Be yourself on stage. Nobody else can be you and you have the law of supply and demand covered.
Bill HicksRead
When you're...stepping over a guy on the sidewalk...does it ever occur to you to think, 'Wow. Maybe our system doesn't work?'
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote challenges the effectiveness of societal systems when individuals overlook the suffering of others.
Bill Hicks uses this quote to provoke thought about the way society often becomes desensitized to the suffering around us. He highlights a moment of apathy, asking the reader to reflect on their own behavior and the broader implications of ignoring the plight of others. The quote suggests that such indifference might indicate a larger failure in our societal systems, urging individuals to reconsider their roles and responsibilities in fostering empathy and compassion.
Themes
SocietyIndifferenceEmpathyReflectionSystems
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about social responsibility, this quote can highlight the need for individuals to acknowledge societal failures.
More from Bill Hicks
All quotes βI'm not into those kind of rivalries. I remember standing out in front of Stratford, minding my own business. Carload of about eighty kids would pull up: 'STRATFORD SUCKS!' Am I supposed to run after these guys? I'd just stand there, you know. They'd back up. 'STRATFORD SUCKS! ...STRATFORD SUCKS!' I'd say, 'I know. I go there. You're wasting gas, man.
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I go to dance clubs...about once a year just to justify the other 364 days I spend in my apartment going 'God, what idiots!'
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Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally on our planet, serves a thousand different functions, all of them positive. To make marijuana against the law is like saying that God made a mistake.
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To make marijuana against the law is like saying God made a big mistake.
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What do you say we lighten things up and talk about abortion?
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