I think that the roots of racism have always been economic, and I think people are desperate and scared. And when you're desperate and scared you scapegoat people. It exacerbates latent tendencies toward - well, toward racism or homophobia or anti-Semitism.
Henry Louis Gates
Related I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES Racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, sexism, anything Nazi and a boatload of other things have no plac... SANDRA BULLOCK Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumaniz... CORETTA SCOTT KING I stand for anti-bigotry, anti-Semitism, and anti-racism. GEORGE H. W. BUSH If you think the country is a bastion only of nasty tendencies and racism and oppression, that is an... RICH LOWRY I think mortality makes you live a fuller existence. When I was a kid I was scared of death, and may... DOLPH LUNDGREN We will react swiftly and firmly to any statements or actions suggesting sympathy with Nazi-era poli... JAMES RUBIN Racists will always call you a racist when you identify their racism. To love yourself now - is a fo... JOHN HENRIK CLARKE I want to stimulate people to think about why it is that Jews have been the object of hatred for so ... BRUCE DEBOSKEY What you're seeing with Occupy Wall Street and the others are people who are unhappy and they... COLIN POWELL Everybody's scared for their ass. There aren't too many people ready to die for racism. They... FLORYNCE KENNEDY I like, though, that people have a hunger to connect with other people. They're desperate to kno... AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS Anywhere from 40% to 60% of people, when they're given a requisition by a doctor to go get teste... ELIZABETH HOLMES I like when I have to act and direct; then, when you have to dub, you're by yourself in front of... MONICA BELLUCCI I think when you're a bigger star you get many good scripts sent to you, and you have to choose ... AMANDA PEET I am usually able to tolerate all kinds of victims of indoctrination except those who have been infe... MOKOKOMA MOKHONOANA I think a lot of people are really scared right now. Not every person makes good choices, and someti... EZEKIEL BOONE I believe in the law. I think we have a great system of justice. But I do think that system of justi... HENRY LOUIS GATES I've always slightly envied other actors I know who have different reputations. I think, 'Go... MARTIN FREEMAN I see the increased desire (almost at a frenzy now) to convert the very latest and most exotic diplo... BILL MUNSON Well, I think people are sort of scared because gas is so expensive. DEAN JONES What I've always said is that I'm opposed to institutional racism, and I would've, had I... RAND PAUL We should always be clear that animal exploitation is wrong because it involves speciesism. And spec... GARY L. FRANCIONE I don't think an artist should always know why they gravitate toward something or someone. You a... MICKALENE THOMAS I think that's what happens when you get scared, and you're rushing, and you don't have ... TOM NOONAN I grew up in the Deep South, where sexism, racism, and homophobia were and still are alive and well.... PAULEY PERRETTE Anytime you're saying that a person will be thinking one way or another or biased one way or ano... MATT MEAD ['non-white' gay men] are run over at the intersection of racism and homophobia ERIC C. WAT In tough economic times, desperate people do desperate things, and the abortion rate goes up. JESSE JACKSON We have all met people that act 'old' or think a number makes them old, and I truly don'... TABATHA COFFEY But I love being scared. I think you're brave only when you do things that scare you. I've a... GINNIFER GOODWIN You don't have to be scared of me, because I am loyal. Why are people so scared of creative idea... KANYE WEST I know it's a film and all of that, and it's a Hollywood film, but it kind of feels like thi... PATRICK MARBER I think the Rose Bowl people are just scared of him, and that's too bad. BETTY BAKER You grow up and recognize that in any educated secular society, there's no excuse for ignorance.... HOZIER You grow up and recognise that in an educated, secular society, there's no excuse for ignorance.... HOZIER Racism is not merely a simplistic hatred. It is, more often, broad sympathy toward some and broader ... TA-NEHISI COATES A lot of people ask me when I do a stunt, 'Jackie, are you scared?' Of course I'm scared... JACKIE CHAN A lot of people assume that anti-Semitism and bigotry in general are on the decline or fairly flat, ... JOSH LAUTENBERG Progressive thought is blind when it suggests that there can be no anti-white racism or an anti-semi... PASCAL BRUCKNER I think the film you hear about the most is 'The Exorcist.' When people come up to me and sa... MAX VON SYDOW When you're so consistent, people have to stand up and take notice. I don't think people rec... KATIE TAYLOR I think people like to be scared. I think people like tension and suspense in a movie. DAMIAN LEWIS I think - you know, I want to intimidate people when I'm on the field. I want people to be scare... CARLI LLOYD People are scared of tryin' to want to change. Especially themselves. I've been scared of human emot... TOMMY POLO Right now, black female artists are the most interesting people to think about. People are ready to ... TINK Some people ask why people would go into a dark room to be scared. I say they are already scared, an... WES CRAVEN When people ask about inspirations, and you're like 'oh, it was a flower or a mountain or a ... PHILLIP LIM Solutions-oriented campaigning with a little passion and a little humor; I think that will go a long... LAURA INGRAHAM I think people are recognizing us, but I don't think anyone's scared of us. BOB WOJNAROSKI My path, beyond doubt or denial. I just hadn’t looked toward it. I wasn’t lost. I’d always kno... ASPEN MATIS People who say they don't care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they... GEORGE CARLIN ...