I can never drive my car over a bridge without thinking of suicide. I can never look at a lake or an ocean without thinking of suicide.
Charles BukowskiRead
beware the average man the average woman beware their love, their love is average seeks average but there is genius in their hatred there is enough genius in their hatred to kill you to kill anybody not wanting solitude not understanding solitude they will attempt to destroy anything that differs from their own not being able to create art they will not understand art they will consider their failure as creators only as a failure of the world
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote warns against conforming to mediocrity and highlights the destructive power of those who cannot appreciate individuality.
Charles Bukowski's quote emphasizes the dangers posed by the 'average' person, suggesting that while they pursue mediocrity in love and life, they possess a dangerous intensity in their hatred towards anything that deviates from their norm. This reflects a profound misunderstanding of solitude and creativity, implying that those who cannot create art often react with hostility towards those who can, leading to a cycle of negativity and destruction against uniqueness and individuality.
Themes
AverageCreativityHatredIndividualityMediocrityArtSolitude
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about embracing individuality, you might quote Bukowski to illustrate the perils of conforming to mediocrity.
More from Charles Bukowski
All quotes →when I am feeling low all i have to do is watch my cats and my courage returns
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The masses are always wrong...Wisdom is doing everything the crowd does not do. All you do is reverse the totality of their learning and you have the heaven they're looking for.
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I'm going to open another vottle. not a vottle, but a bottle. you open it and I'll drink it. and you try to write as much as I did without falling off of your chair.
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To experience real agony is something hard to write about, impossible to understand while it grips you; you're frightened out of your wits, can’t sit still, move, or even go decently insane.
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I lapsed into my pathetic cut-off period. Often with humans, both good and bad, my senses simply shut off, they get tired, I give up. I am polite. I nod. I pretend to understand because I don’t want anybody to be hurt. That is the one weakness that has lead me into the most trouble. Trying to be kind to others I often get my soul shredded into a kind of spiritual pasta. No matter. My brain shuts off. I listen. I respond. And they are too dumb to know that I am not there.
Charles BukowskiRead
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