Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Thrity Umrigar

Quote by Thrity Umrigar

“Bhima had never known that hate could have such a jagged edge. That it could feel so uncomfortable, a constant, pressing thing, like a pebble in a shoe or a piece of clothing two sizes too small. Nor had she known of hate's reductive power - how it took every ancient insult, every old betrayal and burning spot. How it soured everything, as if it were a lime squeezed over the whole world.”

Quote by Thrity Umrigar

Work

The Space Between Us

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Thrity Umrigar
Thrity Umrigar

Thrity Umrigar is an Indian-American journalist and author. Born in India in 1961, she later moved to the United States. Umrigar is known for her profound insights into multiculturalism and her focus on social issues, often addressing topics such as immigration, race, and gender in her work. more

You May Also Like

“We can choose to try to persuade people who are repeating demagogic talking points while choosing not to get into arguments with them. Demagoguery about 'them' is undone by empathy. Generalizations about 'them' are complicated, and sometimes shattered, by experiences with individual members of 'them,' or even humanizing stories. Tell those stories, mention those friends, talk about those experiences, and just refuse to argue. Invite your interlocutor to meet 'them,' point out the individuals who don't fit the stereotype, and, if you are a member of their out-group, then resist your interlocutor's desire to treat you as an exception. Many of the people who explain how they came to reject demagoguery about some out-group say they were changed when they got to know (and love) people in that group, or when they discovered that people whom they had long loved were members of the out-group. Just bear witness to the glory of diversity and pluralism.”