--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most of us prefer to be as quiet as…" description: "\"Most of us prefer to be as quiet as possible about giving, because every time it's publicized that we do something, if it's something of the nature of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/alex-haley-8212_criticized_most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-poss_772745.jpg" --- # Most of us prefer to be as quiet as possible about giving… ![“Most of us prefer to be as quiet as possible about giving, because every time it's publicized that we do something, if it's something of the nature of giving, we'll be doubly besieged, and you really get sick of being always criticized no matter what you do.” quote by Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/alex-haley-8212_criticized_most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-poss_772745.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/alex-haley-8212_criticized_most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-poss_772745.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/alex-haley-8212_criticized_most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-poss_772745.jpg) > “Most of us prefer to be as quiet as possible about giving, because every time it's publicized that we do something, if it's something of the nature of giving, we'll be doubly besieged, and you really get sick of being always criticized no matter what you do.” [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People avoid public giving to escape criticism, leading to private, less visible generosity. **In simple terms:** Quiet giving avoids scrutiny. Key Takeaway Give anonymously when possible. Themes philanthropy social perception humility Mood thoughtful concerned Type ethical social When to use this quote - charitable events - online donations - private foundations Key Concepts Reputation management social stigma donor fatigue Questions to Reflect On - How does criticism affect your generosity? - Can anonymity increase impact? A Different Perspective Public praise can discourage future giving. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criticized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticized/) [Criticized Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticized-matter-2146283/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [No matter what](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-matter-what/) [Prefer Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prefer-quiet-4885822/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Quiet Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet-possible-2732520/) [Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick/) ## Related quotes > [The First Lady is going to be criticized no matter what she does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bush/the-first-lady-is-going-to-be-criticized-no-matter-what-she-does/) [Barbara Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bush/) > [I had already learned from more than a decade of political life that I was going to be criticized no matter what I did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalynn-carter/i-had-already-learned-from-more-than-a-decade-of-political-life-that/) [Rosalynn Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalynn-carter/) > [I've come to realize that you're going to get criticized no matter what. Somebody will always hate what you write, especially if you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/i-ve-come-to-realize-that-you-re-going-to-get-criticized-no-matter/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [I love silence. And one of the paradoxes about the way I live and also about my work is that definitely one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-love-silence-and-one-of-the-paradoxes-about-the-way-i-live-and-also/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [I always try to stay as quiet as possible about a book until it's finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brockmeier/i-always-try-to-stay-as-quiet-as-possible-about-a-book-until-it-s/) [Kevin Brockmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brockmeier/) > [I think having my life be as private and quiet as possible is a way in which then I can go and play characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/i-think-having-my-life-be-as-private-and-quiet-as-possible-is-a-way/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“I think I only appear smart by staying quiet as often as possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-rooney/i-think-i-only-appear-smart-by-staying-quiet-as-often-as-possible/) [Sally Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-rooney/) > [While I've lived in cities for most of my adult life, I really prefer the quiet, boring, mundanity of the country. It's the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-hashimoto/while-i-ve-lived-in-cities-for-most-of-my-adult-life-i-really-prefer/) [Jacob Hashimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-hashimoto/) > [I mean, I don't really go out at night in terms of noisy, busy places; I prefer more of a quiet corner somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/i-mean-i-don-t-really-go-out-at-night-in-terms-of-noisy-busy-places-i/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [I usually need a lot of time to be completely alone with the particular piece, the composer, and the instrument. I also prefer a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafal-blechacz/i-usually-need-a-lot-of-time-to-be-completely-alone-with-the/) [Rafal Blechacz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafal-blechacz/) > [I don't really go out at night in terms of noisy, busy places; I prefer more of a quiet corner somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/i-don-t-really-go-out-at-night-in-terms-of-noisy-busy-places-i-prefer/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [I'm kind of lame. 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You're asked to do this, to do that - all for admirable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/if-you-re-blessed-to-do-something-like-roots-you-find-yourself/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [I think from what I personally know, I am really quite proud of most of the people I know who have 'made it,' who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-think-from-what-i-personally-know-i-am-really-quite-proud-of-most/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [In the bush, trust no one you don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/in-the-bush-trust-no-one-you-don-t-know/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Either you deal with what is the reality, or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/either-you-deal-with-what-is-the-reality-or-you-can-be-sure-that-the/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [I know Juffure was a British trading post and my portrait of the village bears no resemblance to the way it was. 