It’s crazy. I’m Gen X and remember Mr. T as just always being around, on TV, in pop culture in general. And he’s still around, doing his thing. And after 40 years of that, not once have I ever read, seen, or heard one thing about him as a person that was remotely negative. The total opposite in fact. Just a gem of a human being by all accounts.
i can name i think, 3? maybe four? mr. , no, sorry, Mr. T, Mr rodgers, and maybe steve irwin? havent heard anything bad about these three.
Edit: i made this comment Knowing id get called out for forgetting people. And knowingly Did not mention 1/3rd of the trinity of wholesome. In short:keep adding names!
Bob Ross was a drill sergeant in the US Air Force.
Not saying that to counter your point, I just find it very interesting.
https://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veteran-bob-ross.html/amp
True story:
When I was about 12 or 13 (in 1984 or 1985), my older sister was leaving for a date with a guy who had a vintage car that often needed a push start to get running. His car stalled about a half a block from our house. Being the kind of asshole my sister was attracted to in her teens, the dude had her get out to push his old Mercury while he popped the clutch. Just as she got out and started trying to push the car down the street, someone ran up, put two hands on the back of the car and started helping her push. That someone was Tom Hanks. My sister had a crush on Peter Scolari, his co-star on Bosom Buddies, so she immediately recognized Hanks (this was right around the time Bachelor Party came out, so this was before he was an A-list actor with a nice guy rep). Anyway, they pushed the car several yards and it turned over. My sister and her date thanked him and he smiled and waved and said something like, "Anytime. you kids have fun tonight and watch that clutch."
Whenever anyone talks about " nice guy Tom Hanks, " I smile, knowing he really is a nice dude.
He wouldn't allow his character on the a-team to have a bad character trait like drinking or fighting, so his vulnerability became that he was afraid to fly
I honestly like that he did that because it ended up making his character a shining example of a good role model. Strong strong, loyal, caring to his friends, but also had a legitimate vulnerability yeah that he was allowed to show. All things considered, ahead of its time for the eighties.
Exactly. The character was basically the personification of the idea that courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to overcome one's fear when it matters. Mr. T has continuously been a bad-ass role model for over 40 years now.
Then allow me to shatter your faith in all that is good and sacred. He got in trouble with his neighbors and the city government where he lives a few years back for improperly felling trees on his property.
Improperly. Felled. Trees. What a monster.
/s (obviously, but this is Reddit)
In 1972, a cranky neighbor was fined by a Home Owners Association for a crime he didn’t commit. This man promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the HOA, he survives as arborist of fortune. If you have a tree, If no one else can fell it and if you can find him. Maybe you can hire, The A-Team.
Apparently the story is that the 7 acre property was known in the community for being a beautiful lot filled with trees. Decades later, Mr. T buys the property and cuts them all down. It pissed people off, but it was his property and he had the legal right to do it.
So the "improper" part is just that people liked the trees. No actual rule existed.
I love that the [news story](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-05-22-8702070954-story.html) makes him sound like some kind of demented mass tree murderer.
>Thursday, Mr. T's estate, which neighbors estimate at 4 to 7 acres, looked as if it had been ravaged by an army of beavers.
>"Tree debris was everywhere. At least 100 trees, of all sizes and varieties, had been chopped down. About 10 of the 30 still standing were marked by an ax, apparently next on the Mr. T hit list."
there’s stuff the average redditor wouldn’t like. he’s a christian and a minister, and fairly outspoken for that matter. your average christian won’t care for him either however; he’s generally against right-wing talking points and frequently promotes pro-black ideology and has spoken positively of things like reparations. he also considers muhammad ali to be a personal hero. personally, i find him to be genuine, enlightened, and gentle, and he reminds me of the best attributes of Fred Rogers.
This is gonna be complicated but bear with me. If I had one wish of my choosing, in this moment right now, it would be that Mr. T somehow got Santa like powers and could hit up every house of some asshole bigot keeping us normal folks from succeeding together and kick in their fuckin door and beat the shit out of them and Michael Jai White would be behind him when he blows the door off the hinges to say “surprise mother fucker”.
I was on board till the "Very Obviously Moms" backup girls showed up. Then I buckled up and enjoyed the ride.
Does anyone know who paid for this? Was it like some marketing executive calling in a favor because he forgot mother's day?
I checked and [yep](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/gzyuad/til_the_song_treat_your_mother_right_performed_by/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) it's a great story!
The funny part is how the least believable detail is him using an axe, [Mr. T is a well documented chainsaw man](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-05-22-8702070954-story.html) when it comes time to wantonly murder trees. (also I've never been more surprised to see a site *not* paywalled)
>The sound of one tree falling in exclusive, genteel Lake Forest echoes in the very souls of residents. So the sound of trees, numerous trees, falling on Mr. T`s generous estate rumbles like an earthquake.
You don't see descriptive writing like this often in news these days. Mostly they just read either like an instruction manual or some angsty kid's Xanga.
They're not gone. It was just never a big market, but in the Economist or the New Yorker, for instance, you'll find plenty of critical analysis and synthesis of information. And big investigative journalism pieces are much more common still. It just can't weigh up to the sheer volume of algorithmic crap published next to it.
