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
The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.
Harper LeeRead
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Carl SaganRead
Mistrust those in whom the urge to punish is strong.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
We can not play innocents abroad in a world that is not innocent.
Ronald ReaganRead
The bad thing about small-town life is that everybody knows your business...I suppose that is my central obsession. What we owe to society, what we owe to ourselves.
Barbara KingsolverRead
When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead