Mahershala Ali Quotes

Basically, I was pretty ostracized in my hometown. Me and a few other guys were the town freaks- and there were many occasions when we were dodging getting beaten up ourselves.

Like many others who stand out, I was picked on.

I was taunted because I was different.

I was different and people made fun of me.

It's a clique that I've never been a part of. It's not like I identify them in a negative way.

Everyone can relate to being bullied. Everyone can relate to wanting to fit in and being part of a clique.

It was hard to feel hated as a child.

I was ostracized by my community.

At North Hollywood High School, I was shunned by everyone. I would sit down in the cafeteria, and students would get up from the table and walk away. They thought I was from the Mafia.

I literally felt like a freak, which is another aspect of the role of Sally that I relate to: total outsider.

I was bullied and regarded as little bit of an oddball myself.

In Romanian society, I am not particularly well-liked. I don't often receive invitations.

I wasn't hugely popular at school. In fact, I was bullied at school.

You should read history and look at ostracism, persecution, martyrdom, and that kind of thing. They always happen to the best men, you know.

I got picked on a lot as a kid.

Even at church, people would not shake my hand.

I was made fun of by a lot of other kids in such a way that I didn't feel like I was human.

I was always an outcast, even in my family.

My classmates could see I was not similar. So they made me their scapegoat. They hit me or locked me in the toilets. During the break, I would take refuge in the chapel, or I would arrange to stay alone in the classroom.

People would beat me up after school; they would throw names at me. Children are brutal... Being different when you're a child is always a challenge.

It's very alienating to become a target, and it can be really difficult to try and explain to people, to family members.

I used to be hated by people.

I was bullied in high school. I would go through the hallways and be pointed at and laughed at because I was the new kid in a wheelchair.

I have been hated by the whole world and it's been something to definitely overcome.

I am a marked person, and no one who's unmarked is going to understand that. It's very intimidating. I don't even know what my place is anymore. What's my role in society? Who am I, after everybody has branded me?