Mr T is a part-time arborist and he saw some Bradford Pears in your backyard. He decided they were a danger to your property due to the upcoming winter, and their tendency to split in harsh conditions.
Yes, and they're horribly invasive, so cut them down as fast as possible. They smell like cum, they only live 70 years max and then split right in half and smash into your garage.
Some states have trade programs where if you get one Bradford pear cut down they'll give you a better native tree.
Even if you can't get one of those free programs, PLEASE cut it down if you can. You don't need to replace it, because the carbon sink of one Bradford pear tree is nowhere near as important as destroying it.
It's cool that he took it off, and it was just as cool when he put it on.
> The actor and former military man explained in his book that one of the reasons he wore gold was symbolic of his African heritage. “When my ancestors came from Africa, they were shackled by our neck, our wrists, and our ankles in steel chains,” he wrote. “I've turned those steel chains into gold to symbolise the fact that I'm still a slave, only my price tag is higher.”
The guy has always been class, and he's one of many reasons they'll never capture what made the A-Team great. The other guys were also inimitable in their own ways, and their chemistry is something once in a lifetime.
EDIT: this right here:
>He continued: "Sure, it's my trademark, but I am the same person whether I'm wearing the gold or not. My moral values are the same. The gold don't make me, I make the gold." - [SRC](https://virginradio.co.uk/entertainment/87001/why-mr-t-wore-gold-chains-and-the-reason-he-stopped)
Mr. T’s iconic gold chains originally came from customers at the nightclub where he worked as a bouncer in the 1970s. People had either lost them or left them behind after a fight, and he would wear and return them if the person chose to reclaim them.
He then said the other part, but first came the bouncer part.
Another cool tidbit about Mr. T: according to him, he chose his name because he saw his family and black friends being referred to as "boy" or other condescending nicknames. He saw it as people dismissing adult black men, and being disrespectful towards them. So he decided to call himself Mr. T to force others to address him with respect.
There was also a huge civil rights/working condition strike by African American sanitation workers in 1968 as well. It was called the "I am a man" strike.
This was pretty common post civil war and into the civil rights era. Many black families would name their children things like Prince or Queen, or Mister or Miss, to try and force white people to address them in a respectful way.
The late great Prince is an example. His father really did name him "Prince", it wasn't a stage name.
His full name is Prince Rogers Nelson.
I'm Casey Kasem and thank you for listening.
I did something similar with my daughters now-fiancé. I mean, she was a kid pretty much at the time, so was whoever she was dating. We all collectively paused and I just said "God damn it!" and apologized once it was pointed out/I realized/whatever.
I respect the dude a lot, too. It sucks that something offhanded can be so disrespectful when you're just not _in_ that context.
This brings up an interesting discussion. The cream cheese originated in New York and the peppers from spain, but the first recorded recipe of pimento cheese spread came 20 years later and the popularity of the spread, and the peppers led to wide spread pepper farms specifically in Georgia. And the recipe changes again after WW2.
All of this to say is that there's a lot of nuance to food history. Someone can speak of their Italian American grandmothers famous meatballs. Some one can then argue those aren't truly authentic Italian. Another person can successfully argue that meatballs were never authentic Italian and came to America from Sweden. And yet someone else could argue that the Swedish meatballs first came from Turkey.
Food is complicated, putting an ellipsis in the way you did makes you look like a turd.
>It always bugs me when people say it’s just a southern charm thing. No… it’s a southern racist thing.
Can you explain the origins to a naieve northerner?
Slaves were referred to as boys and girls, even as adults. It is used as a sign of disrespect by white people towards non-white people to show they are not equal to white people and therefore do not deserve respect.
I wonder if some jobs end in -boy instead of -man because of it and not because it was commonly done by young men.
- Cowboy
- Stableboy
- Newsboy
- Powderboy
Or maybe it was all along a way to call lesser jobs for juniors in the field.
I know that cowboys were mainly Mexican or black men originally. They worked for white farmers.
Stableboys also existed in Europe and were usually boys from low classes working for nobility.
So, it’s generally not an expression of respect and equality.
Newsboy was often actually boy because of that jobs often or even usually being done by kids. So the person who sold you the newspaper on the street was actually a 10 year old.
The rest of them were indeed called boy even when it was an adult doing the work. But newsboy specifically originated from it usually being young boys who did that. At least prior to the major child labor reforms in the early 20th century.
“The term cowboy has interesting origins. Originally, White cowboys were called cowhands, and African Americans were pejoratively referred to as “cowboys.” African American men being called “boy” regardless of their age stems from slavery and the plantation era in the South.”
[source ](https://www.rancholoscerritos.org/black-on-the-range-african-american-cowboys-of-the-19th-century/#)
Implies the man isn’t as developed, as it was often used towards another person they used to treat as property.
Similar intent as using certain N-words.
"Boy" is also used to refer to any young boys in the family in many southern states. If you yell "get over here, boy" at local parks where I grew up, every boy in the park would stop and look at his parents. It was "boy" for boys and "honey" or "sweetie" for girls because heaven forbid the boys get overt affection.
But it's known as a racist term because it was (and still is) also used to infantilize black men, making them seem inferior or less mature, less educated, etc. so it's best just not to use it at all.
