A Brief History of Fool-Pitying: Origins of the Phrase "I Pity the Fool" Share on Tumblr If you’re reading this, you’re already familiar with pop culture meta-character Mr. T’s catch phrase, “I pity the fool.” It immediately conjures Mr. T’s swaggering confidence and the ironic “pity” that he feels for the sucka that’s been targeted for a Mr. T beat-down. Rocky III (1982) was the first instance of Mr. T uttering the line that would virtually define his career. But where exactly this this magical combination of words come from? Sylvester Stallone’s brain? Although he’s the sole credited writer for Rocky III, and as far as I can tell, there’s no evidence that suggests that Mr. T ad libbed the line, I find it hard to believe that Stallone alone could be responsible for such greatness. So I did a little research. OK, a lot of research. And here’s what I found.

Background: A Definition of “Pity” Merrian-Webster defines pity as “sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed, or unhappy.” The typical usage of the word “pity,” then, is far different from Mr. T’s typical usage. If I feel pity for my sick friend, I feel bad for him, and I hope he gets better. If Mr. T feels pity towards a fool, he doesn’t feel bad for the sucka, and he hopes he gets the chance to punch his lights out. More on that later.

But first, let’s examine some of the earliest instances of “pity” in Western Civilization: Biblical Pity In the Old Testament, the LORD exemplifies pity mostly by not showing it to fools, suckas, and sinners: “And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.” (Jeremiah 13:14) “And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 7:4) This stands in stark contrast to Mr. T, who, unlike the LORD, claims to show pity to the targets of his vengeance. Shakespearean Pity Shakespeare similarly uses the word “pity” in a straightforward sense; that is, one that roughly equates to mercy: For pity is the virtue of the law, And none but tyrants use it cruelly. (Timon of Athens, 3.5.10), Alcibiades Note again the contrast with Mr.

T’s usage of pity. Outside of his turn as Rocky’s protagonist, his fool-pitying is always targeted at tyrants and others who abuse his sense of justice and the law. Scotland: The Birthplace of Fool-Pitying? I may have found the earliest usage of the phrase “I pity the fool” in the English language. Well, at least according to Google Books, it is. “James Merle: An Autobiography,” published in 1864, is the earliest instance of the phrase appearing in Google Books’ collection of over 10 million titles. Here’s the excerpt: To be honest, I have no idea who James Merle was. The first few pages of the autobiography provide scant context for the guy’s life (outside of the fact that he lives in Scotland), and, well, there’s no Wikipedia entry for the guy, much less his friend “Gregory” who is attributed with the above fool-pitying. That being said, there’s still value in analyzing the use of this phrase. At first, the pity appears to be genuinely sympathetic, but the speaker then describes the object of his pity as a fool, one who holds unrealistic expectations of post-marital greatness.

He’s simultaneously pitying and taunting. Sounds familiar, right? You betcha, sucka. However, this taunt lacks the menace that accompanies Mr. T’s pity. For that, we must turn to Friedrich Nietzche. Philosophical Principles of Fool-Pitying Nietzsche paved the way for the full extent of Mr. T’s fool-pitying in his 1880 work, The Wanderer and His Shadow (the third part of Human, All Too Human). It’s less of a philosophical treatise and more of a collection of aphorisms, all around the common theme of debunking assumptions of the day. In that spirit, he wrote the following: To show pity is felt as a sign of contempt because one has clearly ceased to be an object of fear as soon as one is pitied. Nietzsche takes Merle’s fool-pitying one step further by emphasizing the power dynamics of pitying. The person doing the pitying is typically in a superior position to the object of pity, but what Nietzsche implies here is that prior to any display of pity, the object of pity was actually an object of fear. Showing pity removes the fear and replaces it with contempt.

(Now, I know what you’re thinking. Fear and Mr. T typically don’t go together. Need I remind you?) Fool-Pitying Comes to America Until 1902, fool-pitying had yet to cross the Atlantic from its roots in Scotland and Germany to the future home of Mr. T. That year, American journalist and author Opie Read published the following statement: This fits squarely with Nietzschean and T-ean view of fool-pitying. Taunting. Contempt. Lack of actual pity. Read, however, paved the way for Mr. T to channel this vengeful pity for a good cause through his use of fool-pitying to further patriotism and love of America. All of the elements of fool-pitying that Mr. T would come to embody were present with Read. Except, of course, the blackness: the status of oppressed minority that gives fool-pitying much of its defiant power. Black America Claims Fool-Pitying In 1960, blues singer Bobby “Blue” Bland released the single “I Pity The Fool.” This song both brings us closer to and takes us away from Mr. T’s unique form of pity.

