Mark Leibovich Quotes

Lists are anti-democratic, discriminatory, elitist, and sometimes the print is too small.

Jews have had to carry around their own sense of self in a carpet bag and I think perhaps too much emphasis might be being put on nationality and on the other hand patriotism, that sort of thing.

All the people like us are we, and everyone else is They.

Writing about identity can be like maneuvering through a minefield, even when considering contemporary figures who have discussed the subject themselves.

I'm regarded outside New York University as a looney tunes leftie, self-hating Jewish communist; inside the university, I'm regarded as a typical, old-fashioned, white male liberal elitist. I like that. I'm on the edge of both; it makes me feel comfortable.

I think a lot of what I've done is about people feeling as if they are part of the world but also not part of it at the same time. I don't know whether that's from being a gay kid, but I definitely think that resonates with me.

The primary object of every elite, or ruling class, is to maintain its own power and privilege.

I think the biggest thing is voice. Whose voice is it? Who gets to control the narrative?

When folks say 'identity politics' don't matter, it simply reinforces the norm of a white, middle-class, cis narrative and further marginalizes the rest of us who don't share that identity.

SXSW can feel very male, very straight, and very white, and though it's a great festival, when you have a film that's different, it's hard to find your place.

I am not an insider - definitely not... but I don't think you could call me an outsider.

People have asked me about playing outsiders. I don't consider myself an outsider. Maybe that's why I'm interested in that. I'm not really sure.

I'm a gatekeeper, and the gatekeepers all used to be mostly old, white men.

However democratic and egalitarian we kid ourselves into thinking society might be, I think that sense of entitlement operates as basically and viciously as it always did.

From a young age, I was rubbing elbows with a very different kind of person and social class, and I felt a lot of tension and conflict in my identity because of that.

Who included me among the ranks of the human race?

I think you only really feel like an outsider if you've been an insider.

I think if you are an outsider then you are an outsider always.

Snobbery just inhibits you.

Outsiders tend to be the first to recognize the inadequacies of our social institutions. But, precisely because they are outsiders, they are usually in a poor position to fix them.

I'm the result of upbringing, class, race, gender, social prejudices, and economics. So I'm a victim again. A result.

I didn't go to the lectures. My valet, who was more distinguished than I, went instead.

Maybe I'm an elitist, but I don't feel like I am.

If you don't believe you don't belong.

You can't not have feelings about country clubs, whichever side you're on.