WIST Quotations

Orwell, George -- Essay (1948-06), “‘Such, Such Were the Joys …’,” sec. 5, Partisan Review (1952-09)

Dave — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 19:29:37 +0000

That was the pattern of school life — a continuous triumph of the strong over the weak. Virtue consisted in winning: it consisted in being bigger, stronger, handsomer, richer, more popular, more elegant, more unscrupulous than other people — in dominating them, bullying them, making them suffer pain, making them look foolish, getting the better of them in every way. Life was hierarchical and whatever happened was right. There were the strong, who deserved to win and always did win, and there were the weak, who deserved to lose and always did lose, everlastingly.

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1948-06), “‘Such, Such Were the Joys …’,” sec. 5, Partisan Review (1952-09)

This autobiographical essay was drafted around 1939, revised around 1946, and then completed in May or June of 1948. Collected in Such, Such Were the Joys, essay 8 (1953), though the full, unredacted version was not published until 2000.

Baldwin, James -- Speech (1965-02-17), Opening Comments, “The American Dream is at the Expense of the American Negro,” debate with William F. Buckley, Jr., Cambridge University, England

Dave — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 18:00:46 +0000

But what is happening in the poor [white] woman, the poor [white] man’s mind is this: they’ve been raised to believe, and by now they helplessly believe, that no matter how terrible their lives may be, and their lives have been quite terrible, and no matter how far they fall, no matter what disaster overtakes them, they have one enormous knowledge in consolation, which is like a heavenly revelation: at least, they are not Black.

James Baldwin (1924–1987) American novelist, playwright, activist
Speech (1965-02-17), Opening Comments, “The American Dream is at the Expense of the American Negro,” debate with William F. Buckley, Jr., Cambridge University, England

(Video)

See Johnson.

Chesterton, Gilbert Keith -- “Comparisons”

Dave — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 18:41:21 +0000

If I set the sun beside the moon,
And if I set the land beside the sea,
And if I set the flower beside the fruit,
And if I set the town beside the country,
And if I set the man beside the woman,
I suppose some fool would talk
About one being better.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936) English journalist and writer
“Comparisons”

In "The Notebook" (1894-98). BL MS Add. 73334, fo. 5.

The poem, which has no formal title, has been printed in multiple forms. In many cases, the third line (flower/fruit) is omitted. In some cases "tower" is substituted for "town."

Stanley, Jason -- How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 10 (2018)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 15:43:56 +0000

The pull of fascist politics is powerful. It simplifies human existence, gives us an object, a “them” whose supposed laziness highlights our own virtue and discipline, encourages us to identify with a forceful leader who helps us make sense of the world, whose bluntness regarding the “undeserving” people in the world is refreshing. […] Fascist politics preys on the human frailty that makes our own suffering seem bearable if we know that those we look down upon are being made to suffer more.

Jason Stanley (b. 1969) American philosopher, epistemologist, academic
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 10 (2018)

Stanley, Jason -- How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 5 (2018)

Dave — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 17:14:30 +0000

Fascist politics feeds off the sense of aggrieved victimization caused by loss of hierarchal status. Empires in decline are particularly susceptible to fascist politics because of this sense of loss. It is in the very nature of empire to create hierarchy; empires legitimize their colonial enterprises by the myth of their own exceptionalism. In the course of decline, the population is easily led to a sense of national humiliation that can be mobilized in fascist politics to serve various purposes.

Jason Stanley (b. 1969) American philosopher, epistemologist, academic
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, ch. 5 (2018)

Coates, Ta-Nehisi -- Between the World and Me, ch. 1 (2015)

Dave — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 20:56:18 +0000

Race is the child of racism, not the father.

Ta-Nehisi Coates (b. 1975) American writer, journalist, educator
Between the World and Me, ch. 1 (2015)

Coates continues:

And the process of naming "the people" has never been a matter of genealogy and physiognomy so much as one of hierarchy. Difference in hue and hair is old. But the belief in the preeminence of hue and hair, the notion that these factors can correctly organize a society and that they signify deeper attributes, which are indelible -- this is the new idea at the heart of these new people who have been brought up hopelessly, tragically, deceitfully, to believe that they are white.