It brings us closer in that it uses an African American cultural vehicle to popularize the phrase “I pity the fool”… …but it takes us away in that the pity in this song is much more traditional than that of Nietzsche, Read, or T and lacks the aforementioned defiant power: I pity the fool that falls in love with you I pity the fool, I pity the fool who falls in love with you You’ll break his heart one day then you’ll laugh and walk away I pity the fool Bland’s pity towards the fool that falls for his former lover seems genuine, and if there is any scorn or contempt to be found in this song, it’s towards the woman and not her new lover. White Britain Appropriates Fool-Pitying, Gives it Back to Black America Bland’s song was a hit and inspired some notable covers, including one by a British blues group The Manish Boys in 1965. The lead singer of that group? David Freaking Bowie. I bet you didn’t expect to see David Bowie mentioned in an article about fool-pitying. To be fair, The Manish Boys were just one of many white British groups to appropriate African American blues into their rock acts, but in this age of Mr.

T-ean fool-pitying, there’s something incredibly jarring to think of this guy pitying any fool other than himself: I have a better idea. Why not have Stevie Wonder cover this song instead? That’s much better. Now fool pitying has returned to its African-American roots, albeit still without the sense of righteous contempt that Mr. T would soon come to embody. Fool-Pitying Enters the Modern Era Sylvester Stallone’s script for Rocky III (1982) represents the synthesis of many of the previous forms of fool-pitying that we discussed before. There’s the synthesis of races (Stallone, a white man, writes the line for T, the black man), the lack of actual pity, and the lack of fear. But remember the distinction between Nietzsche and Read’s differing forms of fool-pitying? It seems that at this point, Mr. T’s fool-pitying is decidedly of the former: it is pure contempt without any of the constructive aspects of the latter. The full realization of Mr.

T’s fool-pitying–that unique blend of blackness, contempt, and constructive community building, would come not through the A-Team (1983), but rather through the inspirational video Be Somebody or Be Somebody’s Fool (1984): Through a series of lessons on Anger Management, Break Dancing, and Recouping, Mr. T preaches values to American youth…with the threat of wrathful violence never far from the surface. Fool-Pitying Comes Full Circle One would assume that Mr. T’s own TV show I Pity the Fool (2006) would represent the culmination of the previous century’s development of modern fool-pitying. But in a surprising move, the show represents a return to a decidedly traditional view of fool-pitying. In this “Reali-T” show, Mr. T helps real-life fools with their problems. Not by throwing them into walls and making them pay for their foolishness, though. Instead, he’s more of a life coach, working out problems through mediation and motivational speaking. In other words, he actually is pitying fools in the way that fools were pitied prior to Nietzsche, Real, and T: through showing compassion for the distressed.

The Future of Fool-Pitying What has become of the fool-pitying that Mr. T espoused? If he himself is no longer the harbinger of ass-kicking disguised as pity, then who will take this mantle? Fortunately, there are those who stand ready to pick up where our hero has left off: 1) The cast of the new A-Team movie (June 11, 2010): But don’t hold out for these suckas. Before this movie comes out, become a member of… 2) The Mr. T Party (May 21, 2010) This nascent, grassroots political movement embodies Mr. T’s classic form of fool-pitying: Contempt for fools. I Pity the Fool (TV Series 2006– ) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error '80s icon Mr. T takes on the role of motivational guru and offers up advice to fans in need of a change.

Star: a list of 1240 titles created 06 Aug 2011 a list of 1178 titles created 22 Apr 2013 a list of 373 titles created 03 Nov 2013 Title: I Pity the Fool (2006– ) 7.6/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Add Image Add an image Do you have any images for this title? Edit Storyline '80s icon Mr. T takes on the role of motivational guru and offers up advice to fans in need of a change. A New Reali-T Series See more » Genres: 11 October 2006 (USA) See more » Company Credits This show is rough and ready. I'm impressed. 25 October 2006 | by Elzna (United States) – See all my reviews I like Mr. T's attitude and the fact that this personality and icon is doing a reality show in the first place.

