Jim Mattis Quotes

We are dealing with veterans, not procedures; with their problems, not ours.

The thing is, a lot of our vets come home and they feel displaced, and they don't feel like their voice matters, so for me to be a spokesman and have that honor to educate America about who we are and what we are, it's like I'm doing my job.

I'd been fired by CBS News in a semipublic way, and as the months went by, there was a perception that I was damaged goods.

Changing the conversation about how Americans perceive veterans is really important. These are hardworking, dedicated, innovative people who deserve quality employment when they return home from their military service.

I know what people think I am. People think I'm dumb. People think I party all the time. People think I'm ignorant.

Veteran' is an exercise in editing because there is a lot of moments I took out and some that almost didn't make it.

People may have said, "The dude's gay; how are we going to market this?" But it's not an issue for me, because being out is very freeing.

If a journalist calls you a racist, chances are, all other journalists will call you a racist.

I was scared that no one would hire me. At that time, there was still a stigma attached to it. A big stigma. Actually, I think I was healthier after the operation than some people who have bypass surgery because I was completely cured. But when you mentioned "heart transplant," you got a very negative reaction. It triggered people's imaginations, and not in a good way.

I think Roy Jones is a great fighter, a great puncher. But you know, he doesn't use the jab. But he's got everything else going for him. The problem that hurts Roy Jones in the boxing business, in the celebrity business, is his attitude. Attitude hurts, because you say a lot of things that you probably don't really mean and you say them because you don't want to be put down. But you've got a lot of people who don't like what you say, and that hurts. And that's what Roy Jones has been hurt by. That's what I have been hurt by.

So many times we're portrayed in ways that we don't want to be portrayed, in ways that make us seem so ridiculous.

Nothing like quoting Silence of the Lambs for people to question what kind of disability you have.

Every accusation against a fallen man gains credence.

Some of the fans look at me as a villain or not a nice guy for some reason. I don't feel like that's the case, personally.

People ask me questions like, "Oh, you look so theatrical in your photographs. Is that what you're like when you walk down the street?" It's like, "Of course not." It's such a silly question - it's like being theatrical is a crime.

I got to take my kids to the London eye with no one looking at me like I was Johnny Depp. They did look at me like I was some kind of sicko walking around with beautiful kids, but I had a perfect disguise.

A man is called a traitor, or liberator. A rich man is a thief or philanthropist. Is one a crusader or ruthless invader? It's all in which label is able to persist.

Hillary Clinton rubs people the wrong way, for valid reasons.

Too many people hold the idea that psychopaths are essentially killers or convicts. The general public hasn't been educated to see beyond the social stereotypes to understand that psychopaths can be entrepreneurs, politicians, CEOs and other successful individuals who may never see the inside of a prison.

[The press] said to me yesterday 'How does it feel to be called anorexic?' and I had no idea that I was. I'm not saying there aren't people in the film industry that suffer from it, because I am sure that there are. But I'm quite sure I don't have it.

It's quite a traumatic thing for a lot of our veterans that come back... You're in a war zone, you're dodging IED's and bullets one day and a couple days later you're back in society again with a bunch of people that have no idea of what you've been through.

Sometimes acting and politics make a very bad combination. I think that sometimes people take me less seriously in my work for the UN because I am an actor.

If a rumor comes out that I'm gay, I could care less. There are so many worse things that they could be saying.

I do think I go out of my way to be a very normal person and I just find it frustrating that people think that I'm some kind of weirdo reclusive that never comes out into the world. Y'know, I'm a very strong person and I think that's why actually I find it really infuriating when I read, 'She had a nervous breakdown' or 'She's not very mentally stable, just a weak, frail little creature'.

At the same time, we're going to take care of our military and we're going to take care of our great, great, great veterans.