---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some of the more industrious ones were…"
description: "\"“Some of the more industrious ones were washing the windshields of cars that had been trapped by the red light. I used to see them from inside cars and..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/arthur-nersesian-32531_jurors_some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-w_2522631.png"
---

#  Some of the more industrious ones were washing the…

![“Some of the more industrious ones were washing the windshields of cars that had been trapped by the red light. I used to see them from inside cars and think they brought it on themselves, and they probably did but now it didn't make a difference. I went over to the fire and warmed my hands with…” quote by Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/arthur-nersesian-32531_jurors_some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-w_2522631.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/arthur-nersesian-32531_jurors_some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-w_2522631.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/arthur-nersesian-32531_jurors_some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-w_2522631.png)

> ““Some of the more industrious ones were washing the windshields of cars that had been trapped by the red light. I used to see them from inside cars and think they brought it on themselves, and they probably did but now it didn't make a difference. I went over to the fire and warmed my hands with the group. I looked at their faces: idiots, criminals, retards, schizophrenics, paranoids, rejects, fuck-ups, broken-down failures. Alone, once children, never asked to be put on this earth, they ended up as jurors. Their lives were the verdict: the system, the man, something had failed.””

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

## About This Quote

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

The narrator reflects on marginalized individuals caught in systemic failures, labeling them harshly while recognizing societal neglect.

**In simple terms:** Society neglects the vulnerable, leading to harsh judgments.

Key Takeaway

Recognize systemic causes of suffering.

Themes

poverty justice humanity mental health social critique

Mood

empathetic somber

Type

reflective critical

When to use this quote

- homelessness
- mental health crisis
- criminal justice reform
- public policy

Key Concepts

systemic failure dehumanization

Questions to Reflect On

- What responsibilities do societies have to the marginalized?
- How can we address systemic failures?

A Different Perspective

Harsh labels ignore deeper systemic issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Jurors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jurors/)

## Related quotes

> [The masses-I love em-they rush for red lights, risking everything to capture a few seconds, only to get home and waste their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/the-masses-i-love-em-they-rush-for-red-lights-risking-everything-to/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [Currently, we're finding that about 75 percent of potential jurors have anger or deep-seated hatred toward anyone associated with Enron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ramsey/currently-we-re-finding-that-about-75-percent-of-potential-jurors/)

[Michael Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ramsey/)

> [Black jurors sit on juries every day and convict black people every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-cochran/black-jurors-sit-on-juries-every-day-and-convict-black-people-every/)

[Johnnie Cochran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-cochran/)

> [Jurors realize that instead of having to make that terrible decision (voting for the death penalty), they can vote to put someone in prison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-falcon-scott/jurors-realize-that-instead-of-having-to-make-that-terrible-decision/)

[Robert Falcon Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-falcon-scott/)

> [One point is certain, that truth is one and immutable; until the jurors all agree, they cannot all be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/one-point-is-certain-that-truth-is-one-and-immutable-until-the-jurors/)

[Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/)

> [Jurors want courtroom lawyers to have some compassion and be nice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-cochran/jurors-want-courtroom-lawyers-to-have-some-compassion-and-be-nice/)

[Johnnie Cochran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-cochran/)

> [Evidence of defendants' lavish lifestyles is often used to provide a motive for fraud. Jurors sometimes wonder why an executive making tens of millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/evidence-of-defendants-lavish-lifestyles-is-often-used-to-provide-a/)

[Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/)

> [ \[N\]o American should retreat an inch on the right of jurors to acquit if they perceive the law or its administration to be unjust. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-reese/n-o-american-should-retreat-an-inch-on-the-right-of-jurors-to-acquit/)

[Charley Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-reese/)

> [I am not in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-not-in-favor-of-making-voters-or-jurors-of-negroes-nor-of/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [The humorist who invented trial by jury played a colossal practical joke upon the world, but since we have the system we ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-humorist-who-invented-trial-by-jury-played-a-colossal-practical/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Physicians ought not to give their judgment of religion, for the same reason that butchers are not admitted to be jurors upon life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/physicians-ought-not-to-give-their-judgment-of-religion-for-the-same/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [“The compensation question was where they had to deliberate the most. “Probably took three or four hours to just settle on a number,” Tom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-loudenberg/the-compensation-question-was-where-they-had-to-deliberate-the-most/)

