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Contempt Quotes

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Contempt Quotes

“It was what the gleeman had called Plain Chant, those nights beside the fire on the ride north. Stories, he said, were told in three voices, High Chant, Plain Chant, and Common, which meant simply telling it the way you might tell your neighbor about your crop. Thom told stories in Common, but he did not bother to hide his contempt for the voice.”

CommonContemptTelling StoriesWheel Of TimeVoicesWotBardsChantThom MerillinThomdril Merillin
Book:The Eye of the World
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“Shame evokes anxiety about what will happen if someone really knows is, but, because it is impossible to for anxiety and anger to be felt simultaneously, we can dream our anxiety by employing anger or rage in the form of contempt... Contempt, because it feels more powerful has always helped us feel safer and more powerful than the anxiety we feel when we experience shame. [3]”

ShameAshamedContemptAvoidanceAbuse SurvivorsHealing InsightsPsychological DefenceSelf Contempt
Book:Growing a Passionate Heart
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“To allow oneself to be shamed is to admit that you are subject to and ruled by society’s arbiters of what is acceptable. Demagogues, as a rule, insist that they will not be so ruled; that is part of their democratic appeal. Shame is a constraint, and so is an affront to freedom. Shame condemns from a moral high ground, and so is an affront to equality. The demagogue follows these impoverished understandings of freedom and equality and concludes that conventions and laws are for suckers. Part of his pernicious influence is to persuade even his opponents that moral and constitutional scruples are forms of weakness. The demagogue’s own weakness lies in the fact that most people, even most of his supporters, tend to live by the conventions that he disdains. He needs their support and craves their adoration, making him dependent on people he holds in contempt”

PoliticsFreedomMoralityShameContemptDemagoguesDemogoguery
Author:Bryan Garsten
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“In her book claiming that allegations of ritualistic abuse are mostly confabulations, La Fontaine’s (1998) comparison of social workers to ‘nazis’ shows the depth of feeling evident amongst many sceptics. However, this raises an important question: Why did academics and journalists feel so strongly about allegations of ritualistic abuse, to the point of pervasively misrepresenting the available evidence and treating women disclosing ritualistic abuse, and those workers who support them, with barely concealed contempt? It is of course true that there are fringe practitioners in the field of organised abuse, just as there are fringe practitioners in many other health-related fields. However, the contrast between the measured tone of the majority of therapists and social workers writing on ritualistic abuse, and the over-blown sensationalism of their critics, could not be starker. Indeed, Scott (2001) notes with irony that the writings of those who claimed that ‘satanic ritual abuse’ is a ‘moral panic’ had many of the features of a moral panic: scapegoating therapists, social workers and sexual abuse victims whilst warning of an impending social catastrophe brought on by an epidemic of false allegations of sexual abuse. It is perhaps unsurprising that social movements for people accused of sexual abuse would engage in such hyperbole, but why did this rhetoric find so many champions in academia and the media?”

MediaDenialBritainContemptChild AbuseSexual AbuseHypeTherapistsChild Sexual AbuseHysteriaMisinformationMass MediaRitual AbuseNazisSociety DenialEpidemicSatanic Ritual AbuseJournalistsAllegationsHyperboleDisinformationSensationalismReportScapegoatingOrganized AbuseRitualistic AbuseMoral PanicSatanic PanicFalse AllegationsSocial WorkersSkepticsConfabulationRitual Abuse MythScepticsJean La FontaineMisrepresentations
Book:Organised Sexual Abuse
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“Schon als Kind war er von recht massiver Körperlichkeit gewesen, in die er sich zurückzuziehen pflegte wie in einen Bunker, da war nichts zu bewegen und nichts zu erschüttern, und aus seinen Kinderaugen sprach Ablehnung. Seine Schulkameraden fürchteten ihn, weil er sofort zuschlug, er ließ sich nicht auf Diskussionen ein, sondern pflanzte dem Kontrahenten ohne Vorwarnung die Faust gezielt auf die Nase. Nur vor den hübschen Mädchen, vor denen fürchtete er sich. Er wusste von Kindesbeinen an, dass sie sich Zutritt verschaffen konnten in sein Innerstes, in das Herz aller Dinge, einfach so, ohne jede Anstrengung, und dass sie dort schlimme Dinge taten, ohne Gewissen und ohne Mitleid. Sie quälten und verletzten und töteten, mit einem Blick, und er begriff nicht, wie sie das machten. Er dachte an Zauberei. Er sah auch, dass sie über manche Jungs diese Macht nicht hatten, und denen unterwarfen sie sich, denen rannten sie nach, von denen ließen sie sich benutzen. Er sah das und begriff auch das nicht. Es hat etwas mit Liebe zu tun, dachte er. Wer sie liebt, den verletzen und demütigen sie. Wer sie verachtet, von dem lassen sie sich benutzen als Klopapier. Wer sie liebt, ernsthaft liebt, dem verweigern sie sich. Wer sie verachtet, bekommt eine ganze Sammlung von ihnen. Du liebst eine Frau? Liebst sie wirklich? Damit lädst du sie ein, dir das Herz zu brechen. Und sie wird der Einladung folgen. Die Versuchung ist einfach zu groß. Er liebt mich, er ist schwach, denkt sie voller Verachtung. Sowas muss man zertreten. Wonach du dich am meisten sehnst, das bekommst du nicht. Was du verachtest, wirft sich dir zu Füßen. Er sah das, und verstand es nicht.”

