Social Criticism Quotes

“Much of what is today called "social criticism" consists of members of the upper classes denouncing the tastes of the lower classes (bawdy entertainment, fast food, plentiful consumer goods) while considering themselves egalitarians.”
― Steven Pinker, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

“Ah, Sir, a novel is a mirror carried along a high road. At one moment it reflects to your vision the azure skies, at another the mire of the puddles at your feet. And the man who carries this mirror in his pack will be accused by you of being immoral! His mirror shews the mire, and you blame the mirror! Rather blame that high road upon which the puddle lies, still more the inspector of roads who allows the water to gather and the puddle to form.”
― Stendhal, The Red and the Black

“The United States is the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, yet its inhabitants are strikingly unhappy. Accordingly, we present to the rest of mankind, on a planet rife with suffering and tragedy, the spectacle of a clown civilization. Sustained on a clown diet rich in sugar and fat, we have developed a clown physiognomy. We dress like clowns. We move about a landscape filled with cartoon buildings in clownmobiles, absorbed in clownish activities. We fill our idle hours enjoying the canned antics of professional clowns... Death, when we acknowledge it, is just another pratfall on the boob tube. Bang! You're dead!”
― James Howard Kunstler

“Indeed, bribery, favoritism, and corruption in a great variety of forms were rampant not only in politics, but in all levels of society.”
― David McCullough, 1776

“Behold the complacent salesman retailing the Good and True.
One can even buy a so-called Religion, which is really but common
morality sanctified with flowers and music. Rob the Church of her
accessories and what remains behind? Yet the trusts thrive marvelously,
for the prices are absurdly cheap,--a prayer for a ticket to heaven,
a diploma for an honorable citizenship.Hide yourself under a bushel
quickly, for if your real usefulness were known to the world you would
soon be knocked down to the highest bidder by the public auctioneer.”
― Kakuzo Okakura, The Book of Tea

“I've encountered no greater mystery in life than myself. In a just society I'd be warehoused somewhere. But of course what really threatens the scofflaw is not the just society but the decaying one. It is here that he finds himself becoming slowly indistinguishable from the citizenry. He finds himself co-opted. Difficult these days to be a rake or a bounder. A roué. A deviant? A pervert? Surely you're joking. The new dispensations have all but erased these categories from the language. You can no longer be a loose woman . For instance. A trollop. The whole concept is meaningless. You cant even be a drug addict. At best you're just a user. A user? What the fuck is that? We've gone from dope friends to drug users in just a few short years. It doesn't take Nostradamus to see where this is headed. The most heinous of criminals clamoring for standing. Serialkillers and cannibals claiming a right to their lifestyle. Like anyone else I try to sort out where I fit into this menagerie. Without malefactors the world of the righteous is robbed of all meaning. As for myself again if I cant be decorum's sworn enemy while savoring its fruits I simply see no place for me at all. What would you recommend, Squire? Go home and draw a warm bath and climb in and open a vein? Never mind. I see you weighing the merits of it. Anyway, Hoffer has it right. Real trouble doesn't begin in a society until boredom has become its most general feature. Boredom will drive even quietminded people down paths they'd never imagined.
Boredom.
Squire, I'm a scoundrel very nearly without peer. But in our time decent people actually attract comment. We dont know what to make of them. They have few friends, while I have more friends than I know what to do with. Why is that?
I dont know.
I think it's because people are bored out of their fucking minds. I cant come up with anything else.”
― Cormac McCarthy, The Passenger

“[...] For instance, a gay man who played with dolls in his childhood, dresses pink and engages in anal sex with another man triggers a gender prejudice, by proxy rather than based on a characteristic of their own, like racism and classism do: dolls and pink are traditionally associated with the feminine sphere, anal sexuality has a higher stigma mainly because a more visible power level play comes into effect (with a dominant and a submissive role) than other sex positions. Consequently, when a man crosses his "designated" gender role boundary of masculinity, strength, dominance into femininity, weakness, submission, then he is no longer valued as a human being, for the man has become [or is] a woman. Therefore, homophobia and transphobia are actually by-products of misogyny, which is is turn gynophobic whitewashing, deeply rooted in the dominant ideology of patriarchy and historical sexism.”
― Vincent Bozzino, Philosophy Trips: A Naive's Guide

