---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not a joke, you could actually lose…"
description: "\"It's not a joke, you could actually lose your life literally because you've got a dark skin. It's awful.\" — Alison Hammond"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/alison-hammond-5805_dark_it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose_3157765.jpg"
---

#  It's not a joke, you could actually lose your life…

![“It's not a joke, you could actually lose your life literally because you've got a dark skin. It's awful.” quote by Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/alison-hammond-5805_dark_it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose_3157765.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/alison-hammond-5805_dark_it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose_3157765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/alison-hammond-5805_dark_it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose_3157765.jpg)

> “It's not a joke, you could actually lose your life literally because you've got a dark skin. It's awful.”

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Dark-skinned individuals face lethal danger from racism and violence, highlighting systemic oppression.

**In simple terms:** Racism can be deadly.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and confront racial injustice.

Themes

racism violence systemic oppression

Mood

angry urgent empathetic

Type

social commentary call to action

When to use this quote

- street harassment
- police encounters
- public safety
- community activism

Key Concepts

social justice human rights racial equity

Questions to Reflect On

- How does society perpetuate danger for people of color?
- What actions can reduce racial violence?

A Different Perspective

The quote may overgeneralize individual experiences; not all dark-skinned people face lethal threats.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark skin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-skin/) [Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joke/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

## Related quotes

> [You don't know who is important to you until you actually lose them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/you-don-t-know-who-is-important-to-you-until-you-actually-lose-them/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I thought if you tapped out, you lost the round. Come to find out, you actually lose the fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/i-thought-if-you-tapped-out-you-lost-the-round-come-to-find-out-you/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [As a matter of fact, believe it or not guys, you can actually lose money in sports! I know that you'll find that shocking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-kroenke/as-a-matter-of-fact-believe-it-or-not-guys-you-can-actually-lose/)

[Stan Kroenke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-kroenke/)

> [Is this what it means to go back to square one? Most likely. He had nothing left to lose, other than his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/is-this-what-it-means-to-go-back-to-square-one-most-likely-he-had/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [The important thing is to learn a lesson every time you lose. Life is a learning process and you have to try to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcenroe/the-important-thing-is-to-learn-a-lesson-every-time-you-lose-life-is/)

[John McEnroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcenroe/)

> [There is a warning. The path of God-exalting joy will cost you your life. Jesus said, “Whoever loses his life for my sake and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/there-is-a-warning-the-path-of-god-exalting-joy-will-cost-you-your/)

[John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/)

> [“Lose my life, lose my freedom, lose my soul. A spin of the chamber and pull the trigger, see what it'll be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/lose-my-life-lose-my-freedom-lose-my-soul-a-spin-of-the-chamber-and/)

[C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/)

> [It is better to lose your life than to waste it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/it-is-better-to-lose-your-life-than-to-waste-it/)

[John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/)

> [You see. I love you. I dont want to lose you because my life has been better since the day I found you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ms-shy-fly/you-see-i-love-you-i-dont-want-to-lose-you-because-my-life-has-been/)

Ms\_Shy\_fly

> [“Don’t trust in anything that has life, else you’ll lose your life and dive into a bee hive, and get stung..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/don-t-trust-in-anything-that-has-life-else-you-ll-lose-your-life-and/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [I want just let me lose myself, lose myself for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylar-grey/i-want-just-let-me-lose-myself-lose-myself-for-life/)

[Skylar Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylar-grey/)

> [Only your best friends will tell you the truth and bear the risk of losing the friendship because they can't afford to watch you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/only-your-best-friends-will-tell-you-the-truth-and-bear-the-risk-of/)

[Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/)

> [We can always lose something for someone, but we should not lose someone for something, because life can return that something but not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-can-always-lose-something-for-someone-but-we-should-not-lose/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“To waste time is to lose life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/to-waste-time-is-to-lose-life/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [Fear is how you lose your life...a little bit at a time...What we give to fear, we take away from...faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/fear-is-how-you-lose-your-life-a-little-bit-at-a-time-what-we-give-to/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

