Former action star, Governor of California, and current living legend Arnold Schwarzenegger made a passionate plea for equality and called those who embrace hatred “weak” and “losers.”
In a 12-minute-video released earlier today, the star commented on the rising instances of discrimination and hate crimes in our country against people because of “their religion, or the color of their skin, or their gender.” While he called out the haters, he didn’t discount them completely, saying “I care about you,” and asking them to pursue a different path.
“If you find yourself wondering if the path of hate might make sense to you for one reason or the other, or even wrapping yourself in the flag of hate, I want you to know where that path ends,” he said. “I’ve seen enough people throw away their futures for hateful beliefs, so I want to speak to you before you find your regrets at the end of that path.”
Schwarzenegger grew up in Austria after WWII and said he’s seen the devastation that comes from hateful rhetoric. He explained that his own father was a German soldier and he saw other soldiers as well struggle with the consequences of their actions, calling them “all broken.”
“They fell for a horrible, loser ideology,” Schwarzenegger said. “They were lied to and misled into a path that ended in misery. They bought into the idea that the only way to make their lives better was to make other lives worse. It is the path of the weak.” He went on to say that hate never wins out in the end.
“There has never been a successful movement based on hate…Throughout history hate has always been the easier path. I mean it’s easier to find a scapegoat for a problem than to try and make things better ourselves, right? But let me be clear: You will not find success at the end of that road.”
“It’s easier to hate than it is to learn, it’s easier when somebody challenges you to get hurt feelings and to go find some echo chamber that will tell you you’re right and they’re wrong. No matter how far you’ve gone, you still have a chance to choose a life of strength…You have to fight the war against yourself…The other path is easier; you don’t have to change anything, everything in your life that you aren’t happy about can be somebody else’s fault.”
His powerful message was also couched in compassion for people he said have chosen the wrong path in life.
“Despite all the things we might disagree about, my friends might say, ‘Arnold, don’t talk to those people, it’s not worth it,’ I don’t care what they say. I care about you. I think you’re worth it. I know that nobody’s perfect. I understand how people can fall into the trap of prejudice and hate. It’s the path of the weak…. You will end up broken. I don’t want you to go through all that.”
“Conquer your mind,” he added as a bookend.