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Uncool quotes

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Less searchable M0rd4nt

13:59 / 01.04.07

"No one can humiliate you without your consent." --Elenor Roosevelt.

I fucking hate this quote. Every time I see it I want to kick it down six flights of metal stairs and then piss in its eyesockets. How mercilessly crock-of-shiteful it is.

Eleanor Roosevelt never had to use public transport. Eleanor Roosevelt never worked as a maid, or a waiter, or a bus-driver. Eleanor Roosevelt never had to apply for unemployment benefit. Eleanor Roosevelt never had to choose between kissing arse and losing her job. Eleanor Roosevelt never got made homeless. Eleanor Roosevelt never had to beg for change outside the tube station.

In conclusion, this quote is shit and anyone quoting it blatantly hasn't given it more than a couple of seconds consideration.

Please add your uncool quotes.

Tryphena Absent

14:23 / 01.04.07

Isn't that a misquote? I think it should be "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" and I think that she was probably talking in the context of her civil/human rights work. It seems a bit unfair to blame Eleanor Roosevelt for the constant use of this quote out of context by dullards.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

14:28 / 01.04.07

I did not know that but now I hate that quote EVEN MORE.

Mysterious Transfer Student

15:13 / 01.04.07

It's an exceptionally easy target but I've always had a special place in my heart for the notion that "That which does not kill me makes me stronger".

Well, no... what doesn't kill you doesn't necessarily make you stronger, but is quite likely to blight your life, severely limit your choices and horizons, cause you to depend unceasingly on the good will and charity of others and force you to spend years if not decades in its shadow, unless you're fortunate or resourceful enough to find a way to come to terms with whatever "it" might be.

I don't have any particular opinion about people who swear by a sentiment like this outside of the context of Nietzsche's philosophy, on which I'm far from well versed, but it seems to my lazy, flabby mind that they're probably people who like The Matrix just a bit too much.

jentacular dreams

15:48 / 01.04.07

In the comment's defence, it is true in immunology.

Um, apart from immune disorders that is.

My pet hate is referring to A as B's answer to C. Especially when the A and C aren't really comparable or are of unimaginably different quality. Especially typical in the music press, and in local media trying to promote small events. For example, "Glittery-spandex clad Morris-dancers are North Baddesly's answer to The Strokes", would make me twitch with disgust.

16:15 / 01.04.07

"You can't have your cake and eat it too" has always made me ragey, but increasingly I'm finding "Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" painful in the light of Tony's legacy.
Wow, there are so many. Maybe I'll limit myself to attributable quotes.

16:23 / 01.04.07

"The child is father to the man."

I don't actually know if there's anything awful about it, but for some reason I have never been able to get anybody to explain what they mean by it. I suppose it's the smug "one day you will understand, grasshopper" smile that bug me.

17:48 / 01.04.07

"Nice and smooth". George always was a bit of a tit, though.

18:42 / 01.04.07

"Glittery-spandex clad Morris-dancers are North Baddesly's answer to The Strokes"

North Baddesly? Are you a covert ex-SHamptoner?

19:27 / 01.04.07

In defence of "That which does not kill me makes me stronger", it can be quite comforting if you've just taken too much of the brown acid, for example.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

19:34 / 01.04.07

Dear A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,

Well, you don't really suck. It's not you. It's me. I just can't stand the way you present me with the concept of a vast a achievment, and then straightaway dump me back at the bit when you've just started and haven't achieved anything yet. If you were only the other way around, it might have worked out.

19:35 / 01.04.07

gourami, you are not alone. Gerard Manley Hopkins on 'the child is father to the man':

The child is father to the man.’
How can he be? The words are wild.
Suck any sense from that who can:
‘The child is father to the man.’
No; what the poet did write ran,
‘The man is father to the child.’
‘The child is father to the man!’
How can he be? The words are wild.

[I forgot this was a triolet when I went looking for it.]

Glenn Close But No Cigar

19:39 / 01.04.07

"Ordinary morality is only for ordinary people'.
- "Weird Al" Crowley.

So, who gets to define 'ordinary'? Prick.

20:41 / 01.04.07

My pet hate is referring to A as B's answer to C.

Still, at least it's not "A is B: On C!"

For instance (Band One) is (Band Two) on Acid!

No, (Journalist one) is (Lazy). Personal rant over.

22:03 / 01.04.07

Bill Bailey is with you there- I believe he has a skit where he bemoans just that. People say things like 'It's sort of Terry and June- on acid!!!' the implication being it is wacky, zany, weird and exciting. In fact as Bill points out, it would be Terry looking at the paisley pattern on the carpet for five hours solid.

22:31 / 01.04.07

Once upon a time a Brazilian politician made the following comment on sex crimes (and I shit you not):

"If you have to rape them, don't kill them"

He probably thought he was being rational and sensitive.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

22:39 / 01.04.07

beh

23:25 / 01.04.07

Still, at least it's not "A is B: On C!"

Or its still smarmier cousin, "Think A, but B."

I'll add "X is the exception that proves the rule." The phrase is dodgy to begin with, and you can just say "X is an exception to the rule" without trying to sound clever or feeling you have to "prove" anything.

00:16 / 02.04.07

He probably thought he was being rational and sensitive.

And really good at sex, presumably.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

00:32 / 02.04.07

The child is father to the man.

