Provoking Quotes - Page 9

• Even if that statement was ambiguous, we kind of wanted to cause a stir. We thought that by having the name "Cabaret Voltaire", that with it came a certain responsibility. It wasn't meant to be purely entertainment; it was meant to be something a little bit more serious - and to provoke people - wrapped within an outer wrapping of entertainment.

  Stephen Mallinder

  Responsibility, Names, People

  Source: www.artdesigncafe.com

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• Hillary Clinton's ready to pivot to Asia and provoke China. So are the Republicans. It's on domestic issues that there will be a gridlock.

  Ralph Nader

  Issues, Asia, Republican

  Source: www.democracynow.org

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• We can't continue assuming that politics is something which is decided elsewhere by distant leaders in a distant capital. Protest is insufficient too. If people who are willing to put time into demonstrations also prove willing to work on behalf of candidates in local elections - or to become candidates themselves - they will achieve far more. If all of this upheaval provokes more involvement, then we have a slim chance of ending up with more vibrant democracies eventually. The alternative, as you've hinted, is that democracy fails altogether.

  Anne Applebaum

  People, Leader, Democracy

  Source: www.spiegel.de

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• Sometimes I walk into a situation and I know somebody is going to provoke me - not maybe, I know he will provoke me - I know he will provoke me! And there are times when I simply refuse to be provoked. And the other times you have to use that superior knowledge to carry on at work without distraction, and don't allow yourself to be distracted. I laugh a lot inside and outside, and at myself sometimes.

  Kofi Annan

  Laughing, Use, Sometimes

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• A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed — ​what gospel is that?

  Oscar Romero

  Real, Church, Skins

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• Maybe I'm perverse, but the question of "rooting" for a character, or setting out to write a character for whom other people will root, has never had anything to do with why I read or write fiction. As long as the writing and story remain alive, intense, invigorating, provoking, the characters can be as demonic or saintly as the author wants.

  James Lasdun

  Writing, Character, Roots

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

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• There was an op-ed piece in The New York Times by an evolutionary biologist or somebody - which was a curious place for the opinion to come from - and he said that there's no such thing as a completely free, uncensored medium, that people censor themselves all the time, in deference to hurting other people's feelings, or offending other groups, or in their own, not to provoke a fight. And you do self-censor certain things, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. That's just the way human social interaction works.

  David Byrne

  Hurt, Fighting, People

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• Violence has always been implied by previous US presidents: That is to say, if North Korea launched an attack, or crossed certain red lines, they would be met by devastating force. And this has been said even by people in the Obama administration very recently. But the kind of rhetoric that Trump is using is different, and I think probably not helpful, because it just provokes the North Koreans to ratchet up their rhetoric as well. At this point, it seems that we urgently need calmer heads on both sides, and we're not getting that.

  Charles K. Armstrong

  Thinking, People, President

  Source: www.motherjones.com

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• With what Trump is doing now, provoking North Korea, risking actual destruction of part of the US, he is violating the system's rules on its own terms. He's committing an actual threat against US national security. And you would think that in just pragmatic political terms in Washington, that is the kind of thing that could be grounds for impeachment. But as long as he sits in that chair, it's true, the commanders are obligated to obey his order.

  Allan Nairn

  Thinking, Long, Political

  Source: www.truth-out.org

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• I think humor really is the most effective way for me personally to express myself. When I see an incredible formalist painting, I respect it. I really do. I see its history and I get it. But when I pass something weird or something funny, I totally associate with it. I find myself thinking about it later that day. That's how I know something is thought provoking. That's how I know something is effective.

  Chloe Wise

  Thinking, Thought Provoking, Painting

  Source: www.elle.com

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• I believe, the [Gunnar] Myrdal study had been made, and if we hadn't had anything else to raise questions, this in itself would have been something to provoke thought in the direction of the value of accommodating leadership.

  Ella Baker

  Believe, Raises Questions, Study

  Source: www.crmvet.org

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• Pushing the limits, to be thought provoking, pushing people to think and question the limits, it's not always bad for the rules if you're confident because it can even strengthen your understanding of religion in the process.

  Tariq Ramadan

  Thinking, People, Thought Provoking

  Source: dinmerican.wordpress.com

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• It's not like I'm narrating stories with music behind them. It's all kind of one thing. You hope you can provoke a specific emotional reaction, but in ways that aren't quite plain.

