--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once a man has seen society's black…" description: "\"Once a man has seen society's black underbelly, he can never turn his back on it. Never pretend, like you do, that it doesn't exist.\" — Alan Moore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/alan-moore-583_black_once-a-man-has-seen-society-s-black-unde_2425323.jpg" --- # Once a man has seen society's black underbelly, he can… ![“Once a man has seen society's black underbelly, he can never turn his back on it. Never pretend, like you do, that it doesn't exist.” quote by Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/alan-moore-583_black_once-a-man-has-seen-society-s-black-unde_2425323.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/alan-moore-583_black_once-a-man-has-seen-society-s-black-unde_2425323.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/alan-moore-583_black_once-a-man-has-seen-society-s-black-unde_2425323.jpg) > “Once a man has seen society's black underbelly, he can never turn his back on it. Never pretend, like you do, that it doesn't exist.” [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Witnessing society’s darkest aspects creates a permanent awareness that cannot be ignored or denied. **In simple terms:** Seeing darkness forces constant vigilance. Key Takeaway Stay aware and confront societal issues. Themes justice awareness truth Mood serious thoughtful Type ethical political When to use this quote - journalism - activism - policy making - education Key Concepts social critique ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance awareness with personal well‑being? - What actions arise from confronting harsh truths? A Different Perspective Denial may protect mental health, but risks complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black Underbelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-underbelly-6150542/) [Like you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-you/) [Man Seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-seen-525427/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Society Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-black-2371120/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Underbelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underbelly-2850143/) ## Related quotes > [I guess I'm always drawn to the underbelly of someone, really, as opposed to how heroic they are. 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There is still an assumption among many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayana-mathis/there-were-class-differences-among-black-people-then-and-there-are/) [Ayana Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayana-mathis/) > [Racism is so extreme and so pervasive in our American society that no black individual lives in an atmosphere of freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-walker/racism-is-so-extreme-and-so-pervasive-in-our-american-society-that-no/) [Margaret Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-walker/) > [I think that, for so much of our matriculation through American society, black people sort of feel like outsiders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenya-barris/i-think-that-for-so-much-of-our-matriculation-through-american/) [Kenya Barris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenya-barris/) > [I grew up around the business quite a bit; I saw a little bit of the underbelly of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-helberg/i-grew-up-around-the-business-quite-a-bit-i-saw-a-little-bit-of-the/) [Simon Helberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-helberg/) > [My mother always told me to embrace both sides of my background. 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In the dark our fellow man was seen more clearly than in the normal light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-p-kennedy/in-the-dark-all-men-were-the-same-color-in-the-dark-our-fellow-man/) [Stephen P Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-p-kennedy/) > [He was a worried man (I'm stretching the term a bit here, I know. By now, in his mid to late teens, he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-stroud/he-was-a-worried-man-i-m-stretching-the-term-a-bit-here-i-know-by-now/) [Jonathan Stroud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-stroud/) > [“I heard him before I saw him, his power rippled about the room. And with two more steps, the most beautiful man I'd ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-r-w-lee-2/i-heard-him-before-i-saw-him-his-power-rippled-about-the-room-and/) [L. R. W. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-r-w-lee-2/) > [The man, who has seen the rising moon break out of the clouds at midnight, has been present like an archangel at the creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-man-who-has-seen-the-rising-moon-break-out-of-the-clouds-at/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [What man have you ever seen who was contented with one crime only?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/what-man-have-you-ever-seen-who-was-contented-with-one-crime-only/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) ## More by Alan Moore > [I think that storytelling and creation are very close to what the center of what magic is about. I think not just for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-think-that-storytelling-and-creation-are-very-close-to-what-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [To some degree Satanism is purely a kind of disease of Christianity. You've got to really be Christian to believe in Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/to-some-degree-satanism-is-purely-a-kind-of-disease-of-christianity/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [There has been a rather unpleasant sensibility apparent in Frank Miller's work for quite a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/there-has-been-a-rather-unpleasant-sensibility-apparent-in-frank/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [I felt, if I'm going to react I might as well over react.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-felt-if-i-m-going-to-react-i-might-as-well-over-react/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“Come, dry your eyes, for you are LIFE, rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Heisenberg; the clay in which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/come-dry-your-eyes-for-you-are-life-rarer-than-a-quark-and/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Now everything is wonderful and hazardous and nothing's hypothetical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/now-everything-is-wonderful-and-hazardous-and-nothing-s-hypothetical/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [In many ways, my entire graphic novel career was a long diversion. Originally, all I wanted to do was to be an underground cartoonist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/in-many-ways-my-entire-graphic-novel-career-was-a-long-diversion/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [I was kind of a selfish child, who always wanted things his way, and I've kind of taken that over into my relationship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-was-kind-of-a-selfish-child-who-always-wanted-things-his-way-and-i/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Magic is a state of mind. It is often portrayed as very black and gothic, and that is because certain practitioners played that up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/magic-is-a-state-of-mind-it-is-often-portrayed-as-very-black-and/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“Above, great constellations wheeled to which our bonfire sparks ascended in their tiny mimicry”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/above-great-constellations-wheeled-to-which-our-bonfire-sparks/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“You're my only remaining link to the world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/you-re-my-only-remaining-link-to-the-world/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/nothing-ends-adrian-nothing-ever-ends/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [On the one occasion where I did try writing a screenplay, I found the rewriting just unendurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/on-the-one-occasion-where-i-did-try-writing-a-screenplay-i-found-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“The clothes you're wearing, the room, the house, the city that you're in. Everything in it started out in the human imagination. Your lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/the-clothes-you-re-wearing-the-room-the-house-the-city-that-you-re-in/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) [Explore all 460 Alan Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) [Frank B. Wilderson III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-wilderson-iii/) > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. 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