--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mma Ramotswe had been thinking a great…" description: "\"“Mma Ramotswe had been thinking a great deal recently about how people might be fitted in. The world was a large place, and one might have thought that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/alexander-mccall-smith-372_brothers-and-sisters_mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-d_3225739.jpg" --- # Mma Ramotswe had been thinking a great deal recently about… ![“Mma Ramotswe had been thinking a great deal recently about how people might be fitted in. The world was a large place, and one might have thought that there was enough room for everybody. But it seemed that this was not so. There were many people who were unhappy, and wanted to move. Often they…” quote by Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/alexander-mccall-smith-372_brothers-and-sisters_mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-d_3225739.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/alexander-mccall-smith-372_brothers-and-sisters_mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-d_3225739.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/alexander-mccall-smith-372_brothers-and-sisters_mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-d_3225739.jpg) > ““Mma Ramotswe had been thinking a great deal recently about how people might be fitted in. The world was a large place, and one might have thought that there was enough room for everybody. But it seemed that this was not so. There were many people who were unhappy, and wanted to move. Often they wished to come to the more fortunate countries - such as Botswana - in order to make more of their lives. That was understandable, and yet there were those who did not want them. This is our place, they said; you are not welcome. It was easy to think like that. People wanted to protect themselves from those they did not know. Others were different; they talked different languages and wore different clothes. Many people did not want them to living close to them, just because of these differences. And yet, they were people, were they not? They thought the same way, and had the same hopes as anybody else did. They were our brothers and sisters, whichever way you looked at it, and you could not turn a brother or sister away.”” [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People fear outsiders due to differences, yet shared humanity should override exclusion. **In simple terms:** Fear of strangers leads to exclusion. Key Takeaway Embrace empathy over fear. Themes migration inclusion humanity Mood hopeful reflective Type social ethical When to use this quote - immigration policy - community building - school integration - workplace diversity Key Concepts otherness social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - How can societies foster genuine inclusion? - What personal actions counter xenophobia? A Different Perspective Prejudice can be entrenched despite rational arguments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brothers and sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) [Differences People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences-people-554861/) [Different languages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-languages/) [People Fitted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-fitted-4104493/) [People Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-thought/) [People Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-wanted/) [Ramotswe Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ramotswe-thinking-1892136/) ## Related quotes > [“(Mma Ramotswe thinking about what her father taught her…) “Having the right approach to life was a great gift in this life….Do not complain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/mma-ramotswe-thinking-about-what-her-father-taught-her-having-the/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [We are several people fitted inside each other. Chinese boxes. Our bodies are the outside box. Or the inside one if you like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/we-are-several-people-fitted-inside-each-other-chinese-boxes-our/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The problem, of course, was that people did not seem to understand the difference between right and wrong. They needed to be reminded about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/the-problem-of-course-was-that-people-did-not-seem-to-understand-the/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“He was one of those people, she thought, who just seemed to know a great deal. And he spoke so wisely, as if had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/he-was-one-of-those-people-she-thought-who-just-seemed-to-know-a/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [From death's perspective, there are no differences between people; there are no presidents or flight attendants, no faiths or nations. There is just the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-tokarczuk/from-death-s-perspective-there-are-no-differences-between-people/) [Olga Tokarczuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-tokarczuk/) > [We ought to recognize that religious strife is not the consequence of differences among people. It's about conflicts between creation stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-ought-to-recognize-that-religious-strife-is-not-the-consequence-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [It seemed to her such nonsense-inventing differences, when people, heaven knows, were different enough without that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-seemed-to-her-such-nonsense-inventing-differences-when-people/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [It's the differences in people that help you realize who you are. Even if we silently pass each other on the street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/it-s-the-differences-in-people-that-help-you-realize-who-you-are-even/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [Love is the only force that can erase the differences between people or bridge the chasms of bitterness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/love-is-the-only-force-that-can-erase-the-differences-between-people/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [A lot of the differences between people have biologic underpinnings. Now, we have a dogma of egalitarianism. Everyone's the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-stock/a-lot-of-the-differences-between-people-have-biologic-underpinnings/) [Gregory Stock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-stock/) > [“It's never the differences between people that surprise us. It's the things that, against all odds, we have in common.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-never-the-differences-between-people-that-surprise-us-it-s-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [In countries where there are no racial differences or no religious differences, people find other reasons to set aside one certain group of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/in-countries-where-there-are-no-racial-differences-or-no-religious/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [Thanksgiving reminds us that no matter our differences, we're still one people, part of something bigger than ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/thanksgiving-reminds-us-that-no-matter-our-differences-we-re-still/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Some people will test you, some will use you, and some will teach you; but most importantly some will bring out the best in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-will-test-you-some-will-use-you-and-some-will-teach-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The differences between people need not act as barriers that wound, harm and drive us apart. Rather, these very differences among cultures and civilizations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/the-differences-between-people-need-not-act-as-barriers-that-wound/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) ## More by Alexander McCall Smith > [“old-fashioned, gentle Scottish physician, unmoved by the considerations of profit and personal gain that could so disfigure medicine. That doctors should consider themselves businessmen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/old-fashioned-gentle-scottish-physician-unmoved-by-the-considerations/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“She had not made a lot of money, but she had not made a loss, and she had been happy and entertained. That counted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/she-had-not-made-a-lot-of-money-but-she-had-not-made-a-loss-and-she/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-that-in-a-way-was-the-burden-of-being-a-philosopher-one-knew-what/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“To use strong language, she thought, was a sign of bad temper and lack of concern for others. Such