--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is the matter with these people…" description: "\"What is the matter with these people, these people who won't stop fighting, won't stop hurting each other...?\" — Alison McGhee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/alison-mcghee-15698_fighting_what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-the_64583.png" --- # What is the matter with these people, these people who… ![“What is the matter with these people, these people who won't stop fighting, won't stop hurting each other...?” quote by Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/alison-mcghee-15698_fighting_what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-the_64583.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/alison-mcghee-15698_fighting_what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-the_64583.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/alison-mcghee-15698_fighting_what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-the_64583.png) > “What is the matter with these people, these people who won't stop fighting, won't stop hurting each other...?” [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It questions the endless cycle of conflict and mutual harm that prevents people from finding peace. **In simple terms:** A cycle of conflict Key Takeaway Conflict breeds suffering Themes conflict human nature suffering relationships violence Mood somber reflective Type question philosophical When to use this quote - war zones - family feuds - political rallies - online arguments Key Concepts interpersonal dynamics emotional pain Practical Applications - mediation workshops - conflict resolution training Questions to Reflect On - What fuels the desire to keep fighting? - How can empathy break this cycle? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Fighting Won](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting-won-864900/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Hurting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurting/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stop Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-fighting/) [Stop Hurting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-hurting/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone have feeling, and so do you. If you know that some words may hurt you, it may somebody else too. So, stop hurting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiqa/everyone-have-feeling-and-so-do-you-if-you-know-that-some-words-may/) [Eiqa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiqa/) > [She's the beautiful painkiller that my broken body and my shattered heart demand to stop hurting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-s-the-beautiful-painkiller-that-my-broken-body-and-my-shattered/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never know what to tell them. I mean, there's nothing you can say to make a person stop hurting. 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Sometimes never.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhiess-krieg/i-made-such-a-fool-of-myself-he-didnt-love-me-back-when-does-it-stop/) [Jhiess Krieg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhiess-krieg/) > [You don't ever really let go, though. You don't stop. You don't stop hurting, you don't stop loving. It doesn't go away, you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/you-don-t-ever-really-let-go-though-you-don-t-stop-you-don-t-stop/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) > [“For the broken hearts, I promise it gets better. I promise that the minutes and hours will go by faster and that the ache…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-trunko/for-the-broken-hearts-i-promise-it-gets-better-i-promise-that-the/) [Emily Trunko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-trunko/) > [“It's just hard to see a friend hurt this much. Especially when you can't do anything except "be there". I want to make him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/it-s-just-hard-to-see-a-friend-hurt-this-much-especially-when-you-can/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“What is the matter with these people, these people who won't stop fighting, won't stop hurting each other long enough to see that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-these-people-who-won-t-stop-2/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [“Hurt feelings or discomfort of any kind cannot be caused by another person. No one outside me can hurt me. That's not a possibility.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/hurt-feelings-or-discomfort-of-any-kind-cannot-be-caused-by-another/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [“Everyone says that getting over somebody ‘just takes time’ and that one day it will stop hurting and the door will open for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-preston/everyone-says-that-getting-over-somebody-just-takes-time-and-that-one/) [Natasha Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-preston/) > [Dont stop your tears from falling I'm here to wipe them dry, here to stop the hurting whenever someone says goodbye, I may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/dont-stop-your-tears-from-falling-i-m-here-to-wipe-them-dry-here-to/) [Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/) > [People always say it will stop hurting but that's a lie. You will always have part of you that hurts when you see or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-always-say-it-will-stop-hurting-but-that-s-a-lie-you-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All people do is cheat and fuck, damn settle down and get a life and stop hurting people...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-people-do-is-cheat-and-fuck-damn-settle-down-and-get-a-life-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Alison McGhee > [“Living without love is worse than dying, Younger." William T.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/living-without-love-is-worse-than-dying-younger-william-t/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [We'd decided to write a book about two friends. I gave her some coffee and then we sat there not knowing what to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/we-d-decided-to-write-a-book-about-two-friends-i-gave-her-some-coffee/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [Your heart literally hurts when it's breaking. You can feel it, every beat another ache, and nothing you can do will stop it, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/your-heart-literally-hurts-when-it-s-breaking-you-can-feel-it-every/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [ Kate \[DiCamillo\] tends to be more reluctant about change. I convinced her to give it a try and she came over. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/kate-dicamillo-tends-to-be-more-reluctant-about-change-i-convinced/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [Water seeks its own level. Look at them. The Tigris, the Euphrates, the Mississippi, the Amazon, the Yangtze. The world's great rivers. And every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/water-seeks-its-own-level-look-at-them-the-tigris-the-euphrates-the/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [ So we \[with Kate DiCamillo\] would act them out, we would toss ideas back and forth, we would laugh, we would argue. Sometimes it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/so-we-with-kate-dicamillo-would-act-them-out-we-would-toss-ideas-back/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [I'm a big State Fair person, and my main goal is to eat as much food as possible, but I tend not to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/i-m-a-big-state-fair-person-and-my-main-goal-is-to-eat-as-much-food/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [ We met in the summer or fall of 2001. I had never met Kate \[DiCamillo\], though I'd heard her name, and I think she… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/we-met-in-the-summer-or-fall-of-2001-i-had-never-met-kate-dicamillo/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [It's very cool to be short, very cool. When I was in eighth grade, and the height I am now, I would just look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/it-s-very-cool-to-be-short-very-cool-when-i-was-in-eighth-grade-and/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [I'll live in another world, then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/i-ll-live-in-another-world-then/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [Little boy, you remind me how so much depends of day made of now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/little-boy-you-remind-me-how-so-much-depends-of-day-made-of-now/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [I suppose, the natural outgrowth about writing about two friends, it becomes about their friendship, and the complexities of it, and the way personality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/i-suppose-the-natural-outgrowth-about-writing-about-two-friends-it/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [“And she tried to breathe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/and-she-tried-to-breathe/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [“They were stupid, stupid people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/they-were-stupid-stupid-people/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [The world should have stopped, but it didn't. The world kept on going. How can the world just keep on going? An earthquake in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/the-world-should-have-stopped-but-it-didn-t-the-world-kept-on-going/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) [Explore all 42 Alison McGhee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) ## More Fighting 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/) > [“I bet she thought she was getting into a fight with a vanilla wafer on roller skates but little did she know she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-portes/i-bet-she-thought-she-was-getting-into-a-fight-with-a-vanilla-wafer/) [Andrea Portes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-portes/) > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [You have to fight gravity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-wine/you-have-to-fight-gravity/) [Sherwin Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-wine/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [It is sort of interesting that in our society this days we are very quick to apply the term 'war' to places where thare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-schneier/it-is-sort-of-interesting-that-in-our-society-this-days-we-are-very/) [Bruce Schneier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-schneier/) > [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. 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It's not that you're being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paul-curtis/there-comes-a-time-when-you-re-losing-a-fight-that-it-just-doesn-t/) [Christopher Paul Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paul-curtis/) [Browse all 13,685 Fighting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is the matter with these people, these people who won't stop fighting, won't stop hurting each other...?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alison McGhee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-these-people-who-won-t-stop/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fighting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-these-people-who-won-t-stop/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/alison-mcghee-15698_fighting_what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-the_64583.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/alison-mcghee-15698_fighting_what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-the_64583.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ae/alison-mcghee-15698_fighting_what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-the_64583.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is the matter with these people, these people who won't stop fighting, won't stop hurting each other...?” — Alison McGhee", "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 McGhee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What is the matter with these...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-these-people-who-won-t-stop/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/what-is-the-matter-with-these-people-these-people-who-won-t-stop/#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 } } ] } ```