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Leave him some escape, for he will fight even more desperately if trapped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/never-completely-encircle-your-enemy-leave-him-some-escape-for-he/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [I can't feel Irish to save my soul, but it's a fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-can-t-feel-irish-to-save-my-soul-but-it-s-a-fact/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Most of the people I've met who are black in other countries look up to the blacks in this country. Though they may talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/most-of-the-people-i-ve-met-who-are-black-in-other-countries-look-up/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Early in the spring of 1750, in the village of Juffure, four days upriver from the coast of The Gambia, West Africa, a manchild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/early-in-the-spring-of-1750-in-the-village-of-juffure-four-days/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [“nightly boiling and then cooling a broth of freshly pounded fudano leaves in which she soaked her feat -and the pale palms of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/nightly-boiling-and-then-cooling-a-broth-of-freshly-pounded-fudano/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we came from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/in-all-of-us-there-is-a-hunger-marrow-deep-to-know-our-heritage-to/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [If you think about it, there's not a religious group, there's not a nationalistic group, there's not a tribe, there is no grouping of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/if-you-think-about-it-there-s-not-a-religious-group-there-s-not-a/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Is this how you repay my goodness--with badness?” cried the boy. “Of course,” said the crocodile out of the corner of his mouth. “That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/is-this-how-you-repay-my-goodness-with-badness-cried-the-boy-of/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) [Explore all 83 Alex Haley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) ## More Criticized quotes > ['The Matrix' is a movie that is all about glamour. I could do a whole talk on 'The Matrix' and glamour. It was criticized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-matrix-is-a-movie-that-is-all-about-glamour-i-could-do-a-whole/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [“To hear, in the short space of one week, a Scottish terrier booed by an audience and President Roosevelt criticized by Charles Lindbergh was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/to-hear-in-the-short-space-of-one-week-a-scottish-terrier-booed-by-an/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [When 'The Thin Blue Line' came out, I was criticized by many people for using reenactments, as if I wasn't dedicated to the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/when-the-thin-blue-line-came-out-i-was-criticized-by-many-people-for/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [People have said things about me, and wrote and criticized me about things in the past, but it goes in one ear and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-mayweather-jr/people-have-said-things-about-me-and-wrote-and-criticized-me-about/) [Floyd Mayweather, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-mayweather-jr/) > [No one likes to be criticized, of course, but if the things we successfully strive for do not make our future selves happy, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gilbert/no-one-likes-to-be-criticized-of-course-but-if-the-things-we/) [Daniel Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gilbert/) > [“It is incredibly tempting to disparage people who didn’t “change” with us. I have criticized the words of others when the same words came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hatmaker/it-is-incredibly-tempting-to-disparage-people-who-didn-t-change-with/) [Jen Hatmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hatmaker/) > [If you never get criticized, chances are you aren't getting anything done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/if-you-never-get-criticized-chances-are-you-aren-t-getting-anything/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [“You may be worried about earning their respect, and that’s natural. Unfortunately, though, being overly focused on respect can backfire because it’ll make you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-malone-scott/you-may-be-worried-about-earning-their-respect-and-that-s-natural/) [Kim Malone Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-malone-scott/) > [Porter is my eldest child, and I tended to be fiercely protective when he was criticized. 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And I welcome the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-warner/that-s-part-of-the-deal-you-re-going-to-be-criticized-i-always/) [Kurt Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-warner/) > [I get criticized for a lot of what I write about, but as far as I'm concerned I'm actually standing up and having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/i-get-criticized-for-a-lot-of-what-i-write-about-but-as-far-as-i-m/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [I am a proud Article III judge. We've been criticized from the beginning of this great country. What I will say about me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amul-thapar/i-am-a-proud-article-iii-judge-we-ve-been-criticized-from-the/) [Amul Thapar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amul-thapar/) > [I'm not ashamed of being successful. You know, they criticized Romney for being ashamed of it. 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Not everything is peaches and cream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donovan-mcnabb/michael-jordan-was-criticized-barry-bonds-was-criticized-some-of-the/) [Donovan McNabb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donovan-mcnabb/) [Browse all 280 Criticized quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticized/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most of us prefer to be as quiet as possible about giving, because every time it's publicized that we do something, if it's something of the nature of giving, we'll be doubly besieged, and you really get sick of being always criticized no matter what you do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alex Haley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-possible-about-giving-because/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Criticized" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-possible-about-giving-because/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/alex-haley-8212_criticized_most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-poss_772745.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/alex-haley-8212_criticized_most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-poss_772745.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/alex-haley-8212_criticized_most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-poss_772745.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most of us prefer to be as quiet as possible about giving, because every time it's publicized that we do…” — Alex Haley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alex Haley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Most of us prefer to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-possible-about-giving-because/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/most-of-us-prefer-to-be-as-quiet-as-possible-about-giving-because/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```