In the News: Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura is a retired professional wrestler who served as the 38th governor of Minnesota.
[Editor’s Note: Jesse Ventura is in the news this week. It was reported that R.F.K. Jr. is considering him as a running mate for Vice President. Jesse opens up a lot in this interview, and mentions that he has been talking to R.F.K. Jr. since at least last summer.]
Being the Villain
Max Raskin: You seem like a nice guy…
Jesse Ventura: …not always.
MR: Right — no one's all one thing. But why were you a heel? Why were you a villain when you were a professional wrestler?
JV: Because that was by my choice. Because being a villain allows you to be way more creative.
Being a good guy, you have to be mom, apple pie, and the girl next door. Unless you're a gimmick. And unless you're a former bad guy who's turned good. But initially, oh, I didn't want to be a fan favorite. There's no creativity there.
See, when I came out of the Navy, I went to college for one year on the GI Bill and I didn't have to name a major. I got into theater. In college my freshman year I did Aristophanes' The Birds, a Greek comedy. And in doing that, it led me to realize that's what wrestling is. Wrestling is physical theater.
MR: Which skill is more useful as a politician — entertaining or fighting?
JV: Oh, I would say in the end, it's the ability to fight. Because at some point, the entertainment's got to end.
MR: You ran into my jiujitsu instructor on the street one day, and he said you were just the sweetest person…
JV: …well, that may be because I studied karate for many years.
I was a member of the Japan Karate Association, and I actually fought in the Philippine National Tournament. I achieved a belt rank in the Philippines that was recognized in the United States because they're a universal international organization. The JKA, the Japan Karate Association.
MR: Why should someone be interested in martial arts?
JV: Building self-confidence.
And the stretching. That’s almost the most important thing. The biggest difficulty you face in growing old is your body losing its elasticity. You can't do the splits no more. I used to be able to do full front splits at one time.
Almost Cut My Hair
MR: Why do you have long hair?
JV: Because I'm too lazy to go to the barber. And I don't have enough hair. I think that I should be given a special rate because why should I have to pay full fare at the barber when I've only got half the hair to cut?
I haven't had a haircut since I got out of office. And that's 20 years ago.
MR: Do you think of yourself as a hippie?
JV: I have somewhat a spirit of the hippies, but I don't consider myself one. Because when the hippies were here, I was an active member of underwater demolition SEAL team in the United States Navy, which it's the complete opposite of a hippie.
MR: But it’s interesting because a lot of people you would think wouldn’t be hippies, like right-wingers or soldiers, have this this deep independent hippie streak in them because it’s about freedom.
JV: Oh yeah. I have all that. I probably am a hippie because at the time, and I lived through it, my generation was the hippie generation.
When I got out of the military, the first thing I wanted to do was grow my hair to my shoulders because for four years I wasn't allowed to do that. And I watched my entire generation be allowed to do that.
And now that you've got me onto this subject, I'm going to talk about this. The most traumatic thing I faced when I returned back to the United States after a nine-month deployment was going to my executive officer a week after and asking him if I could immediately get sent back to Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
MR: Why?
JV: I'll tell you why. He looked at me and said, "Well, we can't do that because you have to spend at least six months by Navy regulations before you're allowed to go back in for a second tour of duty.” And he looked at me and said, "What's the problem?"
I said, "Here's the problem, sir."
"My country doesn't consider me an adult or a man. I can't go up the street and buy a beer. I can't vote for the person who sent me to Vietnam because I'm not old enough, and I'm not given the privileges of being an adult." I looked at him, and said, "Sir, I can assure you and my country that I am an adult." They made me one. And what I got out of that was this — we send children to war. Isn't that a form of child abuse? Shouldn't I be able to bring a child abuse case against the United States of America for sending me when they wouldn't grant that I was an adult. I was a child.
And guess what? They haven't changed. You're never going to see another Kobe Bryant. You're never going to see another Kevin Garnett. You're never going to see another LeBron James. Why? Because they made a determination that you can't go from high school to the NBA. That you have to go to college for one year. And I loved what the old center, Jermaine O'Neal, of the Pacers said. Jermaine came out and said, "Wait a minute, I'm confused. You mean you can go die in Iraq, but you can't play basketball?"
That's my post-traumatic stress. The fact my country sends children to war. Isn't that child abuse?
Guarding the Grateful Dead
MR: What was your first memory of being politically independent?
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