Quotes About Violence

“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“To paraphrase several sages: Nobody can think and hit someone at the same time.”
― Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”
― E.F. Schumacher

“If someone puts their hands on you make sure they never put their hands on anybody else again.”
― Malcolm X

“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”
― Mahatma Gandhi, The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas

“Sometimes you have to pick the gun up to put the Gun down.”
― Malcolm X

“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.”
― Isaac Asimov, Foundation

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”
― George Orwell

“This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence.”
― Ben Elton, Bachelor Boys: The Young Ones Book

“If somebody says "I love you" to me, I feel as though I had a pistol pointed at my head. What can anybody reply under such conditions but that which the pistol holder requires? "I love you, too.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons

“The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles."

(Young India, 22 October 1925)”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“If I have to beat you up to keep you safe, that’s just what I’ll do. It’s this kind of regard for others that makes me believe I’d be a good politician.”
― Jarod Kintz, The Days of Yay are Here! Wake Me Up When They're Over.

“Physical love is unthinkable without violence.”
― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

“Humm humm haaa. Rahmumm humm haaaa," intoned Opal, finishing her chant. "Peace be inside me, tolerance all around me, forgiveness in my path. Now, Mervall, show me where the filthy human is so that I may feed him his organs.”
― Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
(1962)”
― John F. Kennedy

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“I get it,' said the prisoner. 'Good Cop, Bad Cop, eh?'
If you like.' said Vimes. 'But we're a bit short staffed here, so if I give you a cigarette would you mind kicking yourself in the teeth?”
― Terry Pratchett, Night Watch

“You can't talk about fucking in America, people say you're dirty. But if you talk about killing somebody, that's cool.”
― Richard Pryor

“We often think of peace as the absence of war, that if powerful countries would reduce their weapon arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds- our own prejudices, fears and ignorance. Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of bombs are still there, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we will make new bombs. To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women. To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration, and fear that will be passed on for generations to come. ”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ

“See, people with power understand exactly one thing: violence.”
― Noam Chomsky

“Repeat one word of what I just said and I'll cheerfully beat you to death, Mike.”
― Stephenie Meyer

“My grandpa died yesterday. I ought to know, because I shot him. So come, join me in the fight against patricide by killing your father’s father.
”
― Jarod Kintz, The Days of Yay are Here! Wake Me Up When They're Over.

“The fury of a demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame.”
― Edgar Allan Poe, The Black Cat

“As much as it hurts, I would rather miss someone than hit someone.”
― Brian Celio

“I am a violent man who has learned not to be violent and regrets his violence.”
― John Lennon

“We should write as we dream; we should even try and write, we should all do it for ourselves, it’s very healthy, because it’s the only place where we never lie. At night we don’t lie. Now if we think that our whole lives are built on lying-they are strange buildings-we should try and write as our dreams teach us; shamelessly, fearlessly, and by facing what is inside very human being-sheer violence, disgust, terror, shit, invention, poetry. In our dreams we are criminals; we kill, and we kill with a lot of enjoyment. But we are also the happiest people on earth; we make love as we never make love in life.”
― Hélène Cixous

“Sex and violence: the greatest duo since the Three Stooges.”
― Jarod Kintz, This Book is Not for Sale

“If it's natural to kill, how come men have to go into training to learn how?”
― Joan Baez

“But before he could either comfort me or commit further acts of violence upon my person, I spun away from him and made my drama queen moment complete by running away.”
― Rachel Hawkins, Hex Hall

“Mentioning violence to Bruce was like mentioning chocolate sauce to a six-year-old.”
― Robert Muchamore, Shadow Wave