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“You looked at them and wondered why they were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that it came from conviction, their conviction. It was as though some mysterious all-knowing master had given each one a cloak of ugliness to wear, and they had each accepted it without question. The master had said, “You are ugly people.” They had looked about themselves and saw nothing to contradict the statement; saw, in fact, support for it leaning at them from every billboard, every movie, every glance. “Yes,” they had said. “You are right.” And they took the ugliness in their hands, threw it as a mantle over them, and went about the world with it.” — Toni Morrison
You looked at them and wondered why they were so
ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then
you realized that it came from conviction, their conviction. It
was as though some mysterious all-knowing master had
given each one a cloak of ugliness to wear, and they had each
accepted it without question. The master had said, “You are
ugly people.” They had looked about themselves and saw
nothing to contradict the statement; saw, in fact, support for
it leaning at them from every billboard, every movie, every
glance. “Yes,” they had said. “You are right.” And they took
the ugliness in their hands, threw it as a mantle over them,
and went about the world with it.