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Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

Book by Trevor Noah · 4 quotes · Poverty, Empathy, Hate

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Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood Quotes

“We do horrible things to one another because we don't see the person it affects. If white people ever saw black people as human, they would see that slavery is unconscionable. We live in a world where we don't see the ramifications of what we do to others, because we don't live with them. It would be a whole lot harder for an investment banker to rip off people with subprime mortgages if he actually had to live with them. If we could see one another's pain and empathize with one another. it would never be worth it to us to commit the crimes in the first place.”

KindnessEmpathy
Book:Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
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“Nelson Mandela once said, 'If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.' He was so right. When you make the effort to speak someone else's language, even if it's just basic phrases here and there, you are saying to them, 'I understand that you have a culture and identity that exists beyond me. I see you as a human being”

LanguageEmpathyCulture Identity
Book:Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
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“It’s easy to be judgmental about crime when you live in a world wealthy enough to be removed from it. But the hood taught me that everyone has different notions of right and wrong, different definitions of what constitutes crime, and what level of crime they’re willing to participate in. If a crackhead comes through and he’s got a crate of Corn Flakes boxes he’s stolen out of the back of a supermarket, the poor mom isn’t thinking, I’m aiding and abetting a criminal by buying these Corn Flakes. No. She’s thinking, My family needs food and this guy has Corn Flakes”

Empathy
Book:Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
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