Well, it gives, certainly to my father, who is the one that suffered the most in our family, and understanding of how the ideals of a country are only as good as the people who give it flesh and blood.
George TakeiGood grief. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, and at one another, in good spirit and without malice, then what fun can be left? If we must withhold all ribbing in the name of protecting everyone’s feelings, then we truly are a toothless society. We will reach what I call “the lowest common denominator of butthurt.
George TakeiWhat's needed today, now, more than ever, is 'Star Peace' for there is an ominous, mutual threat to all science fiction. It's called 'Twilight'. And it is really, really bad.
George TakeiThere is more story in a minor character like Boba Fett than there is in all the clutter of various vampires in the Twilight franchise.
George TakeiI have two passions in my life. One is to raise the awareness of the internment of Japanese-American citizens. My other passion is the theater.
George TakeiBut when we came out of camp, that's when I first realized that being in camp, that being Japanese-American, was something shameful.
George TakeiI myself am a Buddhist, not a Christian. But I cannot help but think that if Christ ran a public establishment, it would be open to all, and He would be the last to refuse service to anyone. It is, simply put, the most un-Christian of notions.
George TakeiUnfriending me when I didn’t even know we were friends? It’s like breaking wind when you’re home alone. If I can’t smell you, knock yourself out.
George TakeiPeople forget that stereotypes aren’t bad because they are always untrue. Stereotypes are bad because they are not always true. If we allow ourselves to judge another based on a stereotype, we have allowed a gross generalization to replace our own thinking.
George TakeiCat's are unpredictable. It is a fine line between the cure, inquisitive and innocent creature resting on our lap and the hissing, spitting and deranged banshee it might become at any moment. This is why we're trying always to win their love.
George TakeiPlays close, movies wrap and TV series eventually get cancelled, and we were cancelled in three season.
George TakeiIf you have to make laws to hurt a group of people just to prove your morals and faith, then you have no true morals or faith to prove.
George TakeiI've run the marathon several times, so I definitely don't look like the Great Ancestor!
George TakeiAs you know, when Star Trek was canceled after the second season, it was the activism of the fans that revived it for a third season.
George TakeiI was involved in the civil rights movement way back in the late '50s and through the '60s and '70s. I was doing a civil rights musical here in Los Angeles and we sang at one of the rallies where Dr. Martin Luther King spoke, and I remember the thrill I felt when we were introduced to him. To have him shake your hand was an absolutely unforgettable experience. Even before I could vote, I was involved in the political arena.
George TakeiPioneering is never done in front of cheerleaders urging on a roaring grandstand of popular approval.
George TakeiI'm a preservationist, I believe in preserving history intact, but I also enjoy the technological advances which have been made.
George TakeiYou know, I grew up in two American internment camps, and at that time I was very young.
George TakeiToday we have the economic collapse that the whole planet is suffering, but there is hope, and that's what's going to keep us moving ahead.
George TakeiTo me, the amazing thing is that so much that was science fiction back then, political fiction, today is reality. We have indeed a spacecraft called an international space station. And we have the diversity of this planet working on that ship, including Americans and Russians working side by side. I think the imagineers are the ones that set the goal. And the inventors and the technicians see that as a goal to work toward, or the political scientists and the diplomats. And eventually, that's arrived at.
George TakeiAs an Asian American, I'm aware of how stereotypes can be very destructive. We've been defined by the drag queens. And yes, they exist. But we've been defined as irresponsible, flamboyant, loud, and garish. I think what we need to do - and what we haven't done as aggressively as we should have - is to depict the vast diversity of the GLBT community.
George TakeiWe should indeed keep calm in the face of difference, and live our lives in a state of inclusion and wonder at the diversity of humanity.
George TakeiI am emboldened, not cowed, by the words and actions of Trump and his circle. I believe many others are as well. Together we will stand in opposition. I'm not going anywhere, and I won't be silenced.
George TakeiWe have the history of slavery or inequality to women, and now the civil rights movement of the 21st century is the struggle for equality for the gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. And I think it's important for Americans to know about the times that we failed.
George TakeiMy father told me, "Don't do anything that would bring shame to the family." I was always mindful of that. When I told him I wanted to pursue a career as an actor, my father said, "Look at what you see on television at the movies, is that what you want to be doing? Do you want to make a life out of that?" And I said, "Daddy, I'm going to change it".
George TakeiWell, you know, I do think in the larger span of things, I owe it all to Star Trek, because Star Trek has given me this pop icon status if you will, and one of the gifts have been this megaphone I have which amplifies my voice and I can reach people. And I do think the movement for equality for LGBT Americans is in the same context of all of the great American movements, you know, the basic fundamental ideals of this country of justice and equality.
George TakeiI spent my boyhood behind the barbed wire fences of American internment camps and that part of my life is something that I wanted to share with more people.
George TakeiI had a really unusual, remarkably unusual father because he, in our family, was the one that suffered the most. He was the one that explained American democracy to me. He said, ‘Our democracy is a people’s democracy and it can be as great as people can be, and it can be great… but we are also fallible human beings.’
George TakeiThe large majority of faith-based people are decent, fair-minded people. We should not characterize people of faith as the adversaries of GLBT equality.
George TakeiWe must remind ourselves that an assault on any one of our liberties and freedoms is an assault on all.
George TakeiIt’s really hard to hate someone for being different when you’re too busy laughing together.
George TakeiYes, I remember the barbed wire and the guard towers and the machine guns, but they became part of my normal landscape. What would be abnormal in normal times became my normality in camp.
George TakeiThe theatre for me is much more satisfying as an actor because you are working in front of a living, breathing, throbbing, gasping, laughing and hopefully applauding audience. And the immediate connection you get with that audience is very satisfying.
George TakeiI think we learn more from those times in our history where we stumbled as a democracy than we learn from the glorious chapters.
George TakeiThe word today is "detained," not "interred." People are being detained with no due process. They don't know what the charges are, why they're being detained. Simply because they have an Arab name or some association, but there are no charges.
George TakeiFacebook itself has an interest in having great content so that its users keep coming back.
George Takei