[E]xcept the flying fish, there was no race existing on the earth, in the air, or the waters, who... WALTER SCOTT It's not deliberate, she's not really trying to hurt me. She's desperate and scared. DANIEL HOROWITZ I have kept a diary, WITHNAIL AND I I think some people think I'm, like, anti-label, and I'm not. I just wanted to sign a deal w... IGGY AZALEA I guess some people are brilliant enough to be brilliant on their own and never doubt anything and c... MADONNA CICCONE You've got different people that have different views of New Orleans. When you say 'New Orle... TROMBONE SHORTY I don't think it's racism, I think it's economic. But poverty disproportionately affects African-Ame... COLIN POWELL Whether or not you respect gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender individuals, we can all agree that ha... CHRIS FISHER As much as they deny it, I think people want to be scared. It's a phenomenon, why people want to... DYLAN MCDERMOTT I was lucky. A lot of people have that. People that don't tell you what you want to hear, but wh... KEVIN LOVE People are always so surprised when they meet me. Firstly, that I'm 'so tiny', and secon... PINK Whether it is tribalism, racism, xenophobia, or anti-Muslim backlash we're talking about, we spe... LORETTA LYNCH I thought that if I owned nothing, had nothing, was nothing, I would have nothing left to lose, and ... CHARLOTTE ERIKSSON I know for a fact that a lot of actors are desperate and unhappy if their careers are not progressin... JOHN MALKOVICH Here's the thing. Just because you're pro-troops doesn't mean you're pro-war. And ju... TOBY KEITH Where people are now in terms of the economic crisis, they're looking at what we think is the bo... EMILIO ESTEVEZ There's a trend toward anti-heroes now, and I think it goes back to guys like Bogart and Cagney.... JIM BROWN You know, I think the greatest gift in the world is a good employee, you know, or people who can do ... KENNY ROGERS There's been a lot of simple vilification of right-wing people. It's really easy to say, ... LOUIS C. K. We don't wake up happy and looking absolutely perfect and feeling amazing every day, you know? W... BEBE REXHA The world is getting more connected through technology and travel. Cuisines are evolving. Some peopl... JOHN MACKEY People who say they don't care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they don... GEORGE CARLIN People who say they don't care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they don... GEORGE CARLIN Confident people, who understand comedy, improvise so much better than people who are scared. You ca... MARLON WAYANS You think you can go into all those auditions not knowing who you are? The work came after I found m... JENIFER LEWIS You have to be a little desperate when you're a man down and more desperate when you are two men dow... DOMINIC MOORE I've seen people glaze over when they're confronted with racism, and there's nothing mor... KARA WALKER You go overseas and people are oppressed and scared and worried but we're not like that... we... YAHOO SERIOUS A lot of people ask me when I do a stunt, 'Jackie, are you scared?' Of course I'm scared. I'm not Su... JACKIE CHAN You can't delete racism. It's like a cigarette. You can't stop smoking if you don't ... MARIO BALOTELLI Instead of either/or, I discovered a whole world of and. GLORIA STEINEM It's not the fact that some people disagree with the protests. That is as much a right as the protes... CARLOS WALLACE Maybe some people don't feel scared when they think about comets and supernovas. Maybe they think it... LYDIA NETZER When people think of the word 'drive,' they often think you have it or you don't, and th... ANGELA DUCKWORTH I have found that there is a difference in the type of action you take and the results that you rece... SHERI KAYE HOFF I have a deep and personal aversion to anti-Semitism regardless of its source, and I reject and cond... KEITH ELLISON I putt like I did when I was a kid. When you're a kid, you're not scared of anything. ARNOLD PALMER When I get up in the morning, I look forward to the games and I'm just buzzing. At the end of th... JERMAIN DEFOE Even if I don't always behave as I should, this still doesn't explain why so many people hav... MARIO BALOTELLI That's when people start to get more desperate and are more willing to throw an elbow here or there. CAROLINE HALLISEY When you discuss racism, it's almost a no-win scenario - but I don't think that means we sho... BRAD PAISLEY But I think it's more that when you're young, you're invincible, you're immortal - o... DAMIEN HIRST Now a movie goes out to two, three thousand theaters and by Friday night at 10 o'clock they know... MARK RYDELL Positive, healthy, loving relationships in your twenties... I don't know if anyone would disagre... LENA DUNHAM When you have really good writing, you're compelled by the actors who are in it, and you may thi... DAVID COSTABILE When you're dealing in situations that are uncontrollable and combustible, you try to stabilize ... CHUCK HAGEL And because there is something they can’t see people think it has to be special, because people al... MARK HADDON I think most actors are insecure and scared of rejection. ALEX PETTYFER
More Henry Louis Gates
People are afraid, and when people are afraid, when their pie is shrinking, they look for somebody t... HENRY LOUIS GATES Diversity doesn't mean black and white only. HENRY LOUIS GATES The thing about black history is that the truth is so much more complex than anything you could make... HENRY LOUIS GATES Brazil is the second blackest nation in the world. HENRY LOUIS GATES So when you do your family tree and Margaret Cho does hers, and... Wanda Sykes and John Legend... we... HENRY LOUIS GATES I give a speech to the black freshmen at Harvard each year, and I say, 'You can like Mozart and ... HENRY LOUIS GATES The sad truth is that the civil rights movement cannot be reborn until we identify the causes of bla... HENRY LOUIS GATES Cuba is like going to a whole other planet. It's so different but it's so similar to the Uni... HENRY LOUIS GATES In America there is institutional racism that we all inherit and participate in, like breathing the ... 