## More by Alison Hammond

> [I'd love to walk down the aisle in a big, white dress and have the fairy-tale wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/i-d-love-to-walk-down-the-aisle-in-a-big-white-dress-and-have-the/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [I never dreamt that when I first joined 'This Morning' - initially for a few months - that I would still be there 19…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/i-never-dreamt-that-when-i-first-joined-this-morning-initially-for-a/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [In my head I'm slim. There is a slim woman in here with a lot of fat around her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/in-my-head-i-m-slim-there-is-a-slim-woman-in-here-with-a-lot-of-fat/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [My size and weight went against me and suddenly the side of the chair broke. It was a horrible, shameful moment. My girth had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/my-size-and-weight-went-against-me-and-suddenly-the-side-of-the-chair/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [It's me that's the problem! It's me who's the issue in a relationship, but I'm working on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/it-s-me-that-s-the-problem-it-s-me-who-s-the-issue-in-a-relationship/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [I was made to feel uncomfortable on one occasion when I was so close to someone's seat and they asked to move but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/i-was-made-to-feel-uncomfortable-on-one-occasion-when-i-was-so-close/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [It's so lovely to see people who look like me working alongside me on the telly. It's a nice feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/it-s-so-lovely-to-see-people-who-look-like-me-working-alongside-me-on/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [I'll go and work at Tesco and people will still love me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/i-ll-go-and-work-at-tesco-and-people-will-still-love-me/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [There was a time when I couldn't pay my mortgage, and I was really famous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/there-was-a-time-when-i-couldn-t-pay-my-mortgage-and-i-was-really/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [I had to lose weight because I was dying. I really was dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/i-had-to-lose-weight-because-i-was-dying-i-really-was-dying/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [I never really wanted to get into showbiz but my mum was obsessed with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/i-never-really-wanted-to-get-into-showbiz-but-my-mum-was-obsessed/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [My mum always said, 'Use your Bible as a sat nav in life, Al.' And in the Bible it says, 'he without sin, cast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/my-mum-always-said-use-your-bible-as-a-sat-nav-in-life-al-and-in-the/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [Whenever I audition, I don't get nervous. I think, 'If I get it, I get it. If I don't, I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/whenever-i-audition-i-don-t-get-nervous-i-think-if-i-get-it-i-get-it/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [I'm a natural hugger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/i-m-a-natural-hugger/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

> [I'm going to have a wonderful life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/i-m-going-to-have-a-wonderful-life/)

[Alison Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

[Explore all 100 Alison Hammond quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/)

## More Dark quotes

> [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [“I could see her will leaving and death seeping through her skin to skewer her soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/i-could-see-her-will-leaving-and-death-seeping-through-her-skin-to/)

[J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/)

> [The soul wanders in the dark, until it finds love. And so, wherever our love goes, there we find our soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-zimmerman/the-soul-wanders-in-the-dark-until-it-finds-love-and-so-wherever-our/)

[Mary Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-zimmerman/)

> [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/)

[Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/)

> [All comedy comes from a dark place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katt-williams/all-comedy-comes-from-a-dark-place/)

[Katt Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katt-williams/)

> [It's a really dark, emotionally wrenching world that we've created on 'The Walking Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/it-s-a-really-dark-emotionally-wrenching-world-that-we-ve-created-on/)

[Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/)

[Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/)

> [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/)

[Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/)

> [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/)

[Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/)

> [Let death bless me with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-death-bless-me-with-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“what do you call/that space between the dark geographies of sex?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethaway/what-do-you-call-that-space-between-the-dark-geographies-of-sex/)

Natasha Trethaway

> [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/)

Nicole Gentile

> [Even in the dark your shadow is like a guide to me! you are my rising sun that brings forth hope just as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkemjika-linus/even-in-the-dark-your-shadow-is-like-a-guide-to-me-you-are-my-rising/)

[Nkemjika Linus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkemjika-linus/)

[Browse all 10,198 Dark quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It's not a joke, you could actually lose your life literally because you've got a dark skin. It's awful.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alison Hammond"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose-your-life-literally-because/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Dark"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose-your-life-literally-because/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/alison-hammond-5805_dark_it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose_3157765.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/alison-hammond-5805_dark_it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose_3157765.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/alison-hammond-5805_dark_it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose_3157765.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It's not a joke, you could actually lose your life literally because you've got a dark skin. It's awful.” — Alison Hammond",
                "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": "Alison Hammond",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hammond/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It's not a joke, you could...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose-your-life-literally-because/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hammond/it-s-not-a-joke-you-could-actually-lose-your-life-literally-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
