Did “The Body” Get A Bad Rap?

October 8, 1999

The news and TV talkers have gabbed to the nth degree about a statement made by Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Governor of Minnesota, in an interview published by Playboy magazine. The ex-professional wrestler and Navy Seal was widely quoted as saying, “Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people.”

What I did not hear in the heaps of criticism was Ventura’s full answer to a question about legalizing prostitution, as in the Netherlands, which the Governor favored for rather persuasive reasons. When the interviewer asked, “This isn’t a very popular position in America, is it?” THIS is what the Governor replied:

“No, and it’s because of religion. Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers. It tells people to go out and stick noses in other peoples’ business. I live by the golden rule: treat others as you want them to treat you. The religious right wants to tell people how to live.”

Do you recognize how the Media pulled part of a sentence out of context in order to sensationalize Governor Ventura’s answer? If he had said “some organized religion, etc...” I would have agreed with him, and so would millions of others. After all, the USA is the most church-going nation in the world, and while church attendance on Sundays has been estimated at one hundred million, 30 to 35% of Americans are not members and/or do not support an organized religion. That does not mean, however, that they are not religious. That is a whole other subject. And after all, the religious right does want and tries to tell us all how to live. The Governor was correct in that.

The whole interview occupies the large part of ten pages. To single out that one answer and put a “spin” on it, is neither good news-gathering nor fair comment.

Many of the Governor’s answers are interesting. He is consistently candid, plain spoken. Even though I cannot agree with many of his positions and beliefs, I admire his openness and frankness. Here are a few examples, although I wish more people would read the whole interview.

When asked why he was drawing larger crowds on his book tour than Kissinger or Newt Gingrich, he answered, “The answer is that people are searching for the truth, for someone they can truly believe in. The truth may not be what they want to hear, but at least they know they’re getting it.”

To a question about Pat Buchanan, he replied, “I respect him. He makes people think. He and I differ drastically on social issues, and that would hold him back from being the Reform Party nominee. Mr. Buchanan puts certain issues like abortion on the front burner. We in the Reform Party do not. We don’t even have abortion on our platform. It’s not a political issue. It’s been decided by the courts, and it should be challenged in the courts.”

When the interviewer asked, “How do you feel about protesters who burn the American flag?” Ventura answered, “If you buy the flag, it’s yours to burn.” That would not be a widely popular answer, but certainly the position can be defended.

When asked, “What do you think of gays in the military?” I believe the Governor made a sensible, forthright answer, “Who am I to tell someone they can or cannot serve their country? I couldn’t care less if the person next to me is gay as long as he gets the job done.”

When the governor was questioned about the death penalty, he replied, “I don’t support the death penalty. In the private sector I did, but not as Governor. I wouldn’t want the responsibility of sending someone to his death. Minnesota doesn’t have a death penalty, so it doesn’t matter to me.” Although most of you know I have been opposed to capital punishment for longer than most of you have been alive, but I can see the merit of his stance on this issue.

Jesse “The Body” was quite frank about professional wrestling. It is entertainment, not sport. The bouts and endings are choreographed and rehearsed. But constant training is required because the crowd-pleasing brutality or pseudo-brutality must be plausible. Even then, I read the other day about a professional wrestler who had his neck broken in a match and may never walk again.

If Governor Ventura should ever run for higher or national office, I doubt that I would vote for him. But of this I am sure, he would tell it as he sees it, no matter who becomes offended. That is a quality of political statements now most sadly lacking and most to be desired, no matter where, left, right, or center you may be positioned.