Patronizing Quotes

• You must make your choice: either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

  C. S. Lewis

  Teacher, Jesus, Easter

  C. S. Lewis (2014). “God in the Dock”, p.289, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

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• A patronizing disposition always has its meaner side.

  George Eliot

  Sides, Disposition

  George Eliot, Carol A. Martin (2008). “Adam Bede”, p.269, Oxford University Press

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• Zoology, eh? That's a big word, isn't it." "No, actually it isn't," said Tiffany. "Patronizing is a big word. Zoology is really quite short.

  Terry Pratchett

  Hedgehogs, Bigs, Said

  Terry Pratchett (2008). “The Wee Free Men: (Discworld Novel 30)”, p.21, Random House

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• He has such a patronizing tone and manner, and such a sarcastic sense of humor. I found him rather brutal, a kind of elegant brutality which appealed. No, I think he came pretty much off the page.

  Jeremy Northam

  Sarcastic, Humor, Thinking

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• To single out a particular group and say we can't make a joke about them is almost a form of prejudice and it's kind of patronizing.

  Sacha Baron Cohen

  Groups, Prejudice, Kind

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• Blacks who have not succumbed to the victim culture have been, are and will be doing quite well - all on their own, without handouts, affirmative action and other patronizing measures

  Tammy Bruce

  Culture, Action, Victim

  Tammy Bruce (2003). “The Death of Right and Wrong: Exposing the Left's Assault on Our Culture and Values”, Prima Lifestyles

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• Our human compassion binds us the one to the other - not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.

  Nelson Mandela

  Future, Compassion, Suffering

  Nelson Mandela (2012). “Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom”, p.84, Simon and Schuster

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• Accomplishment is such a patronizing, dangerous word, isn't it? I haven't really accomplished anything. The most accomplished thing I've done is to have lived this long - 81.

  Patrick Macnee

  Long, Accomplishment, Done

  Interview with Ken P., www.ign.com. September 17, 2003.

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• But if you constantly insist only on your own interpretation, it isn't long before it seems patronizing.

  Martin Schulz

  Long, Interpretation, Seems

  Source: www.spiegel.de

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• I also get fed up with the fact that casting agents and directors have this impression of me as being frail and petite. I find it very patronizing. I'm quite beefy and strong. I was a gymnast in school and I have lots of muscles.

  Helena Bonham Carter

  Strong, School, Directors

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• Love is not patronizing and charity isn't about pity, it is about love. Charity and love are the same -- with charity you give love, so don't just give money but reach out your hand instead.

  Mother Teresa

  Helping Others, Love Is, Hands

  Mother Teresa (1995). “A Simple Path-Open Market”

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• The countries the most famous and the most respected of antiquity are those which distinguished themselves by promoting and patronizing science, and on the contrary those which neglected or discouraged it are universally denominated rude and barbarous.

  Thomas Paine

  Country, Rude, Atheism

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• No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader's intelligence or whose attitude is patronizing.

  E. B. White

  Attitude, Writing, Reader

  William Strunk Jr., E.B. White (1962). “the Elements of Style”

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• But to manipulate men, to propel them toward goals which you-the social reformers-see, but they may not, is to deny their human essence, to treat them as objects without wills of their own, and therefore to degrade them.

  Isaiah Berlin

  Freedom, Men, Essence

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• Psychology is as important as substance. If you treat people with respect, they will go out of their way to accommodate you. If you treat them in a patronizing way, they will go out of their way to make your life difficult.

  Mohamed ElBaradei

  People, Psychology, Important

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• What irritated her most was that they kept brushing off her arguments with patronizing smiles, making her feel like a teenager being quizzed on her homework. Without actually uttering a single inappropriate word, they displayed towards her an attitude that was so antediluvian it was almost comical. You shouldn't worry your pretty head over complex matters, little girl.

  Steig Larsson

  Girl, Attitude, Teenager

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• I like being a patron of things, I like patronizing things. And if it's not going to be people, I'll patronize a festival.

  Terry Gilliam

  People, Festivals, Ifs

  Source: www.cnn.com

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• It is not a question of patronizing philanthropy towards disabled people. They do not need the patronage of the non-disabled. It is not for them to adapt to the dominant and dominating world of the so-called non-disabled. It is for us to adapt our understanding of a common humanity; to learn of the richness of how human life is diverse; to recognize the presence of disability in our human midst as an enrichment of our diversity.

  Nelson Mandela

  Common Humanity, Diversity, People

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• I think my journalism is for readers who are smart and know that most people are lying to them, or being patronizing...

  David Weigel

  Smart, Lying, Thinking

  Reddit AMA, www.reddit.com. August 2, 2013.

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• But really it’s condescending and patronizing not to make fun of someone because they’re old or stupid or crippled or morbidly obese. Banged up people don’t want your pity. They just want to be treated like everyone else. Mockery, when done without prejudice or discretion, can be a form of respect. It’s the closest we’ll ever come to true equality.

  Paul Neilan

  Fun, Stupid, People

  Paul Neilan (2007). “Apathy and Other Small Victories: A Novel”, p.53, Macmillan

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• I tend not to attempt to describe pain. I don't feel I can comprehend or re-create the personal suffering of others, so I simply try to tell what happened, or what I imagine happened. I also think it helps to let the reader fill in a lot of the blanks. Melodrama is patronizing. With a straightforward statement, readers can figure out for themselves what's going on.

  Elizabeth Wein

  Pain, Thinking, Suffering

  Source: www.hbook.com

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• [To the patronizing train conductor who had twice said, 'Auntie, give me your ticket':] Which of my sister's sons are you?

  Mary McLeod Bethune

  Son, Racism, Giving

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• Many people have been pontificating, and patronizing, and moralizing, and scapegoating, saying you Greeks, you are the problem. I would say we Greeks have a problem. We are not the problem.

  George Papandreou

  People, Greek, Problem

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• The West hasn't been naïve, it has been patronizing the South by imposing its own views on what should be done - ironically after having been so close and so supportive of dictators who were not respecting the people.

  Tariq Ramadan

  Views, People, Supportive

  "'You want my reaction? You get my silence'". Interview with Lars Mensel and Clemens Lukitsch, www.theeuropean-magazine.com. November 19, 2012.

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• What I bring to the interview is respect. The person recognizes that you respect them because you're listening. Because you're listening, they feel good about talking to you. When someone tells me a thing that happened, what do I feel inside? I want to get the story out. It's for the person who reads it to have the feeling . . . In most cases the person I encounter is not a celebrity; rather the ordinary person. "Ordinary" is a word I loathe. It has a patronizing air. I have come across ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. (p. 176)

  Studs Terkel

  Air, Talking, People

  "Touch and Go: A Memoir". Book By Studs Terkel, 2007.

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