Kelly Loudenberg

> [Jurors should acquit, even against the judge's instruction . . . if exercising their judgment with discretion and honesty they have a clear conviction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/jurors-should-acquit-even-against-the-judge-s-instruction-if/)

[Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/)

> [To vest a few fallible men — prosecutors, judges, jurors — with vast powers of literary or artistic censorship, to convert them into what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-frank/to-vest-a-few-fallible-men-prosecutors-judges-jurors-with-vast-powers/)

[Jerome Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-frank/)

> [Global warming ... may be a plaintiff lawyer's dream. And it's interesting, in a perverse way, to imagine how a jury in 2050 might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ignatius/global-warming-may-be-a-plaintiff-lawyer-s-dream-and-it-s-interesting/)

[David Ignatius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ignatius/)

## More by Arthur Nersesian

> [When I was in my teens, I made an appraisal of how comfortable my life could turn out when I became the age I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-made-an-appraisal-of-how-comfortable-my-life/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [Is it so wrong to just live life and enjoy it? Between fun and function, why must we choose the latter?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/is-it-so-wrong-to-just-live-life-and-enjoy-it-between-fun-and/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [“I had grazed along the surface of her actions and made deep judgments. Rejecting someone because you couldn't understand their love, that was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/i-had-grazed-along-the-surface-of-her-actions-and-made-deep-judgments/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [Stressful jobs, loveless marriages, bad food-most people kill themselves slowly every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/stressful-jobs-loveless-marriages-bad-food-most-people-kill/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [“My last chance had vanished into itself like a snail coiling up into his shell. Insidiously I had lost my grip, and now this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/my-last-chance-had-vanished-into-itself-like-a-snail-coiling-up-into/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [Perhaps the price of comfort is that life passes more rapidly. But for anyone who has lived in uneasiness, even for a short, memorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/perhaps-the-price-of-comfort-is-that-life-passes-more-rapidly-but-for/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [“Nowadays the standards had plummeted so far that I failed even at being a failure. I silently packed up. Nothing else was left. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/nowadays-the-standards-had-plummeted-so-far-that-i-failed-even-at/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [“In Brooklyn I am content, the closest we can come to a sustained happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/in-brooklyn-i-am-content-the-closest-we-can-come-to-a-sustained/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [Although I didn't write myself off as a complete failure, all illusion and romance was gone. I was no longer able to inflate myself;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/although-i-didn-t-write-myself-off-as-a-complete-failure-all-illusion/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [If I want to build wealth to transfer to the next generation, I can let it grow on a tax-free basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/if-i-want-to-build-wealth-to-transfer-to-the-next-generation-i-can/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [I lay in bed and watched moments break into phenomenal particles of panic and could actually see the divine crack of God’s ass as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/i-lay-in-bed-and-watched-moments-break-into-phenomenal-particles-of/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [The masses-I love em-they rush for red lights, risking everything to capture a few seconds, only to get home and waste their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/the-masses-i-love-em-they-rush-for-red-lights-risking-everything-to/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [As the components of your life are stripped away, after all the ambitions and hopes vaporize, you reach a self-reflective starkness-- the repetitious plucking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/as-the-components-of-your-life-are-stripped-away-after-all-the/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

> [“Finally life becomes a very specific thing--and that's what we are. Ultimately, looking back, I'm beginning to believe that we need to always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/finally-life-becomes-a-very-specific-thing-and-that-s-what-we-are/)

[Arthur Nersesian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

[Explore all 15 Arthur Nersesian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/)

## More Jurors quotes

> [Global warming ... may be a plaintiff lawyer's dream. And it's interesting, in a perverse way, to imagine how a jury in 2050 might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ignatius/global-warming-may-be-a-plaintiff-lawyer-s-dream-and-it-s-interesting/)

[David Ignatius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ignatius/)