  Jonathan Meiburg

  Emotional, Stories, Way

  "Shearwater". Interview with Jason Crock, pitchfork.com. April 24, 2007.

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• An extensive empire must be supported by a refined system of policy and oppression; in the centre, an absolute power, prompt in action and rich in resources; a swift and easy communication with the extreme parts; fortifications to check the first effort of rebellion; a regular administration to protect and punish; and a well-disciplined army to inspire fear, without provoking discontent and despair.

  Edward Gibbon

  Communication, Army, Effort

  Edward Gibbon (2008). “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, p.302, Cosimo, Inc.

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• In attempting to understand 9/11, the first question asked by the world's elites - as exemplified by leading media and academics - was, 'What did America do to provoke such hatred?' Ten years later, the same people are still asking the same question. And it is as morally repulsive now as it was then. It was always on par with 'What did the Jews do to antagonize the Germans? Or 'What did blacks do to enrage lynch mobs?'

  Dennis Prager

  Media, Years, America

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• Violence can succeed, as Americans know well from the conquest of the national territory. But at terrible cost. It can also provoke violence in response, and often does.

  Noam Chomsky

  Doe, Cost, Territory

  Noam Chomsky (2007). “Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance”, p.241, Macmillan

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• Propaganda's content increasingly resembles information. It has even clearly been proved that a violent, excessive, shock-provoking propaganda texts leads ultimately to less conviction and participation. The listeners critical powers decrease if the propaganda message is more rational and less violent.

  Jacques Ellul

  Information, Messages, Propaganda

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• Jealousy destroys the matrimonies; jealousy destroys the friendships, jealousy provokes religious wars, fratricidal hates, murderers and all kind of suffering.

  Samael Aun Weor

  Religious, Hate, War

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• Which is worse, overload or underload? Luckily, I never had to choose. One or Pass on to where? Back into my cells to lurk like a virus waiting for the next opportunity? Out into the ether of the world to wait for the circumstances that would provoke its reappearance? Endogenous or exogenous, nature or nurture - it's the great mystery of mental illness.

  Susanna Kaysen

  Opportunity, Cells, Waiting

  Susanna Kaysen (2013). “Girl, Interrupted”, p.78, Vintage

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• One sin, I know, another doth provoke.
  Murder's as near to lust as flame to smoke.

  William Shakespeare

  Flames, Lust, Murder

  William Shakespeare (1833). “The plays and poems of William Shakspeare”, p.756

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• Being overseas at the time it all kind of happened was perfect because I had no idea that it was going to attract so much media attention and provoke these lovely people calling in and offering up their opinions and advice.

  Cathy Freeman

  Offering, Media, Ideas

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• Socrates worked towards making people question themselves. He like to provoke self-interrogation but wasn't particularly interested in the answers that emerged; he just like to set off the thought process.

  Eric Cantona

  Self, People, Answers

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• Suggestion is generally better than Definition. There is a seeming dogmatism about Definition that is often repellent, while Suggestion, on the contrary, disarms suspicion and summons to co-operation and experiment. Definition provokes discussion. Suggestion provokes to love and good works. Defining is limiting. Suggestion is enlarging. Defining calls a halt; Suggestion calls for an advance. Defining involves the peril of contentment: "I am here, I rest." "Thus far," says Definition, and draws a map. "Westward," cries Suggestion, and builds a boat.

  Maltbie Davenport Babcock

  Contentment, Definitions, Defining

  Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1901). “Thoughts for Every-day Living from the Spoken and Written Words of Maltbie Davenport Babcock”

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• It's really the artist in me that loves the idea of an image and an image that provokes an emotion.

  Jaime King

  Artist, Ideas, Emotion

  Source: www.harpersbazaar.com

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• Anything that provokes a visceral or spiritual response and ignites my senses. Whether it's listening to the ocean, dancing to a song I adore, feeling the wind across my face, sampling a fantastic new dish, or witnessing a phenomenal show, if I experience it before I can even think about it, it makes me come alive.

  Grace Gealey

  Spiritual, Song, Ocean

  "Empire Actor Grace Gealey: Gratitude and Forgiveness". Interview with Maranda Pleasant, www.marandapleasantmedia.com.

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