I like the people he's helping out, I like the honesty, I like the frustration, and I like it when they come together in the end. This show is good and pretty entertaining, especially compared to that other TvLand Original DISASTER a.k.a. "Alf's Hit Talk Show". That was probably the worst show. Ever. In TV history. So TvLand certainly did well with this show, in light of their other failed attempts at "Orignal" entertainment. Anyway, this show is raw entertainment. To deal with, Mr. T is given pretty crappy, lazy, pathetic excuses for human beings. He makes the best out of what he's got to work with and in the end, it comes out relatively well. It's not always perfect and there's no guarantee these idiots are going to maintain their new MO. But there's the hope that they will. That's ultimately what makes the show a Reali-T. It gets my stamp of approval. 9 of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Mr. T - Wikiquote Mr. T Jump to: navigation , search NOTICE: This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding reliable references .

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. This person article needs cleanup . Please review Wikiquote:Templates , especially the standard format of people articles , to determine how to edit this article to conform to a higher standard of article quality. You should also check this article's talk page to see if the person who added this message left an explanation there. This page has been listed as needing cleanup since 2006-11-23 . Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud on May 21 , 1952 ) is an actor principally known for his roles in the 1980s television series The A-Team and as boxer James Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III . I pity the foo'... Sourced[ edit ] I didn't just start doing this today. Not like some people that have a movie coming out, so they go visit kids in the hospital. You don't need that phony crap. All of these celebrities, they turn my stomach with their funny stuff. I've been going in the ghettos without the press, without bodyguards, talking to kids. "Get to reading, stay in school.

You don't have to carry a gun." I know about peer pressure and all that, but I say, "Hey, they called me a sissy because I wouldn't join a gang. Who was calling me a sissy? Does it make me a sissy because somebody called me a sissy?" [...] I'm going to fight if you touch me or hurt me or do harm to my family. But if you call me a bad name, or whatnot, I'm too smart for that. That's the message the kids need to hear coming from me. I tell them, "If I fought every time somebody called me a name, I would never get out of jail. But I'm disciplined. I'm smarter than that." So I tell them, like my mother said, "Consider the source." When you see who called you the name, then you understand why they're doing it. Then you don't have to stoop that low. See, if I come into a black neighborhood and say, "Thanks for watching my show," and give out high fives and all that, I'm not doing no good. I go out and see a kid grabbing his crotch. Ain't nobody telling them that.

Where do they get it from? They watch MTV. I say, "If you wash up more often, you won't have to grab your crotch." I'm telling these guys, "Why you gotta grab your crotch?" Then you see Michael Jackson grabbing his crotch 50 times. What's with him? Everything started as a dream. You gotta have insight, know what you want. You gotta have a plan. Like I tell anybody, if you fail to plan, you're planning to fail. I've been planning ever since I was a youngster. You've got to start from somewhere. There's nothing wrong or demeaning in flipping burgers. It's more proud than selling drugs. We didn't starve. We spent wisely. Like I tell people in the ghetto, "If you can buy guns and bullets, why can't you buy food? You can buy heroin and crack cocaine, so why can't you buy bread and butter and milk? Why can't you pay your rent?" There's a lot of people in the ghetto who go out and get a fancy car and all that. The car costs more than their house. Meanwhile, your kids need shoes. That's not cool. The Onion A.V.

Club, June 26th, 2002 Silver Spoons (1982)[ edit ] First name Mr, middle name 'period', last name T! Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool (1984)[ edit ] Do you know me? Of course you do. 'Cause I'm famous! Hey, you with the teeth... Hey, everybody gotta’ put on clothes and if you don’t you get arrested. Calvin Klein and Gloria Vanderbilt don't wear clothes with your name on it, so why should you wear their name? Anger - use it, but don't lose it! Snickers Advert (2007)[ edit ] Quit yo Jibber-jabber! You ain't hurt, yo pathetic!, Argh! If I ever catch you acting like a crazy fool again, you're gonna meet my friend pain! Snickers, get some nuts! SPEEDWALKING?! I pity you fool! You a disgrace to the man race! It's time to run like a real man! Take that speedwalker! Do it again sucker, and there's going to be trouble! With a capital Mr.T! Snickers, get some nuts!

