The Quote or The Author

[okidoke]

Something that made me ponder the other night was how we react to quotes. Do we like the quote because we think it's so profound or because of the person who originated it? Or is it a combination of both? I'm wondering how we might reconsider a quote we related to if we discovered that it was originated by someone that we despised or was just a terrible person. Or even vice-versa, where we were sickened by a quote someone had said, because they might've been an awful person, but then discovered the quote was originated by someone we actually looked up to. I'm interested in your thoughts on the matter. I'm in two minds about it myself because I'd like to think I'm judging the quote itself based on it's merit, but perhaps I'm inserting some feeling about how I feel about the author.

• “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt (but what if it was Hitler?)
• “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela (but what if it was Ted Bundy?)
• “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky (but what if it was Charles Whitman?)

 

[Abstamyous]

I can't remember specific quotes or the authors (they weren't particularly famous). However, we used to have to write quotes on the board during English class. When it was my turn, I often changed the quote's author to "anonymous" to avoid potential trouble. Most of the times, it came from smut stories.

I enjoy the message. I often forget the author. I chuckled at the potential in your post.

 

[TheRealCallie]

Every person has both good and bad in them. Just because a serial killer or bad person says something doesn't negate whether or not the message is true. The message itself does that. So no, I don't really look at the author of the quote because it's ultimately irrelevant. If the quote resonates with you or helps you, it shouldn't matter who says it. Unless of course that quote is evil too. lol

 

[TheRealCallie]

For example....
"Do not compare yourself to others. If you do so you are insulting yourself."

Now browsing around the internet, you will see that people think Taylor Swift, Gordon Ramsey or Bill Gates said this. It was actually Hitler that said it. Hitler committed heinous acts against the world and especially the Jews, but does that really negate the validity of the quote? I'm sure people would prefer it to be one of the other people, which is why they probably go around saying it is one of the other three. They like the quote, but heaven forbid anyone like anything about Hitler, so they might be trying to dupe everyone into believing it was someone else, then everyone is using the quote and someone comes along and tells them Hitler was in fact the one who said it and everyone freaks out.

 

[HellsLittleAngel]

Something that made me ponder the other night was how we react to quotes. Do we like the quote because we think it's so profound or because of the person who originated it? Or is it a combination of both? I'm wondering how we might reconsider a quote we related to if we discovered that it was originated by someone that we despised or was just a terrible person. Or even vice-versa, where we were sickened by a quote someone had said, because they might've been an awful person, but then discovered the quote was originated by someone we actually looked up to. I'm interested in your thoughts on the matter. I'm in two minds about it myself because I'd like to think I'm judging the quote itself based on it's merit, but perhaps I'm inserting some feeling about how I feel about the author.

• “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt (but what if it was Hitler?)
• “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela (but what if it was Ted Bundy?)
• “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky (but what if it was Charles Whitman?)

Although, I can't seem to think of any quotes pertaining to this thread, I do think this is a good post though. So many ways you can look at this and interpret meanings behind the authors and quotes.