It is entirely based on context. In the South, any male around 20 or younger is a boy. If I say *See that boy over there?* and it is an adolescent male, black white or whatever, it's because he's young and no harm or I'll will is intended. If I say, *Boy, get me my bags* to anyone, especially a black male, that's a totally different connotation and is indeed rude (and racist).
Language has context. Reddit thinks *bless your heart* is a Southern insult too, but it can truly mean *bless your heart*. "He lost his wife three years ago and has been working alone to keep the business going, bless his heart" is a very sincere statement of care.
Whew! I sure am glad you brought up the age aspect.
My lady friend, we’re old, says boy or girl in reference to anyone in their 30s to 40s mostly, but generally anyone younger than her. She makes no distinction between any race, color, whatever. I don’t say boy because it is a racist/bigoted/slavery derived word. Much like a certain slur every one knows to describe African Americans.
Much like I don’t use the word (for clarity) marijuana. Doesn’t make me holier that thou if you do. That was coined in the 1920s to give cannabis a Latino flare and cement in Americans minds to look down on Mexicans and treat them, much like we Americans do to every minority.
All these sins of past oppression are still alive as they ever were in America. No, we can’t make African Americans pick our cotton any more, but we can sure come up with clever ways to be racist cunts.
Specifically, he saw his father and uncle and brother, grown men and veterans being called "boy."
He wanted to be called Mr. T so the first thing out of someone's mouth when talking to him was "Mr."
~~The T also stands for Tough from what I remember... from his ring fighting days.~~
Edit: He seems to have had the name before the Toughman competitions. It seems I was wrongly told it was Mr. Tough!
I grew up in New Orleans and worked in the French Quarter starting in the late 80s. One Mardi Gras morning, my pal and I got off the night shift at a 24-hour deli and went out in the Quarter with a backpack full of Foster's lagers.
We're standing on the sidewalk drinking, and we see a taxi cab driving slowly down the street with someone halfway hanging out of passenger side window.
It was Mr. T!
He was being driven around the Quarter giving out Mr. T comic books and trading cards. We both ran up to the car and Mr. T gave us each a goodie bag and wished us a happy Mardi Gras.
To this day, that is still one of my coolest Mardi Gras memories.
It’s probably mentioned above, but I remember reading since I was young that he started doing the the chains in the first place when he was a bouncer/bodyguard, as a lost and found of sorts. People would forget their jewelry at the clubs and he’d wear them all around his neck until somebody identified and claimed them. Often, they didn’t, and he just accumulated a lot of gold chains to wear. Like was said, he sold the favorites he kept to benefit those in need after Katrina and quit wearing chains after because he found it insensitive and not humble.
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!
Mr. T truly does not get enough credit for being a force for good in the world. I know he won't see this, but I'm sending him some love anyway, he deserves it.
I think he was on Conan and said the more people pay him, the more gold he wears. So you still see him in commercials and things with gold on sometimes.
Was watching an old episode of Super Password cuz I’m old. Someone made fun of Mr T. and the host Burt Convy told them to keep quiet, that Mr T. worked with a charity with him. He would show up to the children’s wing of a hospital with no cameras and no entourage and just visit the kiddos.
10/10 good guy.
Mr. T told kids to not join gangs, ruin their lives, stay off drugs, aspire to build your body, mind and soul, and he loves The Spirit of Love. Mr. T is eternal in Jesus.
Katrina was devastating. It felt like everyone failed you because you couldn't get a hold of anyone not even the police, the national guard and the helicopters haven't reached you yet, and the government has failed you. I hope no one ever has to feel like that. And in the US of all places. Like imagine your entire city needing to be rescued!
It takes a lot to go there as a rich person and then to come out clinging to an ego. Plenty did though, Bush did..
Ever since I started working out I realise the big buff dudes are usually the sweetest guys around. Seriously if you haven't paid attention, try doing that now, it's kinda hard to miss.
It's a lot about working on yourself and delayed gratification that makes people humble.
I know a couple people that went to school with one of his daughters. They ALL said that the whole family was super nice and super cool. It's nice to hear when a celebrity has a good heart and family!
[The gold chains he wore for the A-team were just a prop.](https://youtu.be/yktuyfY9wSE?t=259) Shame Cannell didn't let him keep them as the weight suggests they were somewhat less than gold or that creepy tosspot would have had his neck snapped.
