People are just afraid of things too much … Sure, evil exists, extremism exists. Somebody could commit a hate crime and hurt me. But they could do the same just because I'm black. They could do the same just because I'm American.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the fear many people harbor regarding evil and extremism, especially towards marginalized communities.
Frank Ocean expresses the reality of fear that permeates society, particularly among marginalized individuals who face potential violence or discrimination simply for their identity. While acknowledging the existence of evil and hate crimes, he brings to light the pervasive nature of these fears, which can stem from being part of a specific racial or national group. The underlying message is about confronting these fears and recognizing that they are part of a broader societal issue.
In practice
During a speech on social justice, one might reference this quote to highlight society's struggles with fear and prejudice.
Whenever I think about movies, I always look at that art process as having the best of a lot of worlds. Because if you watch a great film, you have a musical element to it, not just on the scoring, but in the way that the shots are edited - that has music and rhythm and time.
It's about the stories. If I write 14 stories that I love, then the next step is to get the environment of music around it to best envelop the story, and all kinds of sonic goodness - sonic goodies.
I think we all change each other's paths. I don't know which law idea that is in physics, but I don't think any of us can live without affecting one another.
Work hard in silence, let success be your noise.
We were poor. But my mom never accepted that. She worked hard to become a residential contractor - got her master's with honors at the University of New Orleans. I used to go to every class with her. Her father was my paternal figure.
Some people focus more on sonics. Some people focus more on story. I focus on both sonics and story, but music sometimes, just music itself, can turn into more of a maths problem. I guess everything in life is a math problem, but it can be more about an empirical route to getting the symmetry that you want, and this vibe, sonically.
Sexual assault has no place in the military. It is a violation of everything that the US military stands for.
These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
O God of battles! steel my soldiers’ hearts. Possess them not with fear.
I saw the bombs, and, like a kid, I looked back at them. Instantly there was fire everywhere.
The woman doesn't look up. It's as if she's deaf. Maybe she is. Maybe she's like the Cambodian women I've read about, the ones who witnessed so many atrocities that they have willed themselves blind. Maybe that's what you have to do sometimes to survive. You kill off part of yourself, your hearing or eyesight, your capacity for hope.
Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.
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