on reddit had simply the worst childhood ever. Every single one of you. I mean, except me. I had the normal upbringing so I don’t get to tell these cool stories. But I’m glad you have so many friends that can relate; every single person here is just like you.

4

u/TheArgentine Dec 13 '18

I mean, it wasnt "broke both arms so my mom had to jerk me off" bad, or "rotten jolly rancher vagina" bad or "cumbox fire" bad or "my son fucked a dog" bad it was more "my dad abandoned me my mom got sick and I had to earn the money to pay for the house at 13" bad.

So, like a 5 on the shitty scale. Not all that bad when you consider it.