“بابا می گه انسان مالک زمین خلق شده اما یه چیزی کم داره: یه پیچ گوشتی برای باز کردن افکار اشتباه، یه چکش واسه محکم کردن نیات خوب، یه آچار فرانسه برای سفت کردن عشق تا ابد، یه ارّه واسه بریدن از گذشته. اما این ابزار رو به ما ندادن و بعد از تلو تلو خوردن و تلق و تولوق کردن بلاخره دیر یا زود خراب می شیم.”
― Stefano Benni, Margherita Dolce Vita

“The ultimate problem of production is the production of human beings. To this end, the production of goods is intermediate and auxiliary. ..... The means have to be implemented by a social-economic system that establishes and uses the means for the production of free human beings associating with one another
on terms of equality. Then and then only will these means be an integral part of the end, not frustrated and self-defeating, bringing new evils and generating new problems.”
― John Dewey, Intelligence in the Modern World

“Joshua took another small sip from his wine glass as his gaze and his thoughts drifted away from the flat-screen television mounted above the marbled fireplace to ponder a roomful of sports jackets and pantsuits and in some cases cocktail dresses but only of neutral tones and minimal detailing if for no other reason than to avoid becoming the subject of the next petty scandal that would nevertheless send shockwaves through their haughty and insular world. The way they stood in their intimate clusters. Their drink glasses held in various poses of sophistication. And whenever they did bring glass to mouth in accordance with judiciously preset intervals it was also for show, as he believed was true of their subdued conversations, which, from where he was sitting, appeared to be nothing more than the unintelligible murmurings of barely moving lips. A whole list of observations came to mind. Not one of them flattering in any way. The atmosphere thick with that certain stuffiness and elitist redolence of an ivy league alumni fundraising gala. Of course, he readily admitted to himself that out of everyone in the room he was very likely the most materially bereft and least credentialed and that this stinging truth undoubtedly inflamed his plebeian impulse. But that’s not what was bugging him.”
― Casey Fisher, The Subtle Cause

“But the people of Harappa lived in peace and prosperity for a period about as long as Christianity has been on the earth. And yet, not a single war. Quite the contrast, wouldn’t you say?”
― Casey Fisher, The Subtle Cause

“Oh, I don’t know,” Karen groaned, feeling suddenly very feisty. “I just don’t think anyone with a loose appendage swinging between their legs—which we know corresponds to a loose screw in the brain—could ever be trusted with something as delicate as the well-being of someone not similarly encumbered.”
― Casey Fisher, The Subtle Cause

“[...] For instance, a gay man who played with dolls in his childhood, dresses pink and engages in anal sex with another man triggers a gender prejudice, by proxy rather than based on a characteristic of their own, like racism and classism do: dolls and pink are traditionally associated with the feminine sphere, anal sexuality has a higher stigma than vaginal, mainly because a more visible power level play comes into effect (with a dominant and a submissive role). Consequently, when a man crosses his "designated" gender role boundary of masculinity, strength, dominance into femininity, weakness, submission, then he is no longer valued as a human being, for the man has become [or is] a woman. Therefore, homophobia and transphobia are actually by-products of misogyny, which is is turn gynophobic whitewashing, deeply rooted in the dominant ideology of patriarchy and historical sexism. [...]”
― Vincent Bozzino, Philosophy Trips: A Naive's Guide

“Often it is from the critical outsider that we really get a sight of ourselves. And this outsider must be from somewhere beyond the western pattern, and yet not irritatingly certain that his methods are perfect... We could do with friendly eyes on us, the warm friendly eyes that can see the awkwrd joins and threadbare places in our fabric of society.”
― Naomi Mitchison, Other People's Worlds: Impressions of Ghana and Nigeria

“Those who do not forget the state's losses wanted to forget the children executed by organizations.”
― Aytekin Yılmaz, Ernesto'nun Dağları

“Those who opposed mandatory education in public schools were imposing mandatory party education in the prison cells they controlled.”
― Aytekin Yılmaz, Son Diktatör

“A revolution that adores its dead but beats its living might as well not happen!”
― Aytekin Yılmaz, Yoldaşını Öldürmek

“Sometimes we think life becomes easier with people around us, but what we eventually discover is that those very people can make it harder than it ever was.”
― lazarkingsley