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I find that fascinating. It's very difficult ... HENRY LOUIS GATES Politicians will not put forth programs aimed at the problems of poor blacks while their turnout rem... HENRY LOUIS GATES I believe in the law. I think we have a great system of justice. But I do think that system of justi... HENRY LOUIS GATES Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice. HENRY LOUIS GATES JR. The precise form of an individual's activity is determined, of course, by the equipment with which h... HENRY LOUIS Most people are unable to write because they are unable to think, and they are unable to think becau... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Science, at bottom, is really anti-intellectual. It always distrusts pure reason, and demands the pr... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN The worst government is the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane. B... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage. 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In order to get anywhere near high ... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN A man always blames the woman who fools him. In the same way he blames the door he walks into in the... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Any man who, having a child or children he can't support, proceeds to have another should be sterili... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Husbands never become good; they merely become proficient HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN It is a sin to believe evil of others, but it is seldom a mistake. HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Economic independence is the foundation of the only sort of freedom worth a damn HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Free speech is too dangerous to a democracy to be permitted HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN The argument that capital punishment degrades the state is moonshine, for if that were true then it ... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN It is Hell, of course, that makes priests powerful, not Heaven, for after thousands of years of so-c... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN The only really happy folk are married women and single men. HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN God is a Republican, and Santa Claus is a Democrat HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN The great secret of happiness in love is to be glad that the other fellow married her HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Nothing is so abject and pathetic as a politician who has lost his job, save only a retired stud-hor... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN The trouble with Communism is the Communists, just as the trouble with Christianity is the Christian... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Evangelical Christianity, as everyone knows, is founded upon hate, as the Christianity of Christ was... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN A national political campaign is better than the best circus ever heard of, with a mass baptism and ... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Poetry has done enough when it charms, but prose must also convince HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN A fool who, after plain warning, persists in dosing himself with dangerous drugs should be free to d... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN The way for newspapers to meet the competition of radio and television is simply to get out better p... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN There is only one justification for having sinned, and that is to be glad of it HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN At the moment of the contemporary metaphysician's loftiest flight, when he is most gratefully warmed... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN To die for an idea; it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would be if men died for idea... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN To wage a war for a purely moral reason is as absurd as to ravish a woman for a purely moral reason HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN It doesn't take a majority to make a rebellion; it takes only a few determined leaders and a sound c... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Every man sees in his relatives, and especially in his cousins, a series of grotesque caricatures of... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Suicide is belated acquiescence in the opinion of one's wife's relatives HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN The objection of the scandalmonger is not that she tells of racy doings, but that she pretends to be... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Lying is not only excusable; it is not only innocent; it is, above all, necessary and unavoidable. W... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN I believe that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to the race, and that no... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear - fear of the unknown, the complex, the inexpl... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN He uses his sources as a drunkard uses lampposts; not to light him upon his way, but to dissimulate ... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN A man loses his sense of direction after four drinks; a woman loses hers after four kisses HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice t... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn't they'd be married too. HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN One seldom discovers a true believer that is worth knowing HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN It is only the savage, whether of the African bush or of the American gospel tent, who pretends to k... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN Every man is thoroughly happy twice in his life: just after he has met his first love, and just afte... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN The fact that a human brain of high amperage, otherwise highly efficient, may have a hole in it is s... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN You come into the world with nothing, and the purpose of your life is to make something out of nothi... HENRY LOUIS MENCKEN