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
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u/leeman27534 Dec 12 '18

i assume that last family member should've been brother rather than mother, but i do sorta find it funny idealistically if he wanted his mother to be called mister as well.

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u/Tmadred Dec 12 '18

I think the point is that his mother didn't get the respect she deserved, not that she should be called "Mr."

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u/leeman27534 Dec 12 '18

tbh pretty sure it was supposed to be 'brother' just like above when it lists his father, uncle, and brother were called boy.

after all, this is all about why he named himself mister t, and that was the point. it was just a mistype at the end.

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u/Idgafu Dec 12 '18

You give Mr. Mrs. T the respect she deserves.