WIST Quotations

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 215 (1955)

Dave — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 22:14:37 +0000

To know a person’s religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 215 (1955)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 16:11:18 +0000

Where the environment is stupid or prejudiced or cruel, it is a sign of merit to be out of harmony with it.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)
(Source)

Baldwin, James -- The Fire Next Time, “My Dungeon Shook” (1963)

Dave — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 17:54:06 +0000

This innocent country set you down in a ghetto in which, in fact, it intended that you should perish. Let me spell out precisely what I mean by that, for the heart of the matter is here, and the root of my dispute with my country. You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason. The limits of your ambition were, thus, expected to be set forever. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being. You were not expected to aspire to excellence: you were expected to make peace with mediocrity.

James Baldwin (1924-1987) American novelist, playwright, activist
The Fire Next Time, “My Dungeon Shook” (1963)
(Source)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1964-01-08), “State of the Union,” Joint Session of Congress, Washington, D. C.

Dave — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 13:52:52 +0000

Let me make one principle of this administration abundantly clear: All of these increased opportunities — in employment, in education, in housing, and in every field — must be open to Americans of every color. As far as the writ of Federal law will run, we must abolish not some, but all racial discrimination. For this is not merely an economic issue, or a social, political, or international issue. It is a moral issue, and it must be met by the passage this session of the bill now pending in the House.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1964-01-08), “State of the Union,” Joint Session of Congress, Washington, D. C.
(Source)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [14:20]

Dave — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 21:32:34 +0000

Experience has clearly shown that the existing process of law cannot overcome systematic and ingenious discrimination. No law that we now have on the books — and I have helped to put three of them there — can ensure the right to vote when local officials are determined to deny it.
In such a case our duty must be clear to all of us. The Constitution says that no person shall be kept from voting because of his race or his color. We have all sworn an oath before God to support and to defend that Constitution. We must now act in obedience to that oath.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [14:20]
(Source)

A nationally broadcast address, introducing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Johnson, Lyndon -- Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [07:41]

Dave — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 20:10:44 +0000

There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem. And we are met here tonight as Americans — not as Democrats or Republicans — we are met here as Americans to solve that problem.
This was the first nation in the history of the world to be founded with a purpose. The great phrases of that purpose still sound in every American heart, North and South: “All men are created equal” — “government by consent of the governed” — “give me liberty or give me death.” Well, those are not just clever words, or those are not just empty theories. In their name Americans have fought and died for two centuries, and tonight around the world they stand there as guardians of our liberty, risking their lives.
Those words are a promise to every citizen that he shall share in the dignity of man. This dignity cannot be found in a man’s possessions; it cannot be found in his power, or in his position. It really rests on his right to be treated as a man equal in opportunity to all others. It says that he shall share in freedom, he shall choose his leaders, educate his children, and provide for his family according to his ability and his merits as a human being.
To apply any other test — to deny a man his hopes because of his color or race, his religion or the place of his birth — is not only to do injustice, it is to deny America and to dishonor the dead who gave their lives for American freedom.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech (1965-03-15), “The American Promise,” Joint Session of Congress [07:41]
(Source)

A nationally broadcast address, introducing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Friedan, Betty -- The Feminine Mystique, ch. 14 (1963)

Dave — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 14:24:35 +0000

A girl should not expect special privileges because of her sex but neither should she “adjust” to prejudice and discrimination. She must learn to compete then, not as a woman, but as a human being.

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) American writer, feminist, activist
The Feminine Mystique, ch. 14 (1963)
(Source)

Marx, Groucho -- Groucho and Me, ch. 26 “Foot in Mouth Disease” (1959)

Dave — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 19:35:28 +0000

I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.

Groucho Marx (1890-1977) American comedian [b. Julius Henry Marx]
Groucho and Me, ch. 26 “Foot in Mouth Disease” (1959)
(Source)

Variant: "I don't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member."

Different confidants of Groucho's attributed this resignation note to different organizations, though most think the resignation from the Friars Club or the Hillcrest Country Club. In his autobiography (the noted source), Grouch referred to it apocryphally as "the Delaney Club."