Yo makin' me mad sucker, cold water never hurt nobody! It's time to get in da pool, 'cause you're goin' swimmin', fool! TAKE THAT, TOEDIPPER! Argh! Argh! I hate flying, so this had better be the last time I see yo cryin'! Snickers, get some nuts! World of Warcraft Advert (2007)[ edit ] Shut up, fool! Mr. T has the greatest hair in the world. You can't deny it, it's been proven by science, fool! Well, maybe Mr. T hacked the game and created a Mohawk class! Maybe, Mr. T's pretty handy with computers! Had that occurred to you, Mr. "Condescending" Director?! I'm Mr. T and I'm a "Night Elf Mohawk"! What's YOUR game? I ain't no computer hacker! As a kid, I got three meals a day. Oatmeal, miss-a-meal and no meal. I pity the fool who drinks soy milk. I believe in the Golden Rule - The Man with the Gold... rules. For 5 years Mr. T disappeared.

Fools went unpitied and Jibba-Jabba went unchallenged! On his fight with cancer It takes a smart guy to play dumb. Response to the question "Are you as thick as BA?" at a press conference. People ask me what the "T" stands for in my name. If you're a man, the "T" stands for tough. If you're a woman or child, it stands for tender! I remember one time I tried to pity this fool. He told me his name was Jeff. He was married. He pulled out his wallet and showed me three pictures of his kids; Kelly, Robert, Brittany. Real cute kids. Don't get too close man. It's hard to pity a fool if you get too close. I pity the university for not giving T enough time. You know I got all duded up, got dressed, the students were all ready for me, then they gave me short time. So I pity them. So if they want to be unpitied, they'll invite me back and give me more time. Speech at UCLA, May 9, 2002.

I think about my father being called 'boy,' my uncle being called 'boy,' my brother, coming back from Vietnam and being called 'boy.' So I questioned myself: 'What does a black man have to do before he's given the respect as a man?' So when I was 18 years old, when I was old enough to fight and die for my country, old enough to drink, old enough to vote, I said I was old enough to be called a man. 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. You're going through college, and you're going to be faced with a lot of things. You're going to face adversity, the main thing is don't quit. For many people it's easy to quit, but don't. That's what separates the winners from the losers, what separates the all-stars from the also-rans. I wanted to win to feed the hungry people of my community. I didn't want to win to buy a diamond – I didn't have no diamonds then.

I didn't want to win to buy a car, I didn't want to win to bring a couple of chicks downtown to a hotel. I wanted to win to feed the poor people of the community. On winning the America's Toughest Bouncer contest. I tell people that I was born and raised in the ghetto, but the ghetto was not born and raised in me. When you see me now, I'm nothing but a big overgrown tough mama's boy. And I speak that with glee because the problem with society is we don't have enough mama's boys. I said "Hell no, because you didn't find a weapon; or if that's the charge you would have to lock me up because my hands and feet are deadly weapons." I'm not perfect, I'm not an angel, but I try to live a certain way because it brings honour and respect to my mother. I tell people that when they look at me, they're looking at nothing but a big, overgrown, tough mama's boy. That's who I am. People ask what gives me the authority to give advice? I say, First of all, I don't give advice. Dr Phil gives advice. Mr T helps people.

I motivate them, I inspire them, I give them hope, and I plant the seed so they can feel good about themselves. "You've got to testify! Tell somebody about it. God is good!" "I pity the fool that don't get it." - Mr. T going for Jury Duty. 8! 8! That's only a third, and third rhymes with Turd! Love is a verb... and Verbs show action You gonna lose a deal over $35? Thats chump change! My lunch cost $35! Hey fool, this ain't no football game! (A-Team) I don't hate fools, I pity them! (I pity the fool) Life's tough, but I'm tougher! (I pity the fool) The jibba jabba stops here! (I pity the fool) Teachin' fools some basic rules! (I pity the fool) You got to believe in the ball, and throw your self. (Not Another Teen Movie) You know something is wrong when the ground comes up to you and punches you in the face stumbleupon Comment TV URBAN LEGEND: B.A. Baracus never actually said “I pity the fool” on The A-Team.

