T.V. has made going to the theatre seem pointless, photography has pretty much killed painting but graffiti has remained gloriously unspoilt by progress.
BanksyRead
If you feel dirty, insignificant or unloved, then rats are a good role model. They exist without permission, they have no respect for the hierarchy of society, and they have sex 50 times a day.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that if one feels lowly or unwanted, one can take inspiration from rats, who live freely and defy societal norms.
Banksy's quote uses the metaphor of rats to convey a message about embracing one's own existence and rejecting societal expectations. It highlights how rats, often seen as undesirable, live unapologetically and can serve as a reminder for individuals feeling neglected or unappreciated to assert their place in the world without seeking validation or adhering to social hierarchies.
Themes
RatsFreedomSocietyExistenceRebellion
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about embracing one's true self.
More from Banksy
All quotes →I originally set out to try and save the world, but now I'm not sure I like it enough.
BanksyRead
Graffiti ultimately wins out over proper art because it becomes part of your city, it' s a tool; "I'll meet you in that pub, you know, the one opposite that wall with a picture of a monkey holding a chainsaw". I mean, how much more useful can a painting be than that?
BanksyRead
Think outside the box, collapse the box, and take a f**king sharp knife to it.
BanksyRead
Gaza is often described as 'the world's largest open air prison' because no-one is allowed to enter or leave. But that seems a bit unfair to prisons - they don’t have their electricity and drinking water cut off randomly almost every day.
BanksyRead
A lot of mothers will do anything for their children, except let them be themselves.
BanksyRead
Similar quotes
No man understands the Scriptures, unless he be acquainted with the Cross.
Martin LutherRead
To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think that we know what we do not know. For anything that men can tell, death may be the greatest good that can happen to them: but they fear it as if they knew quite well that it was the greatest of evils. And what is this but that shameful ignorance of thinking that we know what we do not know?
SocratesRead
There is in each of us an ancient force that takes and an ancient force that gives. A man finds little difficulty facing that place within himself where the taking force dwells, but it's almost impossible for him to see into the giving force without changing into something other than man. For a woman, the situation is reversed. ... These things are so ancient within us that they're ground into each separate cell of our bodies... It's as easy to be overwhelmed by giving as by taking.
Frank HerbertRead
Of course, any simplification runs the risk of mutilating reality; but it helps us establish perspectives.
Gaston BachelardRead
Like apes, we breed, sleep, and die. Yet like God we say, "I am." We are ontological oxymorons.
Peter KreeftRead
For a man of my generation, our century has been a long intellectual and political struggle in favor of freedom.
Octavio PazRead