More discussion of this quotation:

Pinker, Steven -- The Blank Slate, Part 5, ch. 18 (2002)

Dave — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 15:32:42 +0000

There is, in fact, no incompatibility between the principles of feminism and the possibility that men and women are not psychologically identical. To repeat: equality is not the empirical claim that all groups of humans are interchangeable; it is the moral principle that individuals should not be judged or constrained by the average properties of their group. In the case of gender, the barely defeated Equal Rights Amendment put it succinctly: “Equality of Rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.” If we recognize this principle, no one has to spin myths about the indistinguishability of the sexes to justify equality. Nor should anyone invoke sex differences to justify discriminatory policies or to hector women into doing what they don’t want to do.

Steven Pinker (b. 1954) Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, author
The Blank Slate, Part 5, ch. 18 (2002)
(Source)

Jay, John -- Georgia v. Brailsford, 3 US 1 (1794) [unanimous opinion]

Dave — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 23:15:03 +0000

Justice is indiscriminately due to all, without regard to numbers, wealth, or rank.

John Jay (1745-1829) American statesman, diplomat, abolitionist, politician, Chief Justice (1789-1795)
Georgia v. Brailsford, 3 US 1 (1794) [unanimous opinion]
(Source)

King, Martin Luther -- “The Rising Tide of Racial Consciousness,” Speech, National Urban League, New York (6 Sep 1960)

Dave — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 22:03:18 +0000

Whenever racial discrimination exists it is a tragic expression of man’s spiritual degeneracy and moral bankruptcy. Therefore, it must be removed not merely because it is diplomatically expedient, but because it is morally compelling.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
“The Rising Tide of Racial Consciousness,” Speech, National Urban League, New York (6 Sep 1960)
(Source)

Hurston, Zora Neale -- “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”, The World Tomorrow (May 1928)

Dave — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 18:31:23 +0000

Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It is beyond me.

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) American writer, folklorist, anthropologist
“How It Feels to Be Colored Me”, The World Tomorrow (May 1928)
(Source)

Kennedy, Florynce -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 01 May 2017 22:38:49 +0000

There are very few jobs that actually require a penis or vagina. All other jobs should be open to everybody.

Florynce "Flo" Kennedy (1916-2000) American lawyer, feminist, civil rights activist
(Attributed)

Quoted in Ms. (Mar 1973). Also attributed to Gloria Steinem, though Steinem has attributed the quote to Kennedy.

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1940-11-01), Campaign Address, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York

Dave — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 15:35:44 +0000

We are a nation of many nationalities, many races, many religions — bound together by a single unity, the unity of freedom and equality. Whoever seeks to set one nationality against another, seeks to degrade all nationalities. Whoever seeks to set one race against another seeks to enslave all races. Whoever seeks to set one religion against another, seeks to destroy all religion.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933–1945)
Speech (1940-11-01), Campaign Address, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
(Source)

Adams, Abigail -- Letter to John Adams (17 June 1782)

Dave — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 16:56:30 +0000

Patriotism in the female sex is the most disinterested of all virtues. Excluded from honors and from offices, we cannot attach ourselves to the State or Government from having held a place of eminence. Even in the freest countries our property is subject to the control and disposal of our partners, to whom the laws have given a sovereign authority. Deprived of a voice in legislation, obliged to submit to those laws which are imposed upon us, is it not sufficient to make us indifferent to the public welfare? Yet all history and every age exhibit instances of patriotic virtue in the female sex; which considering our situation equals the most heroic of yours.

Abigail Adams (1744-1818) American correspondent, First Lady (1797-1801)
Letter to John Adams (17 June 1782)

Adams, Abigail -- Letter to John Adams (31 Mar 1776)

Dave — Fri, 22 May 2015 15:08:09 +0000

And by the way, in the the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.

Abigail Adams (1744-1818) American correspondent, First Lady (1797-1801)
Letter to John Adams (31 Mar 1776)

Robinson, Gene -- God Believes in Love (2012)

Dave — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 13:37:38 +0000

It is difficult for a majority to see, let alone sympathize with, a practice that discriminates against a minority. It’s not unlike trying to get a fish to understand the concept of water! It is simply the medium in which the fish resides, requiring no cognition of the water that supports it. Discrimination — not just individual, but systemic — is the “water” in which the majority swims, and unless something happens to bring that discrimination into the view and consciousness of the majority, nothing will change, because the majority hardly, if ever, notices it.