“what, for instance, were you telling me about charity? And yet the gratification derived from giving charity is an arrogant and immoral tell nothing gratification, the gratification a rich man takes in his riches, his power, and the comparison he makes between his importance and the importance of a poor man. Charity corrupts both the one who gives it and the one who receives it, and furthermore, it doesn't achieve its goal, because it only intensifies poverty. Lazy people who don't want to work throng around people who give, like gamblers around the gambling table, hoping to win. And meanwhile, the pitiful coins that are tossed their way Such trivial are insufficient for even a hundredth of what they need. Have you given away much in your lifetime? Perhaps eighty kopecks, no more, if you stop and think about it. Just try to remember the last time you gave something; it would be a good two years go, and perhaps four. You're just making a lot of noise and impeding the cause. In today's society charity should definitely be prohibited by law. In the new social order there will be no such thing as poor people.”
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, Demons

“Today, Jesus would be canceled.
Called crazy. Too emotional. A threat.
A man speaking of love in a world addicted to hate?
Intolerable.
Barabbas, on the other hand?
He’d be trending. Verified.
Launching a course: ‘How to Win Without a Conscience.”
― Phoenix Moon, Emotional Roller Coaster: Confessions of a soul reborn from the ashes

“Mental health became a luxury.
Pain became ‘drama.’
And emotional collapse?
It became a trend — dressed up as a lifestyle.”
― Phoenix Moon, Emotional Roller Coaster: Confessions of a soul reborn from the ashes

“They hand you a menu of options,
let you pick the color of your cage,
convince you that choosing between A or B
is autonomy.
But no one tells you —
A and B were designed by the same hand.”
― Phoenix Moon, Emotional Roller Coaster: Confessions of a soul reborn from the ashes

“I see people. But I don’t see humanity.”
― Phoenix Moon, Emotional Roller Coaster: Confessions of a soul reborn from the ashes

“یک بار مردی در میخانه ای از من پرسید کتاب ها چه مزه ای می دهند،(( حالا دقیقش را هم نگفتی، نگفتی)). جوابش را از قبل آماده داشتم، اما برای اینکه کاری نکرده باشم که او از بیخ احساس حماقت کند، کمی وانمود کردم دارم به سؤالش فکر می کنم و بعد گفتم (( رفیق، با در نظر گرفتن شکاف عمیقی که میان تمامی تجربیات شما و من وجود دارد،برای اینکه نزدیک ترین طعم را به آن طعم منحصر به فرد به شما نشان دهم باید بگویم که کتاب ها، همین طوری اش اگر را بخواهید، همان طعم بوی قهوه را می دهند.)) حرف دهن پُرکنی بود، و از طوری که او دوباره سراغ نوشیدنی اش رفت می توانستم بگویم حسابی خوراک فکر کردن به او داده ام.”
― Sam Savage, Firmin : Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife

“Those who create have nothing. Those who steal own everything.”
― Marjan Mitrovic, New Slavery

“Ten days I spend in solitude are worth a hundred days I spend among people.
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Those who are too vast for the world never fit into its narrowness.
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I do not want freedom but a different kind of captivity…
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Rather than defending one’s right, a person should uproot the need for that right—however “cool” the former may seem.
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“Human nature” defines the traits of the ordinary person who has never re-evaluated values.
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The transformation of passion into productivity is like the industrial exploitation of a hidden gold mine that has been discovered. The source of pleasure for the one who does this is no longer the gold itself, but how “valuable” it is—that is, how lovable or purchaseable it is in the eyes of others. In short, what was once a vigorous and lively untouched tree is cut down through societalization and turned into timber and paper for narrow human purposes.
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Everyone is laughing. From day to night. That means there is no laughter at all.
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To hope is to give a dagger to the enemy and wait thinking, “Will they kill me?”
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The only thing I need is perhaps someone who will witness me needing nothing at all.
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If someone sees silence as truer than speech or solitude as richer than community, that threatens the social machinery; a silent person is not “useful,” a solitary person is not “networking,” a melancholic person is not “optimistic” about the system’s promises. But instead of asking “what is this silence telling?” “what lies beneath this solitude?” or “what insight does this melancholy reveal about the existence?” society flips the script: it is not the world that is sick but the person. Call it “just having depression,” and suddenly the entire worldview of a person becomes “sickness.” Once it is framed this way, it is no longer a revelation about the world but only a “malfunction” inside someone’s brain. Anything that does not shine, smile, or flatter is cast into the shadow of “mental illness” and thus, reduced to a mere symptom instead of a philosophy. And in doing so, society neutralizes the dissent by medicalizing them.
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For people with numerous relationships, others are a kind of background decoration—something they can change with just a few keystrokes, replace with their already existing relationships, and prefer as if it were a capitalist product because of the features it offers—whereas for the solitary person, a single human being is an architect of reality.
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For some, the only life that can be lived is the dream of a different life.
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People perceive being on autopilot as “personality.”
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When people whom someone hated take their own lives—for example, when parents who never showed love to their child find the child’s body—their crying resembles the sorrow of a robot; it’s not so much an emotion as it is an automatic reflex.
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People mistake cultivating culture with acquiring depth and knowledge.
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Happiness occurs only when the happiness is forgotten.
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Those tainted by too much civilization cleanse themselves in nature.
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To realize dreams means to betray them.
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In the late hours of the night, the self drifts into another dimension. Having watched the day unfold from behind the scenes, the soul finally proclaims its existence. It takes the stage. It begins, at last, to breathe freely—whether the breath be sweet or bitter.
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One must not see, but hear.
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Those raised with American culture are doomed to see everything in terms of profit and loss, labeling events and situations as either “winning” or “losing,” and people as either “winner” or “loser.”
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No feeling ever disappears; it only transforms.
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The universe should be the person, not the person the universe.
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Life is everywhere, yet experience in its true sense is absent. There are billions of bodies, yet not even a single soul.
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Whoever is to laugh, laughs at everything.”
― Atrona Grizel (Sov8840)