LoveHopeWomenContemptHumiliationEnchantmentUnderstanding OthersRelationships LoveSpellboundCharme
Book:Das Leben in unserem Tal
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“Hypercritical, Shaming Parents Hypercritical and shaming parents send the same message to their children as perfectionistic parents do - that they are never good enough. Parents often deliberately shame their children into minding them without realizing the disruptive impact shame can have on a child's sense of self. Statements such as "You should be ashamed of yourself" or "Shame on you" are obvious examples. Yet these types of overtly shaming statements are actually easier for the child to defend against than are more subtle forms of shaming, such as contempt, humiliation, and public shaming. There are many ways that parents shame their children. These include belittling, blaming, contempt, humiliation, and disabling expectations. -BELITTLING. Comments such as "You're too old to want to be held" or "You're just a cry-baby" are horribly humiliating to a child. When a parent makes a negative comparison between his or her child and another, such as "Why can't you act like Jenny? See how she sits quietly while her mother is talking," it is not only humiliating but teaches a child to always compare himself or herself with peers and find himself or herself deficient by comparison. -BLAMING. When a child makes a mistake, such as breaking a vase while rough-housing, he or she needs to take responsibility. But many parents go way beyond teaching a lesson by blaming and berating the child: "You stupid idiot! Do you think money grows on trees? I don't have money to buy new vases!" The only thing this accomplishes is shaming the child to such an extent that he or she cannot find a way to walk away from the situation with his or her head held high. -CONTEMPT. Expressions of disgust or contempt communicate absolute rejection. The look of contempt (often a sneer or a raised upper lip), especially from someone who is significant to a child, can make him or her feel disgusting or offensive. When I was a child, my mother had an extremely negative attitude toward me. Much of the time she either looked at me with the kind of expectant expression that said, "What are you up to now?" or with a look of disapproval or disgust over what I had already done. These looks were extremely shaming to me, causing me to feel that there was something terribly wrong with me. -HUMILIATION. There are many ways a parent can humiliate a child, such as making him or her wear clothes that have become dirty. But as Gershen Kaufman stated in his book Shame: The Power of Caring, "There is no more humiliating experience than to have another person who is clearly the stronger and more powerful take advantage of that power and give us a beating." I can personally attest to this. In addition to shaming me with her contemptuous looks, my mother often punished me by hitting me with the branch of a tree, and she often did this outside, in front of the neighbors. The humiliation I felt was like a deep wound to my soul. -DISABLING EXPECTATIONS. Parents who have an inordinate need to have their child excel at a particular activity or skill are likely to behave in ways that pressure the child to do more and more. According to Kaufman, when a child becomes aware of the real possibility of failing to meet parental expectations, he or she often experiences a binding self-consciousness. This self-consciousness - the painful watching of oneself - is very disabling. When something is expected of us in this way, attaining the goal is made harder, if not impossible. Yet another way that parents induce shame in their children is by communicating to them that they are a disappointment to them. Such messages as "I can't believe you could do such a thing" or "I am deeply disappointed in you" accompanied by a disapproving tone of voice and facial expression can crush a child's spirit.”

