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
It is perfectly possible to be enamoured of Paris while remaining totally indifferent or even hostile to the French.
Interpretation
What this quote means
One can appreciate a place without necessarily liking its people.
In this quote, Baldwin suggests that affection for a location, such as Paris, can exist independently of feelings toward its inhabitants. This reflects a complex relationship between culture and identity, implying that one can enjoy the beauty and charm of a place while holding a critical view of its society or politics.
Themes
ParisLoveIndifferencePeopleCulture
In practice
Example use cases
During a travel talk about appreciating cultures despite challenges.
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
Similar quotes
So full of artless jealousy is guilt, It spills itself in fearing to be spilt.
William ShakespeareRead
Just having the internet is a weird and dangerous thing because people become accustomed to knowing things when they want to know them and not having to work for it. I definitely see the value in not knowing everything and having mystery in life and mystery in people.
Adam DriverRead
You can tell if people are following Jesus, because they are fedding the poor, sharing their wealth, and trying to get everyone medical insurance.
Anne LamottRead
Years ago, I noticed one thing about economics, and that is that economists didn't get anything right.
Nassim Nicholas TalebRead
We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.
Malcolm XRead
There is no scientific proof that only scientific proofs are good proofs; no way to prove by the scientific method that the scientific method is the only valid method.
Peter KreeftRead