“To have suffered deeply makes pain feel usual. When someone in pain is seen, and the reaction is to cry or to “pity” them, that is not understanding—it is the absence of it. For such reactions arise not from closeness to that pain, but from a fundamental foreignness to it. One who has already shed all those tears, and thus knows all their meanings, shows no reaction at all—for they have simply accepted it as reality.
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For something to cease to exist, it would have to be entirely outside of everything. Yet even the very act of being entails entrapment within existence. In other words, there is always a context. Therefore, nothing in the universe truly disappears—because it cannot. Even when a person dies, their atoms persist. Their body returns to the soil. The energy released from them disperses into the air. And then, the animals, plants, and fruits that have grown from that soil are consumed, and the air—now mixed with that person’s energy—is breathed in. Thus, the person who has “died” also enters the bodies of these living beings. Afterward, the cycle repeats. There is only infinite change and transformation—but the “death” of anything or anyone, in the most biological sense, is not possible. Once born, a thing endures its existence forever.
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Whether lying in bed, sitting, eating, on the toilet, pushing a stroller, walking the dog, shopping, walking, “listening” to others, talking, driving, crossing the street, waiting in line, brushing their teeth, watching a movie, attending a meeting, having a conversation, engaging in sexual intercourse, arguing, showering, at a funeral, in a lecture, or during a family meal—even in moments of “supposed” intimacy or solitude—they always have their phones in their hands. The device is there. Always there. Every street I step into is filled with mechanical “opium” addicts walking in the shape of an “inverted L.”
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Reality is in secrecy, not in openness. Because anything can be reflected outwardly, it is open to manipulation. Whether that reflection is genuine or not can only be revealed when a deep relationship is developed with that person. The sacred hides. A genuine soul does not scream; it whispers. True connection, the kind that shakes the bones, requires mystery and unknowing.
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To fight is to be in need.
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The more I understand myself, the less I can explain it to others.
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In order to learn, it is necessary to be the enemy of the teacher. One should not learn anything that is taught.
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People have a purpose: that is why they all just pass by—because the only thing that concerns them is their purpose. This is what happens when one has a purpose: merely passing by, unaware of the depth around them, for their focus is caged within that specific goal.
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In societies where superficiality is widespread, what is striking is not ignorance itself, but the fact that it is accepted—or at least not resisted. Societies cling to whatever shared traits they possess in order to preserve a sense of identity, and even if those traits are mediocre or ugly, they sacralize them and persuade themselves of their value. The same applies to superficiality: if a society neither thinks nor produces art, it must justify that condition. Social norms perform this act of justification. Thus, society becomes a defender of superficiality and an enemy of depth. In such societies, certain expressions are common, for example: “Don’t think too much, life is fleeting,” “Don’t worry about it, just focus on your studies,” “Don’t be so serious, have some fun,” and so on. These may appear optimistic, but in essence they are symptoms of that cultural disease, and unless they are filtered out, society will not change.
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Instead of shouting and screaming, remove your need and dependence on outward speaking and external communication, and let the universe in you host an eternal opera special only for you.”
― Atrona Grizel (Sov8840)