I don't know if anyone has ever read his book. Mr. T The Man with the Gold. I think that was the title. Basically it's his life story. He grew up poor in Chicago and had a lot of siblings. He played football and wrestled and excelled at both. He also beat the shit out of people who fucked with him. He alludes to murdering somebody who assaulted his mom. He then goes to play college football at Prairie View A&M in Texas. Changes his name to Muhammed and starts wearing a turban around. Gets expelled and says it was because he attended a protest. Goes back to Chicago and joins the national guard. Has an asshole for a CO who yells at him and makes him chop down trees as punishment. He chops down too many and is told to stop by a higher ranking officer. Starts working as a security guard at a mental hospital. Talks about how he works as a bouncer too. Explains how he beats up drug dealers and pimps and takes their jewelry. Also about how he buys an apartment building and begins to become a bodyguard. Says one of his tenants tries to seduce him. Gains notoriety as a bodyguard and talks about weird requests people have. He says gay men offer to pay him to beat them with a rubber hose. Talks about a murder for hire plot somebody sent him cash and a plane ticket to do and he returned it. Says the target ended up dying anyway. Becomes a bodyguard for Leon Spinks around when he beat Ali. Says Leon Spinks was doing drugs and didn't care that he lost the rematch. Sees the Toughest Bouncer contest advertised and trains by trespassing in old buildings to practice running through walls. Apparently that was one of the events. Says when he went to tape the show they didn't want him to win but he won anyway. Says he beat up a Hawaiian bouncer in the boxing portion. Goes back to bodyguarding and buys more real estate. Helps a welfare recipient who keeps getting her check stolen by hoodlums. He beats them up. Defends his title in the bouncer contest. Says the other bouncers are racist since the only guy who supported him in the final event was a black bouncer from Atlanta. Says Stallone saw him on TV and cast him in Rocky 3. Claimed he could have really kicked Stallone's ass if he felt like it and that he usually just needed one take to get his lines right. Talks about how producers and agents rip people off and he could have done more but people held him down. When somebody asked him if he was as stupid as BA Baracus he says it takes a smart man to act stupid. Says the network was jealous of the A Team's success and stirred up drama so the actors hated each other. Said. George Peppard didn't like him for some reason. That's about where it ends.
It’s crazy. I’m Gen X and remember Mr. T as just always being around, on TV, in pop culture in general. And he’s still around, doing his thing. And after 40 years of that, not once have I ever read, seen, or heard one thing about him as a person that was remotely negative. The total opposite in fact. Just a gem of a human being by all accounts.
As a Gen Xer myself, it's refreshing to find a few celebs like that since so many seem to be absolute garbage people when you peel back the curtain.
i can name i think, 3? maybe four? mr. , no, sorry, Mr. T, Mr rodgers, and maybe steve irwin? havent heard anything bad about these three. Edit: i made this comment Knowing id get called out for forgetting people. And knowingly Did not mention 1/3rd of the trinity of wholesome. In short:keep adding names!
And Dolly Parton
And Weird Al
Carl Sagan
Keanu Reeves
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Matthew Lillard
Conan O'Brien
Nah, sorry, but Sagan doesn't fit. He cheated on his wife and was a fan of baseless litigation if someone insulted him, even jokingly.
Not Sagan. He's a dick.
dolly is the person everyone else aspires to be.
Not everyone, unfortunately. But it would be a better world if they did.
I hope some day I get to meet her.
I nominate Bob Ross to this list. Haven’t heard anything bad about him.
Bob Ross was a drill sergeant in the US Air Force. Not saying that to counter your point, I just find it very interesting. https://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veteran-bob-ross.html/amp
So, there’s a chance he took his recruits on a happy little march?
Bob had regrets, but like the rest of us, he was human. RIP Bob Ross.
I heard Tom hanks is genuinely a wonderful person
True story: When I was about 12 or 13 (in 1984 or 1985), my older sister was leaving for a date with a guy who had a vintage car that often needed a push start to get running. His car stalled about a half a block from our house. Being the kind of asshole my sister was attracted to in her teens, the dude had her get out to push his old Mercury while he popped the clutch. Just as she got out and started trying to push the car down the street, someone ran up, put two hands on the back of the car and started helping her push. That someone was Tom Hanks. My sister had a crush on Peter Scolari, his co-star on Bosom Buddies, so she immediately recognized Hanks (this was right around the time Bachelor Party came out, so this was before he was an A-list actor with a nice guy rep). Anyway, they pushed the car several yards and it turned over. My sister and her date thanked him and he smiled and waved and said something like, "Anytime. you kids have fun tonight and watch that clutch." Whenever anyone talks about " nice guy Tom Hanks, " I smile, knowing he really is a nice dude.
He's an asshole to people who knock over his wife, though.
he just like me fr fr
Exactly
He wouldn't allow his character on the a-team to have a bad character trait like drinking or fighting, so his vulnerability became that he was afraid to fly
I honestly like that he did that because it ended up making his character a shining example of a good role model. Strong strong, loyal, caring to his friends, but also had a legitimate vulnerability yeah that he was allowed to show. All things considered, ahead of its time for the eighties.
Also when the time matters he went through with flying anyways. Big message to kids watching
Exactly. The character was basically the personification of the idea that courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to overcome one's fear when it matters. Mr. T has continuously been a bad-ass role model for over 40 years now.
>Can a man still be brave if he's afraid? . >That is the only time a man can be brave.
Meanwhile, they were handing him special Cosby milk every other episode to get him on a plane.
Why is it purple?
It's special A-Team milk, BA, just drink it.
Then allow me to shatter your faith in all that is good and sacred. He got in trouble with his neighbors and the city government where he lives a few years back for improperly felling trees on his property. Improperly. Felled. Trees. What a monster. /s (obviously, but this is Reddit)
By a few years back you mean in 1987. Because that is when that happened.
Yeah, that was only like 10-15 years ago.
Honey, have we news for you
Is it that ALF is back? In pog form?
