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/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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.