“To live “for” something confines and imprisons the mind within that thing. Those who simply live without the need for such attachments and dependencies, in this regard, carry a freer and more independent mind.
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To see what others do not see is not to “see hallucinations”; it is to confront the raw reality that seeps through the pervasive hallucinations covering everything.
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When one vanishes, so does the world. When death occurs, everything “dies” along with that being. The existence of the world is tied to one’s existence; when one ceases to exist, so does the existence. Then, why care about what happens in the world after death?
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There is nothing more humiliating than an alarm clock waiting ready at the head of the table—and that it always will be.
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States, like humans, possess emotions. When treated with affection and care, they become outgoing, connected, open, and sociable; when neglected or abused, they turn inward, secret, suspicious, and hostile.
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What grows and gets stronger in solitude is usually what is brought there. If a cynical person voluntarily lives a solitary life, their cynicism will increase day by day. And over time, they might become radicalized. This also applies to other situations, such as being “intelligent” or self-hating. An “intelligent” person will be more and more “smart” in solitude, while a self-hating person will become more and more self-hating in it.
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While being alone fuels thoughts like fire, being surrounded by people suspends them. Those who spend all their time in bars, clubs, parties, festivals, and every other entertainment or socialization space with ceaseless interaction and activity abuse this feature.
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What never crosses the mind of someone who spends their life in crowds can plague a recluse for months, years, or even their whole life.
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They say, “Don’t be so judgmental.” It is only because they cannot bear the harsh collision of a different reality against their own. Yet one must judge. Endlessly, and without cease. When you look at those who are nonjudgmental and ever-accepting, they appear as though they lack any distinct personality that makes them a person at all. They are without character. For, having merged with their surroundings, they are no different from them. People love those who accept them as they are, precisely because they pose no threat to their current self.
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To reach humans, I need to descend to the surface. And to reunite with myself, I fly to the edges of the mountains.
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One doesn’t even inherently need to possess dreams, desires, passions, or hobbies. But these are made obligatory; that’s how society “operates." It is clearly visible that many people are full of dreams, desires, passions, and hobbies, not because they are independent artists or real geniuses, but solely because the system forces them to be and they unconsciously absorb it into themselves. If that system didn’t exist, they would be like barren wastelands.
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They see, not because they “see,” but simply because I have allowed them to see a glimpse.
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If you had thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of followers, would the way they treat your opinions change? If the answer is yes, then what they care about isn’t your thoughts at all, but your “social validity.”
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Western culture is the main global culture due to cultural imperialism. Yet, this is consistently disguised and presented as “globalism, the sole ideology of the 21st century and the future.
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People will never evolve unless confined to a cage with nothing but these texts—forced to read, reread, and ultimately confront them without any kind of external distraction.”
― Atrona Grizel (Sov8840)

“In a literature exam, one may be asked to identify the movement to which an artist belongs. Yet a person’s own mind may perceive that artist from a completely different perspective—entirely outside of the accepted terms. They may describe that artist with words entirely unique to themselves, if they choose to describe at all. But society offers only one narrow, limited answer, and if one does not mark “romantic” or “modernist,” they cannot pass. Likewise, someone who does not conform to the commonly accepted rules of a language is not regarded as competent in that field. Accordingly, they are not even considered to “know” the language. Why? Not because they do not understand its workings, but because they dared to use the language in a way separate from the majority—in a way unique to themselves. They are speaking a different language, and even attempting such a thing is considered dangerous and results in punishment. That is why every question that is not open-ended is, in essence, not knowledge but indoctrination. Through such countless examinations, sluggish minds internalize these mechanisms and turn into automations, while those who remain aware mark their choices without sincerity, for they see through the machinery.
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The modern human lives so bound to the clock that if one were to secretly set their watch forward, their sleepiness would arrive earlier, as if it truly were midnight. On holidays, people usually go to bed late, because the thinking goes exactly like this: “I’m not going to work tomorrow, so I can stay up a bit later.” As a result, some people even end up staying awake all night. This simply shows that even sleep itself is determined by working hours. Even fatigue is not a biological rhythm anymore, but rather a psychological conditioning.
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I have never seen, nor will I ever see, an interesting mind be seduced by phrases like, “We are epic. So what are you waiting for? Come join us!”
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Every minute I spend among people infects my mind with societality. Since I spend my entire day among them from morning till night, I suspend myself for long hours and offer no resistance—it’s as if I say “come” to these toxic particles. I quietly accumulate them within me throughout the day by shutting myself, and finally, when I am in my solitude, I open myself and I perform an inner cleansing, erasing them and wiping out their traces as if they never existed. Then the next morning, it’s the same forced labor all over again.
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There is a difference between being sensitive and being intense.
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From games to exams, from friendships to marriages, from childhood classrooms to corporate offices, from social media to political campaigns, from relationships to careers, it is expected to crush someone else and get ahead—not to cooperate, but to compete till death.
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After the Eastern Bloc passed away, the world came to be dominated by a single liberal society: pleasure-addicted, appearance-obsessed, money-loving, social media slaves, and “democratic” to the point of fragmentation—fluid people, constantly exchanging identities through endless expression and performativity, thereby remaining identity-less. Capitalism triumphed by exploiting the ultimate weakness of the average person, who is governed by their instincts: pleasure. A lasting pleasure was never offered. And thus, not reflective but reactive masses, addicted to temporary pleasures, were formed. The type of restless, hedonistic, and rebellious Western youth who smoked weed, obsessed over fitness, wandered around brothels, swore at everything, and got into street fights—which the Soviets in the 1980s described as “degenerate youth”—has now become the sole norm of adolescence all over the world. What does that create? A population that is endlessly mutable, constantly changing outward signs—style, language, gender roles, political slogans—but never touching an inner core.”
― Atrona Grizel (Sov8840)