Don't really have a problem with that one. It's not universal, of course, but it it true in many cases that what we are now can be seen to have been born out of what we were in some important way.

00:56 / 02.04.07

"The exception that proves the rule" is a perfectly reasonable construction if you use it in the original sense, wherein you use what is now the secondary definition of "prove," but which was once its primary definition—to subject to a test. This definition is still used in phrases like "proving grounds."

So, used properly, it means "The exception tests [the validity of] the rule"—which seems axiomatic to me.

Using it to mean "We already accept the rule as valid, and any evidence to the contrary is actually proof of that validity, because I say so" is a triumph of circular reasoning, and is just flat-out capital-dubya Wrong.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

03:34 / 02.04.07

Same Difference

God damn that makes me angry.

07:36 / 02.04.07

At work, the bullying, institutionally alcoholic, fat, misogynistic, racist, fake barrow-boys tend to point out someones error as being an elemntary mistake by saying "that's page one" as in knowing not to do that would be on page one of the imaginary manual of life, work and everything. I despise that saying, and I put it here as a quote, so there.

08:55 / 02.04.07

"Freedom isn't free."

It just makes me want to smash things with hammers.

Also, "X is the new Y" statements, a la "Brown is the new Black" or "Comics are the new Rock and Roll" which always make me want to say, "That may the case, but Y is the OLD Y, is better, and was in no particular need of replacement." And I can't think of any "X is the new Y" statements for which that doesn't hold, the qualities that X is supposed to have that supplant their analogues in Y are always lamer, somehow.

10:07 / 02.04.07

Benny, where on earth do you work?!

Sibelian, I have never understood that quote. What's it supposed to mean?

Ex

10:17 / 02.04.07

Olulabelle - I think it's something like:

'To ensure freedom we have to nick a lot of your human rights, pay for the military complex, and kill some of you. Anyone who thinks otherwise is living in lala-land.'

(With undertones of capitalist economy - you have to invest in order to profit, yes? So you're investing your rights, taxes and lives now, you'll get your freedom later!)

But it doesn't get employed as much in the UK, so I'm not sure of the full resonance of its uses.

RichT's boring old name

11:24 / 02.04.07

I've got a bad habit of quoting

"That which does not kill you makes you stronger"

when talking the immune system.. to the extent that it's not funny anymore (or maybe ever was), sorry world.

"At the end of the day..."
is my personal nemesis, guaranteeing that that the following retort is:
a) A sweeping generalisation
b) The person saying hasn't listened to a word of the preceeding discussion

12:15 / 02.04.07

Olulabelle - what Ex said.

12:45 / 02.04.07

"Brown is the new Black"

I thought it was "Brown is the new Blair"?

12:53 / 02.04.07

"Freedom isn't free."

It just makes me want to smash things with hammers.

That quote is all kinds of wrong when used by the Bush Administration. It is true that in order to achieve freedom in a personal/spiritual manner, there is often work that needs to be done. Maybe even in a social/political context we could say this, but twisting this concept to propogate war and violations of privacy is quite sucky. It is not the phrase itself that sucks though, it is how it is being used that really pisses me off.

lord henry strikes back

12:59 / 02.04.07

"Don't judge a book by it's cover"

Have you ever looked at the cover of a book (that's a rhetorical question, I know that most 'lither's are very well read)? Usually the first thing that you will see will be a title. This is the title of the work in the book. The name of the person who created the work normally appears as well.

As a further hint, on the front cover there is sometimes a picture. For the most part this will be a reference to, or a straight out depiction of, some part of the contents of the book.

However, if you are still not convinced, turn to the back cover. In most cases you will find here a 'blurb' or a brief description of WHAT'S IN THE BOOK. Also, there may be a few lines from learned peoples saying what they thought of WHAT'S IN THE BOOK.

If I can't judge a book by it's cover, the cover which is designed to help me decide and is covered in handy hints as to what the book contains, what should I judge it by? The company it keeps?

13:16 / 02.04.07

Lord Henry, to be fair, I think that statement refers to quality of content, rather than just the content.

I think what is more irritating than the quotes themselves is the lost meaning of these phrases that are reitirated just about everywhere. I don't think that these phrases are "in fact...stupid and sucky", it is the lost meaning that truly sucks.

14:23 / 02.04.07

QT:

I shall not venture to deny that and I beam cyber-grins at you. An instance of an "X is the new Y" that in fact holds true...

Glenn Close But No Cigar

16:08 / 02.04.07

(Aside) Surely Ca-Maroon is the new Blair? Brown is the new Denis Healey...

How about 'The man who is not a Socialist at twenty has no heart. If he is a Socialist at 30, he has no brain'?

It's that notion of an inevitable slip / progression into conservatism with age that gets me...

16:16 / 02.04.07

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" Franklin Roosevelt

What about guns, earthquakes, spiders, death, dismemberment or maiming? When people say that it pisses me off.

I can forgive Roosevelt though, because he was the total opposite of Bush. I mean, contrast these quotes;

"Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough."
"Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle."
"A nation that destroys it's soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people."
"If I went to work in a factory the first thing I'd do is join a union."

...with Bushisms like;

"I'm the master of low expectations."
"We need to counter the shockwave of the evildoer by having individual rate cuts accelerated and by thinking about tax rebates."
"The really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway." (explaining why high taxes on the rich are a failed strategy)
"See, free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction."

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