cannabisnews.com: Ventura Defends Details in Autobiography!





Ventura Defends Details in Autobiography!
Posted by FoM on May 16, 1999 at 12:20:16 PT
Source: Pioneer Planet
Gov. Jesse Ventura said Friday he makes no apologies for the teen-age sex, visits to prostitutes and marijuana use detailed in his new tell-all autobiography.
``I'm very straightforward and honest in the way I tell my story, and if anyone has a problem with that they shouldn't buy the book,'' Ventura said. He spoke at a St. Paul news conference before leaving for the annual governor's fishing opener.Ventura bristled at criticism from some legislators that he should have been less candid in order to be a better role model for youth. Numerous legislators and St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman -- whom Ventura defeated in the governor's race last fall -- have accused Ventura of capitalizing on an unsavory past and sending a poor message to youngsters.Ventura said he considers himself a role model as governor and in the way he conducts himself as an adult. But children should look to their parents for values and advice on such issues as sex and drug use, he said.``There's been questions raised about the role model, and what message it sends to kids and all this,'' he said. ``Well, I have two children, and I've always lived by the fact that I tell them the truth.``And I believe it causes far greater damage to be a hypocrite and to tell young people what's politically correct, rather than the truth.''He took a veiled shot at St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman by saying that the Woodstock rock festival, which Coleman has said he attended 30 years ago, was all about sex and drugs. Ventura also said that when he first had sex at age 16, it was the girl's responsibility because she was older and more experienced than he was.The governor's new book, ``I Ain't Go Time to Bleed: Reworking the Body Politic from the Bottom Up,'' recounts Ventura's childhood in South Minneapolis, his years in the Navy SEALs, his careers as a professional wrestler, actor and talk-show host, and finally his third-party victory last fall in the governor's race.Among its more salacious tidbits are an account of Ventura losing his virginity when he was 16 years old to win a bet, references to marijuana use and visits to prostitutes when he was in the Navy, and an admission that he used steroids for muscle-building.Ventura repeated his defiant message in Grand Rapids, where he attended a high school pep rally as a prelude to today's fishing opener on Pokegama Lake.``I've got a bunch of hypocrites down there, telling me I should apologize,'' Ventura told students. ``I had the enjoyment of seeing nine or 10 seniors at the Capitol before coming up here and I asked them, what do you want? Political correctness? Do you want me to tell you what you want to hear? Or do you want honesty?''The Grand Rapids students applauded and Ventura continued.``So I'll ask you. Honesty? Because that's what you're going to get. I don't apologize for anything. I'm certainly not perfect but I stand tall and proud for everything I've done in my life whether it be right, wrong, mistakes or not. I felt very clearly last November, I won the young people because I didn't lie during the election.``I use my own children as an example. Judge me as a role model by looking at my children because parents are the role models we need today. Not politicians, not athletes.''The students made their support clear, chanting Ventura's name, stomping their feet and applauding repeatedly. Five shirtless students had ``Jesse Rules'' painted on their bare chests and backs and a ninth-grade girl sang ``I Will Always Love You.'' Meanwhile, cheerleaders led the students in a chant of ``Jesse, Jesse, reel 'em in, reel 'em in. Jesse, Jesse, eat 'em up, eat 'em up!'', and two gymnasts literally did backflips for him.They even performed a skit showing Ventura besting House Speaker Steve Sviggum and Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe in a dual fishing/budget contest.Grand Rapids principal Lloyd Styrwoll, who wrote the skit, said he thinks most people indeed see Ventura as the session's winner.``I don't know if that reflects reality. I'm a life-long Democrat and a big Roger Moe supporter,'' he said. ``But I think most people see it that way. He's a celebrity and the others are seen as politicians.''Strywoll said it was too early for teachers to discuss how to handle Ventura's book.``We really can't embrace some of the things he writes about, but he's certainly captured the enthusiasm of the students,'' Styrwoll said. ``Now if he can just continue to capture it and keep them going in the political process.''Earlier in the day, at the news conference at the St. Paul downtown airport, Ventura read a prepared statement in which he repeatedly refused to apologize for the book and said the times and values were different in the late 1960s and 1970s when he was a teen-ager and young adult.Asked what his message would be today to 16-year-olds considering having sex or using steroids, Ventura replied: ``My message today is `Listen to your parents.' And my message to parents is to parent.''In a strange sidelight to his news conference, Ventura called on assembled reporters to look to Pioneer Press reporter Jim Ragsdale to vouch for Ventura's performance as a parent.`'The other day, you talked about my son and gave him some tremendous compliments that I, as a father, couldn't help but enjoy,'' Ventura said to Ragsdale, who attended the news conference.Ragsdale's teen-age daughter and Ventura's teen-age son both work at Southdale Mall and are friends.Ventura did not mention Norm Coleman by name, but he pointedly alluded to Coleman's past accounts of having attended the Woodstock rock festival and having worked as a ``roadie'' assistant to rock bands. ``I'll just say this,'' Ventura said. ``Some people might have you believe Woodstock wasn't sex, drugs and rock `n' roll.''Coleman, who stressed that he had read only published excerpts from Ventura's book, later said he had criticized the book because he believed Ventura was boasting of his sexual exploits.``It's wrong for a governor to be bragging about sexual exploits to sell books, it's simply wrong,'' Coleman said.Ventura concluded his news conference with a reference to his loss of virginity, saying ``The girl was older than me, and she wasn't (a virgin). So tell me who got seduced?''http://www.pioneerplanet.com/seven-days/2/news/docs/007456.htm
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