“By making even my very existence a myth and a philosophy, I forever banished from my presence those who do not know how to read these things—in other words, everyone.
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I see those whose ages haven’t even reached double digits spending from morning till evening with empty popular culture videos, writing to someone with a single click, or using emojis as love and thereby dehumanizing the other side by reducing them to a digital profile. Little children—even the girls—call each other with the slang “man” by default, and they call this “friendship.” Perhaps this process, which begins at age seven, continues until age seventeen when the person gets assimilated into the mainstream teenage culture, precisely because there is no obstacle in the way, because it is lived in a “free” world, and thus what emerges is a hollow, reactive, lustful, and aggressive—whether towards oneself or towards others—adolescent with tons of friends that chain them to the world but no inner life. I was able to liquidate this world because I did not have a group of friends, the very people who pull one back into this hell. I was entirely alone, and thus, by producing my own thoughts on my own, I gradually detached from this hallucination.
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It is impossible for the external world to be ontologically and epistemologically superior to the internal world of a person.
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If “gender nonconformists” were completely alone in the world, they wouldn’t still be so obsessed with gender transitioning or even the outward expression of their sexuality.
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Being “changeable” does not necessarily mean being open to views; most of the time, it means being defenseless to loss of self. A person who carries such a liquefied identity eventually drowns in its own water.
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I am not anti-social, not even “asocial”; I am post-social.
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A person who has spent long years under torture—whether physical, mental, existential, or otherwise—undergoes a mutation; they become sharp, hardened, independent, strategic, and essentialist, capable of sacrificing anyone and dismantling anything in order to preserve themselves and ensure the survival of their body. A war machine in flesh. The only thing that will attract society’s attention, however, is the question: “Why are you so ruthless?” A person shaped by long torment is inevitably transformed, just as metal is tempered in fire. That transformation, however, appears “monstrous” to those who never had to endure the furnace.
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When people say they feel lonely, I can’t believe it. Wasn’t solitude my monopoly? How can it exist in others too?
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People usually mean humanity when they use the word “life.” “Being detached from life” is not being cut off from life itself, but rather from people. “To have fallen out of life” actually means being distant not from life itself but from the community, since life is equated with it. “To be lost in life” is not about life itself but about being confused in a circus cloaking as reality. For if everyone except the individual were suddenly removed from the planet, expressions like “detached from life,” “fallen out of life,” or “lost in life” would completely lose their meaning, which is evidence that society is the only world the normative mind knows and is capable of imagining.
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Something that is right may not necessarily be valid. It may even be forbidden—but that cannot mean it is wrong. Yet in the minds of the vast majority, there arises, as a reflex, a negative prejudice toward anything condemned by society. For they have grown used to equating reality with validity. To them, if someone speaks the truth, he or she must be loved and respected by everyone. Yet the most sincere truth is preserved only in seclusion, through the endurance of profound loneliness for its sake.
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For someone that sees school as a place of learning, true learning becomes impossible.”
― Atrona Grizel (Sov8840)