Banks, Iain -- Against a Dark Background, ch. 24 “Fall into the Sea” (1993)

Dave — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 13:12:32 +0000

Sorry? Of course he was sorry. People were always sorry. Sorry they had done what they had done, sorry they were doing what they were doing, sorry they were going to do what they were going to do; but they still did whatever it was. The sorrow never stopped them; it just made them feel better. And so the sorrow never stopped. Fate, I’m sick of it all. […]
Sorrow be damned, and all your plans. Fuck the faithful, fuck the committed, the dedicated, the true believers; fuck all the sure and certain people prepared to maim and kill whoever got in their way; fuck every cause that ended in murder and a child screaming.

Iain Banks (1954–2013) Scottish author
Against a Dark Background, ch. 24 “Fall into the Sea” (1993)

Often paraphrased as "Fuck every cause that ends in murder and children crying."

Banks, Iain -- The Business, ch. 5 (1999)

Dave — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:05:53 +0000

Dessous roared with laughter. “Telman! I can’t believe I’m having to tell you this, but life isn’t fair!”
“No, the world isn’t fair, the universe isn’t fair. Physics, chemistry and mathematics, they aren’t fair. Or unfair, for that matter. Fairness is an idea, and only conscious creatures have ideas. That’s us. We have ideas about right and wrong. We invent the idea of justice so that we can judge whether something is good or bad. We develop morality. We create rules to live by and call them laws, all to make life more fair.”

Iain Banks (1954–2013) Scottish author
The Business, ch. 5 (1999)

WIST Quotations

Banks, Iain -- Against a Dark Background, ch. 24 “Fall into the Sea” (1993)

Banks, Iain -- The Business, ch. 5 (1999)