> [To vest a few fallible men — prosecutors, judges, jurors — with vast powers of literary or artistic censorship, to convert them into what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-frank/to-vest-a-few-fallible-men-prosecutors-judges-jurors-with-vast-powers/)

[Jerome Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-frank/)

> [Jurors should acquit, even against the judge's instruction . . . if exercising their judgment with discretion and honesty they have a clear conviction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/jurors-should-acquit-even-against-the-judge-s-instruction-if/)

[Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/)

> [“The compensation question was where they had to deliberate the most. “Probably took three or four hours to just settle on a number,” Tom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-loudenberg/the-compensation-question-was-where-they-had-to-deliberate-the-most/)

Kelly Loudenberg

> [Physicians ought not to give their judgment of religion, for the same reason that butchers are not admitted to be jurors upon life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/physicians-ought-not-to-give-their-judgment-of-religion-for-the-same/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [The humorist who invented trial by jury played a colossal practical joke upon the world, but since we have the system we ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-humorist-who-invented-trial-by-jury-played-a-colossal-practical/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [I am not in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-not-in-favor-of-making-voters-or-jurors-of-negroes-nor-of/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [ \[N\]o American should retreat an inch on the right of jurors to acquit if they perceive the law or its administration to be unjust. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-reese/n-o-american-should-retreat-an-inch-on-the-right-of-jurors-to-acquit/)

[Charley Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-reese/)

> [Evidence of defendants' lavish lifestyles is often used to provide a motive for fraud. Jurors sometimes wonder why an executive making tens of millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/evidence-of-defendants-lavish-lifestyles-is-often-used-to-provide-a/)

[Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/)

> [Jurors want courtroom lawyers to have some compassion and be nice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-cochran/jurors-want-courtroom-lawyers-to-have-some-compassion-and-be-nice/)

[Johnnie Cochran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-cochran/)

> [One point is certain, that truth is one and immutable; until the jurors all agree, they cannot all be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/one-point-is-certain-that-truth-is-one-and-immutable-until-the-jurors/)

[Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/)

> [Jurors realize that instead of having to make that terrible decision (voting for the death penalty), they can vote to put someone in prison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-falcon-scott/jurors-realize-that-instead-of-having-to-make-that-terrible-decision/)

[Robert Falcon Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-falcon-scott/)

> [Black jurors sit on juries every day and convict black people every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-cochran/black-jurors-sit-on-juries-every-day-and-convict-black-people-every/)

[Johnnie Cochran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-cochran/)

> [Currently, we're finding that about 75 percent of potential jurors have anger or deep-seated hatred toward anyone associated with Enron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ramsey/currently-we-re-finding-that-about-75-percent-of-potential-jurors/)

[Michael Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ramsey/)

> [It would be an absurdity for jurors to be required to accept the judge's view of the law, against their own opinion, judgment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/it-would-be-an-absurdity-for-jurors-to-be-required-to-accept-the/)

[John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/)

[Browse all 45 Jurors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jurors/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Some of the more industrious ones were washing the windshields of cars that had been trapped by the red light. I used to see them from inside cars and think they brought it on themselves, and they probably did but now it didn't make a difference. I went over to the fire and warmed my hands with the group. I looked at their faces: idiots, criminals, retards, schizophrenics, paranoids, rejects, fuck-ups, broken-down failures. Alone, once children, never asked to be put on this earth, they ended up as jurors. Their lives were the verdict: the system, the man, something had failed.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Arthur Nersesian"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-washing-the-windshields-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Jurors"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-washing-the-windshields-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/arthur-nersesian-32531_jurors_some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-w_2522631.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/arthur-nersesian-32531_jurors_some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-w_2522631.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/arthur-nersesian-32531_jurors_some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-w_2522631.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Some of the more industrious ones were washing the windshields of cars that had been trapped by the red…” — Arthur Nersesian",
                "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": "Arthur Nersesian",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-nersesian/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Some of the more industrious ones...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-washing-the-windshields-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-nersesian/some-of-the-more-industrious-ones-were-washing-the-windshields-of/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```