ShameCriticalContemptChild AbuseHumiliationEmotional AbusePerfectionismSurvivorsDisapprovalDisgustAbusive ParentsBlamingChild Abuse SurvivorShamingBelittlingShamedAbusive ParentingEmotionally Abused
Book:The Nice Girl Syndrome: Stop Being Manipulated and Abused -- And Start Standing Up for Yourself
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“Wanawake wenye umri wa miaka kumi na nane hadi ishirini na mbili wanaweza kutawaliwa. Ishirini na mbili hadi ishirini na nne wanaweza kukuumiza. Ishirini na nne hadi ishirini na saba unaweza kuweka malengo nao yenye natija. Ishirini na saba hadi thelathini watakuchunguza sana na hawatakupenda kutoka moyoni. Thelathini hadi thelathini na tano wamejawa na dharau za kijinga. Thelathini na tano hadi arobaini na mbili watakung’ang’ania kupoza hasira za huko walikotoka. Tofauti na wanawake wenye umri wa miaka kumi na nane hadi ishirini na mbili, na wanawake wenye umri wa miaka ishirini na nne hadi ishirini na saba, wengine wote ni kubahatisha.”

HeartWomenAngerGoalsContemptBenefitHasiraDharauWanawakeMalengoMoyoni
Author:Enock Maregesi
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“Hence, what he wants—and it is openly admitted—is to implement nationalistic imperialism with methods he has borrowed from Marxism, including its technique of mass organization. But the success of this mass organization is to be ascribed to the masses and not to Hitler. It was man's authoritarian freedom-fearing structure that enabled his propaganda to take root. Hence, what is important about Hitler sociologically does not issue from his personality but from the importance attached to him by the masses. And what makes the problem all the more complex is the fact that Hitler held the masses, with whose help he wanted to carry out his imperialism, in complete contempt.”

FreedomNationalismContemptImperialismMarxismAuthoritarianismHitler1969Mass Organizations
Book:The Mass Psychology of Fascism
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“I know what coming back to America from a war zone is like because I’ve done it so many times. First, there’s a kind of shock at the comfort and affluence that we enjoy, but that is followed by the dismal realization that we live in a society that is basically at war with itself. People speak with incredible contempt about, depending on their views: the rich, the poor, the educated, the foreign born, the President, or the entire US government. It is a level of contempt that is usually reserved for enemies in wartime except that now it is applied to our fellow citizens. Unlike criticism, contempt is particularly toxic because it assumes a moral superiority in the speaker. Contempt is often directed at people who have been excluded from a group or declared unworthy its benefits. Contempt is often used by governments to provide rhetorical cover for torture or abuse. Contempt is one of four behaviors that, statistically, can predict divorce in married couples. People who speak with contempt for one another will probably not remain united for long.”

WarCommunityCriticismContemptWestern SocietyTribe
Book:Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
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“Remembering that only a few years ago men, women, and even children, were imprisoned, tortured and burned, for having expressed in an exceedingly mild and gentle way, the ideas entertained by me, I congratulate myself that calumny is now the pulpit's last resort. The old instruments of torture are kept only to gratify curiosity; the chains are rusting away, and the demolition of time has allowed even the dungeons of the Inquisition to be visited by light. The church, impotent and malicious, regrets, not the abuse, but the loss of her power, and seeks to hold by falsehood what she gained by cruelty and force, by fire and fear. Christianity cannot live in peace with any other form of faith. If that religion be true, there is but one savior, one inspired book, and but one little narrow grass-grown path that leads to heaven. Such a religion is necessarily uncompromising, unreasoning, aggressive and insolent. Christianity has held all other creeds and forms in infinite contempt, divided the world into enemies and friends, and verified the awful declaration of its founder—a declaration that wet with blood the sword he came to bring, and made the horizon of a thousand years lurid with the fagots' flames.”

IdeasTimeReligionForceHeavenFearPeaceChurchLossChristianityOpinionPowerFireAtheismRegretFriendsBibleAbuseInspiredCrueltyTortureDivisionContemptSaviorAggressiveCreedsFalsehoodBurnedDeclarationEnemiesPulpitInquisitionMaliciousSwordInsolentDungeonImprisonImpotent
Book:Some Mistakes of Moses
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“All marriages are like this. The component parts are contempt and irritation because we know each other by heart, by rote; we're all graduates of the blab school for double harness. Then he looked at the redgold hair, the sweet curve of the mouth, and thought, Truthlie, because marriage is more than that. It's part hate, part love. It's remembered agony, and remembered delight.”