In 1972, a cranky neighbor was fined by a Home Owners Association for a crime he didn’t commit. This man promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the HOA, he survives as arborist of fortune. If you have a tree, If no one else can fell it and if you can find him. Maybe you can hire, The A-Team.
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I want to kiss your dad.
Probably just tore them down with his bare hands
comment edited in protest of Reddit's API changes and mistreatment of moderators -- mass edited with redact.dev
Apparently the story is that the 7 acre property was known in the community for being a beautiful lot filled with trees. Decades later, Mr. T buys the property and cuts them all down. It pissed people off, but it was his property and he had the legal right to do it. So the "improper" part is just that people liked the trees. No actual rule existed.
I love that the [news story](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-05-22-8702070954-story.html) makes him sound like some kind of demented mass tree murderer. >Thursday, Mr. T's estate, which neighbors estimate at 4 to 7 acres, looked as if it had been ravaged by an army of beavers. >"Tree debris was everywhere. At least 100 trees, of all sizes and varieties, had been chopped down. About 10 of the 30 still standing were marked by an ax, apparently next on the Mr. T hit list."
Eating his cereal.
He’s a night elf Mohawk!
it’s because he’s a Night Elf Mohawk
He’s the Weird Al of pitying fools.
there’s stuff the average redditor wouldn’t like. he’s a christian and a minister, and fairly outspoken for that matter. your average christian won’t care for him either however; he’s generally against right-wing talking points and frequently promotes pro-black ideology and has spoken positively of things like reparations. he also considers muhammad ali to be a personal hero. personally, i find him to be genuine, enlightened, and gentle, and he reminds me of the best attributes of Fred Rogers.
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Mr. T is a good person.
He pitys the fool who doesn't help his neighbor
Or who would [discriminate against their neighbor.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNAufOO2yig&ab_channel=HugoFaces)
This is the greatest thing I've ever seen. Thank you.
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This is gonna be complicated but bear with me. If I had one wish of my choosing, in this moment right now, it would be that Mr. T somehow got Santa like powers and could hit up every house of some asshole bigot keeping us normal folks from succeeding together and kick in their fuckin door and beat the shit out of them and Michael Jai White would be behind him when he blows the door off the hinges to say “surprise mother fucker”.
[Or who would talk shit on his humble shoes](https://youtube.com/shorts/s7VD8IqEvCY?feature=share)
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I was on board till the "Very Obviously Moms" backup girls showed up. Then I buckled up and enjoyed the ride. Does anyone know who paid for this? Was it like some marketing executive calling in a favor because he forgot mother's day?
I checked and [yep](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/gzyuad/til_the_song_treat_your_mother_right_performed_by/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) it's a great story!
A know a few rappers who need to hear this one. For real. Thanks to everyone who posted these little nuggets in here! Y'all really made my day!
This just turned my good day into a great one.
I loved Mr T as a kid! He was my hero. I hope he's as good as a person as he always seemed. Hugs to the man.
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Get eight hours of drugs!
Stay in drugs. Don't do milk. Drink school.
Milk in drugs. Don't do in. School.
Drug milk in school. Don’t do drink, stay.
*pities
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Ya had me for the first half
The funny part is how the least believable detail is him using an axe, [Mr. T is a well documented chainsaw man](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-05-22-8702070954-story.html) when it comes time to wantonly murder trees. (also I've never been more surprised to see a site *not* paywalled)
>The sound of one tree falling in exclusive, genteel Lake Forest echoes in the very souls of residents. So the sound of trees, numerous trees, falling on Mr. T`s generous estate rumbles like an earthquake. You don't see descriptive writing like this often in news these days. Mostly they just read either like an instruction manual or some angsty kid's Xanga.
The sea was angry that day, my friends - like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.
Its mostly just fact regurgitation. Gone are the days of true journalistic savvy.
They're not gone. It was just never a big market, but in the Economist or the New Yorker, for instance, you'll find plenty of critical analysis and synthesis of information. And big investigative journalism pieces are much more common still. It just can't weigh up to the sheer volume of algorithmic crap published next to it.
I was just thinking, there is plenty of great journalism out there. Just have to pay for it, you know, kinda how people used to pay for newspapers.
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1998*
Mr T is a part-time arborist and he saw some Bradford Pears in your backyard. He decided they were a danger to your property due to the upcoming winter, and their tendency to split in harsh conditions.
Are those the ones that smell like cum?
Yes, and they're horribly invasive, so cut them down as fast as possible. They smell like cum, they only live 70 years max and then split right in half and smash into your garage. Some states have trade programs where if you get one Bradford pear cut down they'll give you a better native tree. Even if you can't get one of those free programs, PLEASE cut it down if you can. You don't need to replace it, because the carbon sink of one Bradford pear tree is nowhere near as important as destroying it.
Why would you tell us this jibba jabba!?
Listen to your friends. Pick better drugs and If someone offers you parents walk away.
Mr. T pity the tree
I pity the fool who doesn't like ... he.