The A-Team was a fascinating hit TV series in that it was absurd even for the era in which it aired (1983-1987). The cartoon violence on the program was evident when, in the first episode, a jeep carrying soldiers pursuing the team flips over spectacularly and crashes (it’s an impressive enough shot that it was used in the opening credits for pretty much the entire run). Voiceovers, of course, quickly assure viewers that both the driver and passenger were fine after the crash. That was The A-Team in a nutshell: spectacular violence but people almost never actually got hurt, despite the A-Team’s extensive use of explosives and automatic weapons. The A-Team was about a team of soldiers who were wrongly convicted of a crime they didn’t commit in the closing days of the Vietnam War. Now on the run from the U.S. military, they work as mercenaries helping out people in need while also trying to clear their names. Led by Col. John “Hannibal” Smith (played by George Peppard), whose trademark phrase was “I love it when a plan comes together,” the team consisted of Lt.

Templeton “Faceman” Peck (played by Tim Dunigan in the first two episodes and Dirk Benedict going forward), Capt. H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock (Dwight Schultz) and, of course, Sgt. Bosco Albert “B.A.” Baracus (Mr. T). B.A. Baracus quickly became the most popular character on the series (much to the annoyance of Peppard). Fans of The A-Team were quite familiar with Mr. T.’s trademark phrase “I pity the fool.” However, is it really true the phrase was never used on The A-Team? Yes, surprisingly enough, just like how Gracie Allen never actually said “Goodnight, Gracie” on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show , B.A. Baracus never actually used the phrase “I pity the fool” on The A-Team. (There are other famous examples of this, as well, of course, like Kirk never saying “Beam me up, Scotty,” Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock Holmes never saying “Elementary, my dear Watson,” and Rick never saying “Play it again, Sam” in Casablanca). Mr.

T., born Laurence Tureaud, was already quite a personality before he began appearing regularly on television. He developed his Mr. T persona in the late 1970s while working as a bouncer (that’s also when he began donning gold chains and wearing his hair in the style of an African Mandinka warrior). That career led him to become a high-profile bodyguard, working for such celebrities as Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Muhammad Ali. His unique tough-guy persona was given national exposure when Mr. T competed in a strongman competition on NBC called America’s Toughest Bouncer. Winning the competition, he then appeared in a follow-up dubbed Games People Play, which he also won. Before the final match, Mr. T explained to event commentator Bryant Gumbel that “I just feel sorry for the guy who I have to box. I just feel real sorry for him.” Sylvester Stallone caught this second competition and was intrigued by Mr. T and that line in particular. Stallone then wrote Mr. T into Rocky III as the main villain, Clubber Lang. It was there the phrase “I pity the fool” was born. The film was a massive success, and Mr.

T was soon cast on The A-Team, where he became an even bigger celebrity, and eventually one of the most recognizable figures in the country (he even did an inspirational video Be Somebody or Be Somebody’s Fool). Mr. T would use the phrase “I pity the fool” regularly in public appearances, but for whatever reason, he didn’t bring it with him to The A-Team. Just to prove this, I decided to put myself through the greatest of tests: actually watching every episode of the series to make sure. And while it took me quite a while (I wasn’t exactly thrilled to go through a bunch of these episodes in a row, so I spread them out over a number of months), I recently completed the series run and I can confirm he never used the phrase on the show. In fact, he didn’t say “fool” all that often, except to refer to “that fool Murdock.” His most common insult was “sucka.” You often come across the suggestion that the quote “I pity the fool who goes out tryin’ a’ take over the world, then runs home cryin’ to his momma!” is from The A-Team, but A. It never appeared on the show; and B.