Gene Robinson (b. 1947) American Episcopal bishop
God Believes in Love (2012)

Aristotle -- Politics [Πολιτικά], Book 1, ch. 5 / 1254b [tr. B. Jowett (1885)]

Dave — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 14:44:53 +0000

Again, the male is by nature superior, and the female inferior; and the one rules, and the other is ruled; this principle, of necessity, extends to all mankind.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
Politics [Πολιτικά], Book 1, ch. 5 / 1254b [tr. B. Jowett (1885)]
(Source)

Aristotle is arguing that there is a natural distinction between the rulers and ruled, starting first with animals, then with sex. Alternate translations:

"Again, the relation of male to female is naturally that of superior and inferior, ruling and ruled, and the same kind of relation must necessarily exist in the case of all men generally." [tr. Bolland (1877)]
"So is it naturally with the male and the female; the one is superior, the other inferior; the one governs, the other is governed; and the same rule must necessarily hold good with respect to all mankind." [tr. Ellis (1912)]
"Again, as between the sexes, the male is by nature superior and the female inferior, the male ruler and the female subject. And the same must also necessarily apply in the case of mankind as a whole." [tr. Rackham (1932)]
"Further, the relation of male to female is by nature a relation of superior to inferior and ruler to ruled. The same must of necessity hold in the case of human being generally." [tr. Lord (1984)]

Bovee, Christian Nestell -- Intuitions and Summaries of Thought, Vol. 2 (1862)

Dave — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 15:28:56 +0000

The great obstacle to progress is prejudice.

Christian Nestell Bovee (1820-1904) American epigrammatist, writer, publisher
Intuitions and Summaries of Thought, Vol. 2 (1862)

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 1, ¶ 2 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]

Dave — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 12:44:07 +0000

Most collectors of verses and sayings proceed as though they were eating cherries and oysters, choosing the best first, and ending by eating them all.

[La plupart des faiseurs de recueils de vers ou de bons mots ressemblent à ceux qui mangent des cerises ou des huitres, choisissant d’abord les meilleurs, et finissant par tout manger.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 1, ¶ 2 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Most of those who make collections of verse or epigram are like men eating cherries or oysters: they choose out the best at first, and end by eating all.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

The majority of compilers of verse and sayings are like eaters of cherries and oysters, who pick out the best first and end by eating all.
[tr. Pearson (1973)]

Most authors of collections of poetry or epigrams proceed as though they were eating cherries or oysters. They start out by selecting the best, but wind up swallowing everything.
[tr. Dusinberre (1992)]

Most compilers of anthologies of poetry or of epigrams are like people eating cherries or oysters: they start by picking out the best and easting the lot.
[tr. Parmée (2003), ¶ 3]

Most compilers of verse or of bon mots resemble people who eat cherries or oysters, at first choosing the best ones, and finishing by eating everything.
[tr. Sinicalchi]

Roosevelt, Theodore -- Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas

Dave — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:40:35 +0000

Practical equality of opportunity for all citizens, when we achieve it, will have two great results. First, every man will have a fair chance to make of himself all that in him lies; to reach the highest point to which his capacities, unassisted by special privilege of his own and unhampered by the special privilege of others, can carry him, and to get for himself and his family substantially what he has earned. Second, equality of opportunity means that the commonwealth will get from every citizen the highest service of which he is capable. No man who carries the burden of the special privileges of another can give to the commonwealth that service to which it is fairly entitled.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901–1909)
Speech (1910-08-31), “The New Nationalism,” John Brown Memorial Park dedication, Osawatomie, Kansas
(Source)

Twain, Mark -- “Concerning the Jews,” Harper’s (Sep 1899)

Dave — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:51:26 +0000

I am quite sure that (bar one) I have no race prejudice, and I think I have no color prejudices, nor caste prejudices. Indeed, I know it. I can stand any society. All I care to know is that a man is a human being — that is enough for me; he can’t be any worse.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
“Concerning the Jews,” Harper’s (Sep 1899)

Rushdie, Salman -- “Do we have to fight the battle for the Enlightenment all over again?” The Independent (22 Jan 2005)

Dave — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 14:22:08 +0000

At Cambridge University I was taught a laudable method of argument: you never personalise, but you have absolutely no respect for people’s opinions. You are never rude to the person, but you can be savagely rude about what the person thinks. That seems to me a crucial distinction: people must be protected from discrimination by virtue of their race, but you cannot ring-fence their ideas. The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, whether it’s a religious belief system or a secular ideology, the moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.

Salman Rushdie (b. 1947) Indian novelist
“Do we have to fight the battle for the Enlightenment all over again?” The Independent (22 Jan 2005)
(Source)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1734 ed.)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Blame-all and Praise-all are two blockheads.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1734 ed.)
(Source)