Taylor, Barbara Brown -- Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith (2006)

Dave — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 15:57:44 +0000

All these years later, the way many of us are doing church is broken and we know it, even if we do not know what to do about it. We proclaim the priesthood of all believers while we continue with hierarchical clergy, liturgy, and architecture. We follow a Lord who challenged the religious and political institutions of his time while we fund and defend our own. We speak and sing of divine transformation while we do everything in our power to maintain our equilibrium. If redeeming things continue to happen to us in spite of these deep contradictions in our life together, then I think that is because God is faithful even when we are not.

Barbara Brown Taylor (b. 1951) American minister, academic, author
Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith (2006)

Bastiat, Frederic -- The Law [La Loi] (1850) [tr. Russell]

Dave — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 15:25:27 +0000

If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?

[Puisque les tendances naturelles de l’humanité sont assez mauvaises pour qu’on doive lui ôter sa liberté, comment se fait-il que les tendances des organisateurs soient bonnes ? Les Législateurs et leurs agents ne font-ils pas partie du genre humain ? Se croient-ils pétris d’un autre limon que le reste des hommes?]

Frédéric Bastiat (1801–1850) French philosopher, economist, politician
The Law [La Loi] (1850) [tr. Russell]

French source.

Asimov, Isaac -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 19:49:28 +0000

I don’t long for the good old days when there was no servant problem. Back in those days, I’d have been a servant.

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
(Attributed)

Brault, Robert -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 14:18:53 +0000

Man is rated the highest animal, at least among all animals who returned the questionnaire.

Robert Brault (b. c. 1945) American aphorist, programmer
(Attributed)

Bronte, Emily -- Wuthering Heights, ch. 11 [Heathcliff] (1847)

Dave — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 02:14:55 +0000

The tyrant grinds down his slaves and they don’t turn against him, they crush those beneath them.

Emily Brontë (1818–1848) British novelist, poet [pseud. Ellis Bell]
Wuthering Heights, ch. 11 [Heathcliff] (1847)

Brust, Steven -- Jhegaala (2008)

Dave — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 05:20:51 +0000

Most people seem to take pleasure in feeling superior to someone. I’m not like that, which pleases me because it makes me feel superior.

Steven Brust (b. 1955) American writer, systems programmer
Jhegaala (2008)

Wilder, Laura Ingalls -- Little Town on the Prairie (1941)

Dave — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 14:47:26 +0000

The trouble with organizing a thing is that pretty soon folks get to paying more attention to the organization than to what they’re organized for.

Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957) American writer
Little Town on the Prairie (1941)

Branden, Nathaniel -- The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem (1994)

Dave — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 13:26:13 +0000

It would be hard to name a more certain sign of poor self-esteem than the need to perceive some other group as inferior.

Nathaniel Branden (1930–2014) Canadian-American psychotherapist, writer (b. Nathan Blumenthal)
The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem (1994)

Francis I (Pope) -- “How the Church Will Change,” interview with Eugenio Scalfari, La Repubblica (1 Oct 2013) [tr. K Wallace]

Dave — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 12:28:31 +0000

It also happens to me that when I meet a clericalist, I suddenly become anti-clerical. Clericalism should not have anything to do with Christianity. St. Paul, who was the first to speak to the Gentiles, the pagans, to believers in other religions, was the first to teach us that.

Francis I (1936–2025) Argentinian Catholic Pope (2013–2025) [b. Jorge Mario Bergoglio]
“How the Church Will Change,” interview with Eugenio Scalfari, La Repubblica (1 Oct 2013) [tr. K Wallace]

Beauvoir, Simone de -- The Second Sex, Introduction (1950) [tr. Parshley (1952)]

Dave — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:35:31 +0000

One of the benefits that oppression confers upon the oppressors is that the most humble among them is made to feel superior; thus, a poor white in the South can console himself with the thought that he is not a “dirty nigger” — and the more prosperous whites cleverly exploit this pride. Similarly, the most mediocre of males feels himself a demigod as compared with women.

Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) French author, existentialist philosopher, feminist theorist
The Second Sex, Introduction (1950) [tr. Parshley (1952)]

See Johnson.

Orwell, George -- Animal Farm, ch. 10 (1945)

Dave — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 02:09:23 +0000

ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE
EQUAL THAN OTHERS

George Orwell (1903–1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Animal Farm, ch. 10 (1945)