He pities the fool; I respect him.

The last half of this article further outlines his past charity work and how it came back to comfort him through his struggle with cancer and the first part is about him planning his comeback.

The Sun Online - Life: Second coming of Mr T

But the middle explains why his comeback will be sans bling:

"Off-screen, Mr T is lending a helping hand to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
The tragedy deeply affected the 53-year-old Christian star, who was so moved by what happened in New Orleans that it convinced him to give up his trademark gold chains.
He said: 'I watched my people, the black people, screaming, begging and crying just for water.
'They didn't want diamond rings or new houses, they just wanted water, and they couldn't get any.
'I knew that soon I would be going around visiting these people in homeless shelters and it would be a sin against God and a sin against humanity to go around there wearing a million-dollars worth of gold chains, rings and diamonds.
'It would be wrong for me to say 'it's going to be alright buddy' and then go about my business. That would be a lie.
'People need to see that Mr T has a heart of gold, not just the gold that drips around my neck.
'That's my wardrobe, my uniform, but I will never wear it again.'"

Wow.