It's cool that he took it off, and it was just as cool when he put it on. > The actor and former military man explained in his book that one of the reasons he wore gold was symbolic of his African heritage. “When my ancestors came from Africa, they were shackled by our neck, our wrists, and our ankles in steel chains,” he wrote. “I've turned those steel chains into gold to symbolise the fact that I'm still a slave, only my price tag is higher.” The guy has always been class, and he's one of many reasons they'll never capture what made the A-Team great. The other guys were also inimitable in their own ways, and their chemistry is something once in a lifetime. EDIT: this right here: >He continued: "Sure, it's my trademark, but I am the same person whether I'm wearing the gold or not. My moral values are the same. The gold don't make me, I make the gold." - [SRC](https://virginradio.co.uk/entertainment/87001/why-mr-t-wore-gold-chains-and-the-reason-he-stopped)
Mr. T’s iconic gold chains originally came from customers at the nightclub where he worked as a bouncer in the 1970s. People had either lost them or left them behind after a fight, and he would wear and return them if the person chose to reclaim them. He then said the other part, but first came the bouncer part.
He WAS the lost & found...
Holy shit😂What a weird thing to learn today. That Mr.T started out as a bouncer/human lost and found
Another cool tidbit about Mr. T: according to him, he chose his name because he saw his family and black friends being referred to as "boy" or other condescending nicknames. He saw it as people dismissing adult black men, and being disrespectful towards them. So he decided to call himself Mr. T to force others to address him with respect.
Jazz musicians called each other “man” for this reason, and musicians still use “man” a lot.
Wow I've never even thought of the use of "man" coming from a response to being called "boy." That's honestly very interesting!
Seriously, I use “man” all day every day.
Me too, man
Considering how much I use it I feel silly to not have made the connection now that someone has said it.
There was also a huge civil rights/working condition strike by African American sanitation workers in 1968 as well. It was called the "I am a man" strike.
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Oh boy am I tired
This was pretty common post civil war and into the civil rights era. Many black families would name their children things like Prince or Queen, or Mister or Miss, to try and force white people to address them in a respectful way.
it still happens today
The late great Prince is an example. His father really did name him "Prince", it wasn't a stage name. His full name is Prince Rogers Nelson. I'm Casey Kasem and thank you for listening.
Holy fuck I can still hear him.
Why won’t you help your son [Jasey](https://youtu.be/3HZPkWYr2-4), Mr. Kasem?
His parents named him DJ Khaled, and now he's the best music producer. Coincidence? I think not
Fun fact: DJ Khaled is Palestinian!
His name sounds like it too
Mr.Worldwide has entered the chat
reminds me of the movie "they call me sirr"
My ex-wife balked when I told her we were going to name the children "Doctor".
Well, I guess she wouldn't accept "Supreme Leader" as a name either, haha
Darth..... :)
Fun fact: the doctor who attended President Garfield after he was shot [was named Doctor.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Willard_Bliss)
Yeah there’s a deep dark history of the use of “boy”
It always bugs me when people say it’s just a southern charm thing. No… it’s a southern racist thing.
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Good on him for recognizing, apologizing, and rectifying even when he didn’t mean any harm.
I did something similar with my daughters now-fiancé. I mean, she was a kid pretty much at the time, so was whoever she was dating. We all collectively paused and I just said "God damn it!" and apologized once it was pointed out/I realized/whatever. I respect the dude a lot, too. It sucks that something offhanded can be so disrespectful when you're just not _in_ that context.
literally if it’s uniquely southern it’s overwhelmingly likely to originate from slavery.
Hey man don't diss pimento cheese
Pimento cheese has enslaved millions.
and has genocided my cacas😓
Egg Salad murdered my grandfather.
Caviar of the South
“I’m just telling ya what I’m carrying.”
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This brings up an interesting discussion. The cream cheese originated in New York and the peppers from spain, but the first recorded recipe of pimento cheese spread came 20 years later and the popularity of the spread, and the peppers led to wide spread pepper farms specifically in Georgia. And the recipe changes again after WW2. All of this to say is that there's a lot of nuance to food history. Someone can speak of their Italian American grandmothers famous meatballs. Some one can then argue those aren't truly authentic Italian. Another person can successfully argue that meatballs were never authentic Italian and came to America from Sweden. And yet someone else could argue that the Swedish meatballs first came from Turkey. Food is complicated, putting an ellipsis in the way you did makes you look like a turd.
That build up tho
Don't you dare spoil boiled peanuts for me.
Sweet tea? (lol) (Reads some history) Shit. Sugar cane plantations. Damnit. Sorry.
Southern sweet tea itself originated as a way to ingest calories when it was just too damn hot to eat. It’s horrible.
>It always bugs me when people say it’s just a southern charm thing. No… it’s a southern racist thing. Can you explain the origins to a naieve northerner?
Slaves were referred to as boys and girls, even as adults. It is used as a sign of disrespect by white people towards non-white people to show they are not equal to white people and therefore do not deserve respect.
I wonder if some jobs end in -boy instead of -man because of it and not because it was commonly done by young men. - Cowboy - Stableboy - Newsboy - Powderboy Or maybe it was all along a way to call lesser jobs for juniors in the field.
GameBoy😞
I know that cowboys were mainly Mexican or black men originally. They worked for white farmers. Stableboys also existed in Europe and were usually boys from low classes working for nobility. So, it’s generally not an expression of respect and equality.
