Judith Martin Quotes

The laughing way we make damaged people our playthings, it's so dehumanizing.

You gain power by pretending to be weak. By contrast, you make people feel strong. You save people by letting them save you.

I find it incredibly boring when people are mean about some individuals, especially if the individual has no power. I can understand how someone deems it necessary if somebody is in power to tear them down - I think that's really crucial. I make a lot of mean jokes about myself; as a theme, suffering seems to me a very interesting thing for comedy, but not the suffering of a particular individual.

I don't want to hurt people's feelings if I can help it. I don't want anyone unnecessarily humiliated, but I say whatever stands between you and justice must give way; and if you have to walk over reputations — and if they become pavement you cannot help it.

Pity is just another form of abuse.

Be of love a little more careful than of anything.

I'm definitely sensitive to the idea of exploitation. You don't want to glamorize certain things.

Desperation, weakness, vulnerability - these things will always be exploited. You need to protect the weak, ring-fence them, with something far stronger than empathy.

We need to remember that politics is all about people, not programs. We shouldn't want to take the humanness out of the political arena.

It's them that take advantage that get advantage in this world.

Golden Rule: Don’t ignore those lower down on the food chain, they can be your shock absorbers...

Every now and then, I am reminded it's not always about politics. It's about people.

I would never ever dare to objectify anyone who has fed me, protected me or loved me.

You can try, but you seem cleverer than Fudge, so I'd have thought you'd have learned from his mistakes. He tried intervening at Hogwarts. You might have noticed he's not Minister anymore, but Dumbledore's still headmaster. I'd leave Dumbledore alone, if I were you.

What’s my greatest weakness? Sad stories, people with problems

One thing I want to teach my son is sensitivity to other people. I want to teach him not to be this macho freak.

I'm sensitive to how people are feeling if they feel like they got it wrong, and sensitive to the people who are kind of gloating that they knew all along, they figured it out. I'm loving them through this process, because I know that it took me a while once I found out that it was me.

Treat people kindly. When you are kind to somebody and I don't mean necessarily "buddy-buddy", just show kindness and consideration. Show that people are worthy and you respect them and you are glad they're with you.

One can no more approach people without love than one can approach bees without care. Such is the quality of bees.

To be fair to Monica," I said, "what you did to her wasn't very nice either." "What'd I do to her?" he asked, defensive. "You know, going blind and everything." "But that's not my fault," Isaac said. "I'm not saying it was your fault. I'm saying it wasn't nice.

When you approach someone as a human being, truly and try to be as open as safety allows, some of the bigger reenactments with a whole army of paramilitary people participating, I couldn't say my feelings openly in front of everybody, without it being dangerous for my crew.

I've become more empathetic, and my capacity to understand and be patient - to give people a break - has enlarged over the years.

One can always be kind to people about whom one cares nothing.

It is easy to be lenient at other people's expense, and call it generosity of mind.

You put a character out there and you're in their power. You're in trouble if they're in yours.