LoveHateRelationshipsMarriageDelightContemptAgonyIrritation
Book:The Narrows
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“When you love someone, you end up caring about each and every person they love. When you hate someone, you end up caring about every single person who hates them.”

LoveCareDesireHatePassionRelationshipsFamilyMarriageEnemyWifeRelationshipFriendsHusbandWorshipHatredDatingCaringLustDevotionIntimacyGirlfriendAttachmentWarmthContemptDislikeDespiseLoved OnesYearningWeddingTendernessFriendLoverSpouseInfatuationEnemiesRelationship AdviceAdorationBoyfriendLoathingPartnerLoatheEnmityDetestFondnessAnimosityAbominationArdorAbhorrenceSpousesDistasteWivesAntipathyEndearmentHusbandsGirlfriendsRevulsionBoyfriendsDisgustDeep AffectionIdolizationAbhorDotingExecrationNearest And DearestAbominateAversion HostilityBesottednessDetestationOdium
Author:Mokokoma Mokhonoana
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“Oh, that's just Thud! That's easy!" yapped a voice. Both men turned to look at Horsefry, who had been made perky by sheer relief. "I used to play it when I was a kid," he burbled. It's boring. The dwarfs always win!" Gilt and Vetinari shared a look. It said: While I loathe you and every aspect of your personal philosophy to a depth unplummable by any line, I'll credit you at least with not being Crispin Horsefry.”

HateEnemyHumorousContemptLoathingVetinariGoing Postal
Book:Going Postal
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“Frank treated customers with the contempt Rosy had only seen before at airport passport control. Even then, she’d never heard an immigration official refer to anybody as baldy. “Hey, baldy,” Frank had said and whistled to call a customer back as though he were down in the paddock with an unruly herd. “You forgot your juice.” Frank held up the bottle of Tropicana orange juice. And when… baldy came back, Frank slapped the bottle into his hand as though passing him the baton in a relay race, then waved the man aside—“Go!”—and pointed at the next customer. “What do you want?” Frank said. “Cheese? Again? That’s three cheese you’ll have had in a row. Are you eating right?” The customer stammered. “Eh-but-eh-but-eh-but,” Frank mimicked. “Never mind. But think up a different filling next time. And not cheese and tomato.” He shook his head and made up the roll.”

FriendshipContemptCustomer ServiceCafeSandwichBaldStammer
Book:Screw Friendship
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“Take the particular trick of false names. It seems to us particularly odious. We think when we show our contempt for those who use this subterfuge that we are giving them no more than they deserve. It is a meanness which we associate with criminals and vagabonds; a piece of crawling and sneaking...Men whose race is universally known, will unblushingly adopt a false name as a mask, and after a year or two pretend to treat it as an insult if their original and true name be used in its place.”

IfsThinkingMenGivingYearsTwoUseShowsSeemsUsedNamesRaceKnownPiecesParticularDeserveTreatsOriginalsJewCriminalsTricksInsultMaskContemptAssociatesMeannessCrawlingVagabondsSubterfuge
Book:The Jews
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“The most important lesson I learned...was that the winner of a gunplay usually was the one who took his time. The second was that, if I hoped to live on the frontier, I would shun flashy trick-shooting--grandstand play--as I would poison...In all my life as a frontier peace officer, I did not know a really proficient gunfighter who had anything but contempt for the gun-fanner, or the man who literally shot from the hip.”

IfsKnowsMenImportantPlayHe ManLessonsGunShotsTricksHipsWinnerShootingPoisonContemptOfficersFrontiersImportant LessonsFlashy
Author:Wyatt Earp
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“Never be silent! Make your opinions known, and do not fear retribution for speaking your mind! The only ones who will aggressively try to silence you are the ones who do not respect the liberties and rights of the individual. Those people deserve our contempt, and when you draw them out of the shadows by exercising your civil right to freedom of speech, they will expose themselves for what they truly are.”

PeopleTryingMindPoliticsIndividualSilenceKnownLibertyOpinionRightsExerciseSpeechDrawsShadowDeserveSilentContemptFreedom Of SpeechRetributionDo Not Fear
Author:Derek R. Audette
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