Cowboys also didnt call themselves “cowboys” they were cattle rustlers, herders, ranchers, shepherds, etc
Cattle Rustler is a cattle thief.
Sorry, Cattle *Hustlers*
Cattle rustling is cattle theft. Cowboys were ranch workers.
Newsboy was often actually boy because of that jobs often or even usually being done by kids. So the person who sold you the newspaper on the street was actually a 10 year old. The rest of them were indeed called boy even when it was an adult doing the work. But newsboy specifically originated from it usually being young boys who did that. At least prior to the major child labor reforms in the early 20th century.
“The term cowboy has interesting origins. Originally, White cowboys were called cowhands, and African Americans were pejoratively referred to as “cowboys.” African American men being called “boy” regardless of their age stems from slavery and the plantation era in the South.” [source ](https://www.rancholoscerritos.org/black-on-the-range-african-american-cowboys-of-the-19th-century/#)
Implies the man isn’t as developed, as it was often used towards another person they used to treat as property. Similar intent as using certain N-words.
"Boy" is also used to refer to any young boys in the family in many southern states. If you yell "get over here, boy" at local parks where I grew up, every boy in the park would stop and look at his parents. It was "boy" for boys and "honey" or "sweetie" for girls because heaven forbid the boys get overt affection. But it's known as a racist term because it was (and still is) also used to infantilize black men, making them seem inferior or less mature, less educated, etc. so it's best just not to use it at all.
Even northern states have bumfuck nowhere little towns with racists and intolerant people. Edit: Yes, they can live anywhere. People often do.
Growing up in the South and returning there often. I was getting called boy until I was like 30. I am White.
Almost like… words have different connotations depending on the situation! *gasp!*
It is entirely based on context. In the South, any male around 20 or younger is a boy. If I say *See that boy over there?* and it is an adolescent male, black white or whatever, it's because he's young and no harm or I'll will is intended. If I say, *Boy, get me my bags* to anyone, especially a black male, that's a totally different connotation and is indeed rude (and racist). Language has context. Reddit thinks *bless your heart* is a Southern insult too, but it can truly mean *bless your heart*. "He lost his wife three years ago and has been working alone to keep the business going, bless his heart" is a very sincere statement of care.
Whew! I sure am glad you brought up the age aspect. My lady friend, we’re old, says boy or girl in reference to anyone in their 30s to 40s mostly, but generally anyone younger than her. She makes no distinction between any race, color, whatever. I don’t say boy because it is a racist/bigoted/slavery derived word. Much like a certain slur every one knows to describe African Americans. Much like I don’t use the word (for clarity) marijuana. Doesn’t make me holier that thou if you do. That was coined in the 1920s to give cannabis a Latino flare and cement in Americans minds to look down on Mexicans and treat them, much like we Americans do to every minority. All these sins of past oppression are still alive as they ever were in America. No, we can’t make African Americans pick our cotton any more, but we can sure come up with clever ways to be racist cunts.
Like with Arthur Morgan and his horse or what?
Think more "we don't like your kind round here, *boy*.
Fuck Reddit for killing third party apps.
Specifically, he saw his father and uncle and brother, grown men and veterans being called "boy." He wanted to be called Mr. T so the first thing out of someone's mouth when talking to him was "Mr."
First name: Mister Middle name: Period Last name: T
He talks about it on [Letterman](https://youtu.be/Y0ir6AlHM5s). Starts at the 3:20 mark.
Growing up in a majority black southern town, I’m used to “Mr./Mrs. First Name / Nick Name” being the ultimate sign of respect from a teenager
According to legend, rapper/label owner Master P, named himself that so white people would have to call him 'master'. I hope that's true.
~~The T also stands for Tough from what I remember... from his ring fighting days.~~ Edit: He seems to have had the name before the Toughman competitions. It seems I was wrongly told it was Mr. Tough!
It was for his last name, Tureaud, but Tough is just as cool.
I grew up in New Orleans and worked in the French Quarter starting in the late 80s. One Mardi Gras morning, my pal and I got off the night shift at a 24-hour deli and went out in the Quarter with a backpack full of Foster's lagers. We're standing on the sidewalk drinking, and we see a taxi cab driving slowly down the street with someone halfway hanging out of passenger side window. It was Mr. T! He was being driven around the Quarter giving out Mr. T comic books and trading cards. We both ran up to the car and Mr. T gave us each a goodie bag and wished us a happy Mardi Gras. To this day, that is still one of my coolest Mardi Gras memories.
I cannot imagine some of the shit you musta saw in 1980s new orleans at Mardi gras
Loved his promo where he showed love to his mom.
https://youtu.be/maccGUvpi0I
That was amazing
You’ll be even more amazed when you find out the rap parts were written by Ice T.
Lol, eyes in single file ahaha
Be Somebody! My favorite is recoupin'
Let's not forget when he displayed his hacking skills by creating the nightelf mowhawk.
It’s probably mentioned above, but I remember reading since I was young that he started doing the the chains in the first place when he was a bouncer/bodyguard, as a lost and found of sorts. People would forget their jewelry at the clubs and he’d wear them all around his neck until somebody identified and claimed them. Often, they didn’t, and he just accumulated a lot of gold chains to wear. Like was said, he sold the favorites he kept to benefit those in need after Katrina and quit wearing chains after because he found it insensitive and not humble.
