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Group conformity scares the pants off me because it's so often a prelude to cruelty towards anyone who doesn't want to - or can't - join the Big Parade.
Bette Midler
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the dangers of groupthink and the cruelty that can arise from social pressure to conform.

Bette Midler expresses her fear of group conformity, suggesting that it often leads to a lack of compassion for those who are different or who refuse to fit in. This statement serves as a warning against the negative consequences of following the crowd, where individuals may become cruel to those who stand apart from societal norms.

Themes

GroupthinkConformityCrueltySocietyIndividuality

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion on social pressures, you might share this quote to illustrate the potential harm of conformity.

More from Bette Midler

Through books and photographs, I saw a world that was not my own - and I realized that there was another world. That's why I'm concerned about education, because it helps our children see other worlds.
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I believe that Judy Garland's artistry was so fine. I mean, when people say: 'oh, she brought so much of her life to her music', I don't really believe that. I believe that she didn't have to. She just was a moving human being. That was her gift.
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When I moved to New York City in 1965, I wanted to be in theater. I was following my Ethel Barrymore dream. But I was too young to be Ethel.
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Some say love, it is a razor that leaves your soul to bleed.
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Twenty-seven people sang 'Wind Beneath My Wings' before I got around to it. A lot of people saw the movie that I sang it in, Beaches, and what they came away with was that song. They turned to their loved ones and said, 'You know, you are the wind beneath my wings!' The song expressed how they felt in a way a simple 'I love you' would not have.
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I wish America would spend even half as much time complaining about plastics in our oceans as we do about actresses' plastic surgery.
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