I don’t know if I believe that that phrase ever existed, period. I’ve heard a .wav file containing the opening and the closing together (“I pity the fool that runs home cryin’ to his momma”) but never the whole thing. Anyhow, as to the legend at hand, it is one of those odd ones where we’re confirming a negative, so the legend is… STATUS: True Some reader suggested this to me years ago but I can’t seem to find his or her name in my notes. If it was you, feel free to drop me a line to take credit! Feel free (heck, I implore you!) to write in with your suggestions for future installments! My e-mail address is bcronin@legendsrevealed.com. Be sure to check out my Entertainment Urban Legends Revealed for more urban legends about the worlds of TV, Movies and Music! By: Mr. T Interview, 'I Pity the Fool,' Christianity, Christian, Jesus - Beliefnet - Page 2 Words of Wisdom from Mr. T On his new show, the legendary actor uses his Christian faith to help motivate and inspire people.

Continued from Page 1 When I was in high school, I wanted to be like this football player, his name was David Deacon Jones. He used to play with the Los Angeles Rams. They called him Deacon, because when he was in college he would pray before the games. I said, "Wow I like that," so I started wanting to do that. So I would do the prayers in high school. And then those things stuck with me. I would go and see people and they would say, “Oh Mr. T, could you pray for me?” And I’d say, "I’d be more than happy to." I am a sinner who has been saved by grace. It’s by the grace of God that I’m here. We all have sinned and fallen short on God’s glory. I come home and I ask God to forgive me for my sins. Everyday I ask for a new cleansing. I say, "God, let me show kindness to someone, let me give someone hope.

Let me be a light at the end of a tunnel for somebody." I tell people, they say I’m a farmer, I plant the seed of hope, plant the seed of inspiration, plant the seed so they can start praying and believing again. And it’s hard for some people to get believing. They say, "But I’ve been hurt by so many people and by some churches, or whatever." I explain that preachers might try to hurt you, churches might try to do you wrong, but that wasn’t God. God didn’t do that to you. That's somebody else. Because God will still love you even if you give up on him. Was there ever a time or was there ever a time when you felt your faith slipping a little? I ain’t going to say I was 100% all the time, but I never really faltered. I cried, I ate, I got mad, I said, I wouldn’t do things. That was my Job test. Job said, "Still you slay me, and yet I trust you." As I’m going through things, if I didn’t read the book of Job I guess I would have fallen apart.

I could have said, "What kind of God does this and that?" But no, I understood Job, I read it. I know what he went through. His friends and his wife came and said, "You’re a fool. You leave God alone." And he said, "No woman, you speak like a fool." The story of Job gave me strength when I had cancer. I said, “T, if you just hang in there, God will give you double for your troubles.” That’s what I was taught in church and that’s what happened to Job. What he lost, he gained more in the end. Job said, “Though you slay me, yet will I trust you.” God giveth and God taketh away. Blessed be his holy name." And that’s how I live. You know I came with nothing, I’m going to die with nothing. But in between them to points that’s what it’s all about. People want to take [you] away from your faith. They say, "What kind of God is that?" It’s like talking to the devil himself when somebody comes up with the negative. They say, "Wow, Mr. T. Heard you got cancer, man.

I figured you’d be the last one to get cancer [with] all the things you do." I knew this guy [who] was negative [about my cancer]. I told him, "Don’t worry about me, brother. I’m not crying about it, don’t you worry about it. I’m all right. Don’t let my cancer bother you." But he was so negative. He said, "Man, why? What kind of God [would] do this to you? I said to myself, "Well thank goodness I know enough stuff about the Bible. Thank goodness I've read about people like him." So how do you avoid getting pulled in to that negativity? I used the 23rd Psalm. I went by what David said. "Yea, though I walk through—through—the valley of the shadow of death." David said through, that means there’s an opening on the other side. He didn’t say, "And yea I walk into this cave of no return." He said, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil." Why don’t you fear, David? "Thou are with me." Who is thou? Thou is God.

So if God is for me, who in the world can be against me? It sounds like if you weren’t a celebrity you’d be a preacher. Exactly. I like what one of the executives [from "I Pity the Fool"] said: “Mr. T, this is your pulpit." I speak to kids about being good and stuff like that. That lets me know I’m on the right path. So if I just keep planting, eventually they'll come around. See, not everybody is going to come around right away. Like all flowers don’t bloom in the spring. Some bloom in the fall. Some even bloom in the winter. So that’s what it’s about. If I’m a servant of God, that’s what I got to do, I got to wait. What does a servant do? A servant serves. He serves his master. I am a servant. My job is to serve the less fortunate. If God has touched me, I’ve got to touch somebody else. God has forgiven me, so I’ve got to forgive the people who did me wrong.

If Jesus can forgive all things—with the crown of thorns upon his head on the cross… I say with all the things people done, nobody [has] crucified me, nobody put nails in my hands, in my palm, or a spear in my side, or a crown [of thorns] on my head. If Jesus forgives, then I’ve got to forgive. If I don’t forgive, I’m not a follower. If I’m not kind, if I don’t share, I’m not a follower, I’m a liar. I can’t be greedy. Tell me a little more about how you handle helping the people on your show. My show is basically what I do in real life. Before the show, I'd go to a school to speak and give the teacher my home phone number so they can call and I can check and ask how the kids are doing. Are they doing their homework? Are they fighting and arguing and stuff like that? Do they talk about some of the things I talked about while I was there? I have to follow up [on] stuff. With the people on the show, whether it [involved] a family or a car dealership, I give all of them my number.

Then I follow up [and ask] what changes have they made? Are they working on stuff? If I were to [help people] on the show, and just get the ratings and leave and not have personal relationship with you or contact you after that meeting, it would be like me raping you. And I’m not that type of guy. What do you think is the most surprising thing you’ve learned while you’ve traveled around helping people for the show? People just need a little push sometimes—sometimes it’s just a pat on the back. Everybody needs that, and that’s what I try to bring. I bring the love. I say, "You’re going to be alright, just don’t quit." Little things like that make the difference. It’s just like my mother said, "A little kindness goes a long way." Why do you think it’s better to pity the fool instead of chastise him? I’m glad you brought it up. If I pity someone, actually I’m showing them mercy. Job asked for pity. If you pity someone you’re not going to feel sorry for them, but you’re going to cut them some slack.

If you chastise someone you can do it by kind words, encouraging words, lifting them up instead of tearing them down. Getting positive with them, letting them know we got time, we’re not going to rush it, we’re going to take our time with it. People can’t turn around overnight. I try to get them to believe in themselves. That’s the key. If they don’t believe in themselves, then they’re going to quit. I try to give them a reason to keep on going. Who inspires you the most in life? My mother and the God I serve. As a matter of fact I’m always quoting my mother talking about all the little things that she told me. If I were to call my mother today we’d be talking and I’d be telling her, "Okay mom, I love you. I’ll be seeing you soon." Then the phone will get quiet for a few seconds and she’ll say, "Don’t forget to pray." And I tell people it’s important that she told me that, because I can forget, I can slip and get so busy with everybody around calling me and making me think I’m so great that I miss my time and I can forget to pray.

I remember there was a poem, I forgot how it goes, but the guy said his day started bad, and [he] got to work and it got worse and what not, and he said, "I forgot to pray." He said when I’m praying, everything is going good, but when I stop praying, all hell breaks loose. It’s like a television set. If you unplug it, it’s not going to come on. But when you plug it in, you connect it to the power source—the electricity. It's not that the TV is not working—you got to plug it up, you’ve got to be reconnected. That's what we all got to do, reconnect. We, as sinners, get disconnected from God. Every morning when you get up there’s a tug of war going on, the devil wants your soul and God wants your soul. When a child of God comes home, the devil is sad, but God rejoices. So when the child of God gives his life to the devil, God is mad. We have got to keep our eyes on the prize, every day. You might not have the things you want, but if you check carefully, you got all you need.

What's something each of us can do to make the world a little better? We can be kind to our neighbor. We can be kind to our family members. [But] first we got to love ourselves and ask for forgiveness--because you can’t love nobody if you don’t love yourself. You can’t forgive nobody for nothing if you’re not cleansed inside. Forgive the loved ones and the ones we’re arguing with. We’ve got to make good things contagious. Because we got sexual disease [that] is contagious, we got Ebola and other stuff [that's] contagious. So we got to make God contagious, Jesus contagious. Make saying "thank you" contagious. A little thing like that will make the world better. I Pity the Fool TV Show: News, Videos, Full Episodes and More | TVGuide.com Premiered: October 11, 2006 Rating: TV-PG Premise: Mr. T travels the country dispensing his unique brand of advice and inspiration for personal and professional success.

Question: Who said "I pity the fool"?
Answer: Mr. T