people were not clever or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/to-use-strong-language-she-thought-was-a-sign-of-bad-temper-and-lack/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Men are very sensitive, Mma Makutsi. You would not always think it to look at them, but they are. They do not like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/men-are-very-sensitive-mma-makutsi-you-would-not-always-think-it-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“He is a good man, but even a good man can fall for a glamorous woman. That is well known.” “That is very well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/he-is-a-good-man-but-even-a-good-man-can-fall-for-a-glamorous-woman/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“And then the second thing you have to do is go and see your son. That is a duty of love, Andrew. It's as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-then-the-second-thing-you-have-to-do-is-go-and-see-your-son-that/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Because laughs never die away entirely,” said Jamie. “At least, if you believe in Marconi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/because-laughs-never-die-away-entirely-said-jamie-at-least-if-you/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“The trouble with having a conscience, she said to herself, is that it never sleeps.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/the-trouble-with-having-a-conscience-she-said-to-herself-is-that-it/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“And if there's bad behaviour," Mma Potokwane went on. "If there's bad behaviour, the quickest way of stopping it is to give more love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-if-there-s-bad-behaviour-mma-potokwane-went-on-if-there-s-bad/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“We never realise how transparent we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/we-never-realise-how-transparent-we-are/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Has he not got a wife back wherever he comes from? Is there no wife to say, ‘You must not go off and visit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/has-he-not-got-a-wife-back-wherever-he-comes-from-is-there-no-wife-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“He looked at her in the darkness, at this woman who was everything to him-mother, Africa, wisdom, understanding, good things to eat, pumpkins, chicken,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/he-looked-at-her-in-the-darkness-at-this-woman-who-was-everything-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“It is because you are generous in spirit; and may I be like that; may I become like you—which unrealistic wish, to become the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/it-is-because-you-are-generous-in-spirit-and-may-i-be-like-that-may-i/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni,” she asked, “do you think that our souls grow as we get older?” He did not answer immediately, but when he did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/mr-j-l-b-matekoni-she-asked-do-you-think-that-our-souls-grow-as-we/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) [Explore all 628 Alexander McCall Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) ## More Brothers and sisters quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [There's no publicist, no advertisements, and no one's pushing us. If people are buying our records, it's because big brothers and sisters or friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-moody/there-s-no-publicist-no-advertisements-and-no-one-s-pushing-us-if/) [Spencer Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-moody/) > [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Mr. Peabody is this genetic anomaly. He does have brothers and sisters, all of them non-speaking, not super-smart dogs. He's an outcast, but has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/mr-peabody-is-this-genetic-anomaly-he-does-have-brothers-and-sisters/) [Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/) > [Jeremiah Wright is one of the greatest prophetic preachers that black America has produced. What I find striking is that many white brothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/jeremiah-wright-is-one-of-the-greatest-prophetic-preachers-that-black/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-p-johnson/how-many-years-has-it-taken-people-to-realize-that-we-are-all/) [Marsha P. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-p-johnson/) > [I have 10 brothers and sisters. My mother raised us because my father died when I was 8.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-have-10-brothers-and-sisters-my-mother-raised-us-because-my-father/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [We have forgotten to be our brothers and sisters keepers. And we have forgotten that the Number 1 goal is to love one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-richards/we-have-forgotten-to-be-our-brothers-and-sisters-keepers-and-we-have/) [Ann Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-richards/) > [The only siblings I have are half-siblings. My nuclear family would have been an extra-suffocating threesome. Instead, I have an interesting brother and sister,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-only-siblings-i-have-are-half-siblings-my-nuclear-family-would/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Brothers and sisters, white people will come in to chastise us. But since we are no longer forsaken, and are the people of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/brothers-and-sisters-white-people-will-come-in-to-chastise-us-but/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-father-may-turn-his-back-on-his-child-brothers-and-sisters-may/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [With a basic understanding of all humans as brothers and sisters, we can appreciate the usefulness of different systems and ideologies that can accommodate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/with-a-basic-understanding-of-all-humans-as-brothers-and-sisters-we/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [God helping me, I will help my brothers and sisters in Christ, because they are my brothers and sisters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barber-lightfoot/god-helping-me-i-will-help-my-brothers-and-sisters-in-christ-because/) [Joseph Barber Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barber-lightfoot/) [Browse all 956 Brothers and sisters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Mma Ramotswe had been thinking a great deal recently about how people might be fitted in. The world was a large place, and one might have thought that there was enough room for everybody. But it seemed that this was not so. There were many people who were unhappy, and wanted to move. Often they wished to come to the more fortunate countries - such as Botswana - in order to make more of their lives. That was understandable, and yet there were those who did not want them. This is our place, they said; you are not welcome. It was easy to think like that. People wanted to protect themselves from those they did not know. Others were different; they talked different languages and wore different clothes. Many people did not want them to living close to them, just because of these differences. And yet, they were people, were they not? They thought the same way, and had the same hopes as anybody else did. They were our brothers and sisters, whichever way you looked at it, and you could not turn a brother or sister away.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander McCall Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-deal-recently-about-how-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brothers and sisters" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-deal-recently-about-how-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/alexander-mccall-smith-372_brothers-and-sisters_mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-d_3225739.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/alexander-mccall-smith-372_brothers-and-sisters_mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-d_3225739.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c5/alexander-mccall-smith-372_brothers-and-sisters_mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-d_3225739.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mma Ramotswe had been thinking a great deal recently about how people might be fitted in. The world was a…” — Alexander McCall Smith", "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": "Alexander McCall Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Mma Ramotswe had been thinking a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-deal-recently-about-how-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/mma-ramotswe-had-been-thinking-a-great-deal-recently-about-how-people/#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 } } ] } ```