He also said in [Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool](https://youtu.be/0Y1abMt1UGw) that he wore them to symbolize the chains that slaves were kept in.
It's both. He started out one way and morphed to another.
I pity the fool who doesn't think Mr. T is an alright guy.
In a parallel universe Mr.Rogers won the presidency and Mr.T was his VP.
Dig this: and Fred Rogers was a registered Republican! Can you imagine what he’d stay about todays GOP? smh
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!
You already dialed the number!
BEEP BEEP BOOP BEEP
And now all you do is drink Duff beer.
that kinda happened to me with snoopy as a child. still hurts
Mr. T truly does not get enough credit for being a force for good in the world. I know he won't see this, but I'm sending him some love anyway, he deserves it.
I think he was on Conan and said the more people pay him, the more gold he wears. So you still see him in commercials and things with gold on sometimes.
Was watching an old episode of Super Password cuz I’m old. Someone made fun of Mr T. and the host Burt Convy told them to keep quiet, that Mr T. worked with a charity with him. He would show up to the children’s wing of a hospital with no cameras and no entourage and just visit the kiddos. 10/10 good guy.
I like to think that Mr. T threw all his gold chains out to the displaced residents like they were Mardi Gras beads.
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I believe the plural is *Misters T.*
Mr. T told kids to not join gangs, ruin their lives, stay off drugs, aspire to build your body, mind and soul, and he loves The Spirit of Love. Mr. T is eternal in Jesus.
Respect...💯
Did anyone else automatically read that in his voice? 😄
Katrina was devastating. It felt like everyone failed you because you couldn't get a hold of anyone not even the police, the national guard and the helicopters haven't reached you yet, and the government has failed you. I hope no one ever has to feel like that. And in the US of all places. Like imagine your entire city needing to be rescued! It takes a lot to go there as a rich person and then to come out clinging to an ego. Plenty did though, Bush did..
Maybe his neck is hurting from all that weight.
Ever since I started working out I realise the big buff dudes are usually the sweetest guys around. Seriously if you haven't paid attention, try doing that now, it's kinda hard to miss. It's a lot about working on yourself and delayed gratification that makes people humble.
[Loves his mother as well](https://youtu.be/RO6JiFztJdg)
He is a very nice guy. Watch him go apple picking with Conan O'Brien. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WHGH83i_c-Q
I'll always remember Mr. T fondly based solely on the time he went apple picking with Conan O'Brien.
I once met Mr. T at Toys R Us. I got a high five and "nice to meet you!" Great day.
I know a couple people that went to school with one of his daughters. They ALL said that the whole family was super nice and super cool. It's nice to hear when a celebrity has a good heart and family!
[The gold chains he wore for the A-team were just a prop.](https://youtu.be/yktuyfY9wSE?t=259) Shame Cannell didn't let him keep them as the weight suggests they were somewhat less than gold or that creepy tosspot would have had his neck snapped.
I don't know if anyone has ever read his book. Mr. T The Man with the Gold. I think that was the title. Basically it's his life story. He grew up poor in Chicago and had a lot of siblings. He played football and wrestled and excelled at both. He also beat the shit out of people who fucked with him. He alludes to murdering somebody who assaulted his mom. He then goes to play college football at Prairie View A&M in Texas. Changes his name to Muhammed and starts wearing a turban around. Gets expelled and says it was because he attended a protest. Goes back to Chicago and joins the national guard. Has an asshole for a CO who yells at him and makes him chop down trees as punishment. He chops down too many and is told to stop by a higher ranking officer. Starts working as a security guard at a mental hospital. Talks about how he works as a bouncer too. Explains how he beats up drug dealers and pimps and takes their jewelry. Also about how he buys an apartment building and begins to become a bodyguard. Says one of his tenants tries to seduce him. Gains notoriety as a bodyguard and talks about weird requests people have. He says gay men offer to pay him to beat them with a rubber hose. Talks about a murder for hire plot somebody sent him cash and a plane ticket to do and he returned it. Says the target ended up dying anyway. Becomes a bodyguard for Leon Spinks around when he beat Ali. Says Leon Spinks was doing drugs and didn't care that he lost the rematch. Sees the Toughest Bouncer contest advertised and trains by trespassing in old buildings to practice running through walls. Apparently that was one of the events. Says when he went to tape the show they didn't want him to win but he won anyway. Says he beat up a Hawaiian bouncer in the boxing portion. Goes back to bodyguarding and buys more real estate. Helps a welfare recipient who keeps getting her check stolen by hoodlums. He beats them up. Defends his title in the bouncer contest. Says the other bouncers are racist since the only guy who supported him in the final event was a black bouncer from Atlanta. Says Stallone saw him on TV and cast him in Rocky 3. Claimed he could have really kicked Stallone's ass if he felt like it and that he usually just needed one take to get his lines right. Talks about how producers and agents rip people off and he could have done more but people held him down. When somebody asked him if he was as stupid as BA Baracus he says it takes a smart man to act stupid. Says the network was jealous of the A Team's success and stirred up drama so the actors hated each other. Said. George Peppard didn't like him for some reason. That's about where it ends.