It is dangerous to be an American Negro male. America has never wanted its Negroes to be men, and does not, generally, treat them as men. It treats them as mascots, pets, or things.
James A. BaldwinRead
Neither love nor terror makes one blind: indifference makes one blind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Indifference is a state of being apathetic that can prevent us from seeing or caring about what truly matters.
In this quote, James A. Baldwin emphasizes that it is not strong emotions like love or terror that render us blind to reality; rather, it is indifference that dulls our perceptions and prevents us from engaging with the world around us. When we are indifferent, we lack the emotional investment needed to see and understand the experiences and struggles of others, leading to a disconnection that can be harmful both personally and socially.
Themes
IndifferenceBlindnessRelationshipsEmpathyEngagement
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about social justice, one might say, 'As Baldwin stated, indifference makes one blind to the struggles of others.'
More from James A. Baldwin
All quotes βThe white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.
James A. BaldwinRead
Those kids aren't dumb. But the people who run these schools want to make sure they don't get smart: they are really teaching the kids to be slaves.
James A. BaldwinRead
Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it.
James A. BaldwinRead
The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important not to be black.
James A. BaldwinRead
The trick is to love somebody.... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently.
James A. BaldwinRead
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And for all those years, we never talked about the disaster at the recital or my terrible accusations afterward at the piano bench. All that remained unchecked, like a betrayal that was now unbreakable. So I never found a way to ask her why she had hoped something so large that failure was inevitable. And even worse, I never asked her what frightened me the most: Why had she given up hope?
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