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
The question of sexual dominance can exist only in the nightmare of that soul which has armed itself, totally, against the possibility of the changing motion of conquest and surrender, which is love.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that the struggle for dominance in love arises from fear and resistance to vulnerability.
James A. Baldwin articulates the complex dynamics of love, suggesting that obsession with dominance stems from a deep-seated fear of surrendering oneself to love's transformative power. The essence of love inherently involves both conquest and surrender, and when one armors themselves against this fluidity, they become trapped in a nightmare of rigid control, devoid of the beauty and depth that true love can offer.
Themes
LoveDominanceSurrenderVulnerabilityFear
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a relationship counseling session to explain the balance of giving and receiving in love.
More from James A. Baldwin
All quotes →The white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.
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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.
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Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it.
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The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important not to be black.
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The trick is to love somebody.... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently.
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