--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot shut you out the way I shut the…" description: "\"I cannot shut you out the way I shut the others out, so maybe I can destroy you. Must destroy you?\" — Audre Lorde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/audre-lorde-758_way_i-cannot-shut-you-out-the-way-i-shut-the_1111757.jpg" --- # I cannot shut you out the way I shut the others out, so… ![“I cannot shut you out the way I shut the others out, so maybe I can destroy you. Must destroy you?” quote by Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/audre-lorde-758_way_i-cannot-shut-you-out-the-way-i-shut-the_1111757.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/audre-lorde-758_way_i-cannot-shut-you-out-the-way-i-shut-the_1111757.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/audre-lorde-758_way_i-cannot-shut-you-out-the-way-i-shut-the_1111757.jpg) > “I cannot shut you out the way I shut the others out, so maybe I can destroy you. Must destroy you?” [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker cannot block the addressed person as they do others, hinting at a destructive response. **In simple terms:** Cannot block someone, may turn to destruction. Key Takeaway Consider restraint over retaliation. Themes power relationships conflict Mood tense reflective Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - personal relationships - family dynamics - activism - mental health Key Concepts identity emotional response boundaries Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives exist to destructive impulses? - How does power affect personal boundaries? A Different Perspective Destruction may cause further harm and not resolve underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Maybe nobody has a right to tell anybody to shut up. 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Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tui-t-sutherland/) > [Anything we destroy in ourselves we destroy in others. Our falls lower others and throw them down; we owe it to our fellows to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/anything-we-destroy-in-ourselves-we-destroy-in-others-our-falls-lower/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [“You can only destroy something that I have but you can't destroy something that I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gk-dutta/you-can-only-destroy-something-that-i-have-but-you-can-t-destroy/) [GK Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gk-dutta/) > [Destroy what destroy you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/choupiz/destroy-what-destroy-you/) ChOupiz > [What I love I destroy. What I destroy, I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-i-love-i-destroy-what-i-destroy-i-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To love is to destroy, to destroy is to love. -Jace Herondale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/to-love-is-to-destroy-to-destroy-is-to-love-jace-herondale/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [If we destroy something around us we destroy ourselves. If we cheat another, we cheat ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/if-we-destroy-something-around-us-we-destroy-ourselves-if-we-cheat/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Physical evils destroy themselves, or they destroy us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/physical-evils-destroy-themselves-or-they-destroy-us/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [You cannot destroy me. I destroy me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhiess-krieg/you-cannot-destroy-me-i-destroy-me/) [Jhiess Krieg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhiess-krieg/) > [We do not know which irresponsible Israeli prime minister will take office and decide to use nuclear weapons in the struggle against neighboring Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordechai-vanunu/we-do-not-know-which-irresponsible-israeli-prime-minister-will-take/) [Mordechai Vanunu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordechai-vanunu/) > [We shall fight against them, throw them in prisons and destroy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/we-shall-fight-against-them-throw-them-in-prisons-and-destroy-them/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [“That would be just like me-ruin everything, destroy the world, in a moment of klutziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/that-would-be-just-like-me-ruin-everything-destroy-the-world-in-a/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) ## More by Audre Lorde > [Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me-so different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/every-woman-i-have-ever-loved-has-left-her-print-upon-me-where-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [There are many kinds of open. . . Love is a word, another kind of open. . . Take my word for jewel in your open light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-are-many-kinds-of-open-love-is-a-word-another-kind-of-open-take/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Your silence will not protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-can-t-really-define-it-in-sexual-terms-alone-although-our-sexuality/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-once-we-begin-to-feel-deeply-all-the-aspects-of-our-lives-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [the fear of death is that you are dying too soon. Nobody wants to, but at the point that you die you can pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-of-death-is-that-you-are-dying-too-soon-nobody-wants-to-but/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-are-the-words-you-do-not-yet-have-what-do-you-need-to-say-what/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-only-dream-and-vision-it-is-the-skeleton-architecture/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I think that in America there are certain kinds of problems and in Russia there are certain kinds of problems, but basically, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-think-that-in-america-there-are-certain-kinds-of-problems-and-in/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Institutionalized rejection of differences is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people. 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Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/how-a-diamond-comes-into-a-knot-of-flame-how-a-sound-comes-into-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Explore all 377 Audre Lorde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## More Destroy quotes > [“That would be just like me-ruin everything, destroy the world, in a moment of klutziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/that-would-be-just-like-me-ruin-everything-destroy-the-world-in-a/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [We shall fight against them, throw them in prisons and destroy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/we-shall-fight-against-them-throw-them-in-prisons-and-destroy-them/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [We do not know which irresponsible Israeli prime minister will take office and decide to use nuclear weapons in the struggle against neighboring Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordechai-vanunu/we-do-not-know-which-irresponsible-israeli-prime-minister-will-take/) [Mordechai Vanunu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordechai-vanunu/) > [How could you justify giving Holland twice the amount of money that you gave Belgium? Well, finally, I put it up to them. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-averell-harriman/how-could-you-justify-giving-holland-twice-the-amount-of-money-that/) [W. Averell Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-averell-harriman/) > [“He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/he-who-can-destroy-a-thing-has-the-real-control-of-it/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Destroy gossip by ignoring it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariane-corbito/destroy-gossip-by-ignoring-it/) [Mariane Corbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariane-corbito/) > [When I became successful, I put up a caution. 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Don't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-noelle-long/put-that-thing-down-girl-don-t-you-know-it-steals-part-of-your-soul/) [Shannon Noelle Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-noelle-long/) > [In a democracy, the one thing that cannot be done is to destroy its trust, its hope, its idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-heinz/in-a-democracy-the-one-thing-that-cannot-be-done-is-to-destroy-its/) [Teresa Heinz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-heinz/) > [Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-a-reminder-if-you-tell-anyone-about-what-happened-with-jonah/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [We will not waste 30 years of our lives dealing with extremist ideas; we will destroy them today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-bin-salman/we-will-not-waste-30-years-of-our-lives-dealing-with-extremist-ideas/) [Mohammad bin Salman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-bin-salman/) > [We will defend ourselves, and we have full rights to do so. If the authorities try to destroy us, we have the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-udaltsov/we-will-defend-ourselves-and-we-have-full-rights-to-do-so-if-the/) Sergei Udaltsov > [You destroy my life then feed me inspirational philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/you-destroy-my-life-then-feed-me-inspirational-philosophy/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [There are seven things that will destroy us, Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Religion without sacrifice, Politics without principle, Science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coldheart/there-are-seven-things-that-will-destroy-us-wealth-without-work/) [Coldheart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coldheart/) Browse all 1,229 Destroy quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I cannot shut you out the way I shut the others out, so maybe I can destroy you. 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