--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I suffer from a genetic flaw, which is…" description: "\"I suffer from a genetic flaw, which is that my mother was a hopeless Pollyanna.\" — Bill Ayers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/bill-ayers-1848_flaws_i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-th_1405850.png" --- # I suffer from a genetic flaw, which is that my mother was… ![“I suffer from a genetic flaw, which is that my mother was a hopeless Pollyanna.” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/bill-ayers-1848_flaws_i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-th_1405850.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/bill-ayers-1848_flaws_i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-th_1405850.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/bill-ayers-1848_flaws_i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-th_1405850.png) > “I suffer from a genetic flaw, which is that my mother was a hopeless Pollyanna.” [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## 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 blames his mother’s relentless optimism for his own genetic flaw, humorously attributing personal issues to inherited optimism. **In simple terms:** He jokes that his mother’s optimism caused his problems. Key Takeaway Beware of uncritical optimism. Themes family genetics optimism humor Mood ironic reflective Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - personal narrative - social commentary - family dynamics Key Concepts psychology inheritance critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does family optimism affect your worldview? - When is optimism harmful? A Different Perspective Optimism can blind to real problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flaw Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaw-mother-4940219/) [Flaws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/) [Genetic Flaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genetic-flaw-4940220/) [Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless/) [Hopeless Pollyanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless-pollyanna-3186149/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-hopeless-2879533/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Pollyanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pollyanna/) [Suffer Genetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer-genetic-1471753/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [I'm an optimist in my heart - I'm a hopeless pollyanna just like my mother - but a pessimist in my head. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-m-an-optimist-in-my-heart-i-m-a-hopeless-pollyanna-just-like-my/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Basically, I suffer from a genetic condition that causes my corneas to tear all the time. If it's happened to you even once, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-bream/basically-i-suffer-from-a-genetic-condition-that-causes-my-corneas-to/) [Shannon Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-bream/) > [Homosexuality is a genetic flaw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/homosexuality-is-a-genetic-flaw/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) > [“Mary adored her mother with a hopeless affection, like an unrequited crush. She understood this feeling was common in middle children, as Mary was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/mary-adored-her-mother-with-a-hopeless-affection-like-an-unrequited/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“Mother, you are hopeless." "Certainly not. Shameless, perhaps, but never hopeless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/mother-you-are-hopeless-certainly-not-shameless-perhaps-but-never/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [I'm a hopeless mother; a hopeless wife; I have to try harder. I'm just a pathetic case history, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-fahey/i-m-a-hopeless-mother-a-hopeless-wife-i-have-to-try-harder-i-m-just-a/) [Siobhan Fahey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-fahey/) > [“If I’d found out that Norman Mailer liked me, I’d have killed myself. I think he was too hung up. I’m glad Kurt Vonnegut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/if-i-d-found-out-that-norman-mailer-liked-me-i-d-have-killed-myself-i/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Be a balanced optimist. Nobody is suggesting that you become an oblivious Pollyanna, pretending that nothing bad can or ever will happen. Doing so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/be-a-balanced-optimist-nobody-is-suggesting-that-you-become-an/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Whenever someone calls me a Pollyanna, I consider it to be the highest of compliments. This courageous girl finds a community that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-tye/whenever-someone-calls-me-a-pollyanna-i-consider-it-to-be-the-highest/) [Joe Tye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-tye/) > [My family absolutely comes first, and I don't mean that in a Pollyanna way. It's the focus of my life because it's what makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-pollan/my-family-absolutely-comes-first-and-i-don-t-mean-that-in-a-pollyanna/) [Tracy Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-pollan/) > [Anyone who looks for life can find it... and they don't need to photograph ashcans. The average camera fan reminds me of Pollyanna, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weegee/anyone-who-looks-for-life-can-find-it-and-they-don-t-need-to/) [Weegee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weegee/) > [I prefer to see myself as the Janus, the two-faced god who is half Pollyanna and half Cassandra, warning of the future and perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-prefer-to-see-myself-as-the-janus-the-two-faced-god-who-is-half/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [In all probability the Human Genome Project will, someday, find that I carry some recessive gene for optimism, because despite all my best efforts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/in-all-probability-the-human-genome-project-will-someday-find-that-i/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [To affirm a person is to see the good in them that they cannot see in themselves and to repeat it in spite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/to-affirm-a-person-is-to-see-the-good-in-them-that-they-cannot-see-in/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [I hate the pollyanna pest who says that all is for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-p-adams/i-hate-the-pollyanna-pest-who-says-that-all-is-for-the-best/) [Franklin P. Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-p-adams/) ## More by Bill Ayers > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I didn't respond to people thrusting microphones at me and asking me questions that were unanswerable in a sound bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-didn-t-respond-to-people-thrusting-microphones-at-me-and-asking-me/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I haven't been silent. I teach, I lecture at universities, I write, I'm not silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-haven-t-been-silent-i-teach-i-lecture-at-universities-i-write-i-m/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'm wary of government. Part of \[the Tea Party\] impulse is to dislike and be worried about the rich. I'm that way too. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-m-wary-of-government-part-of-the-tea-party-impulse-is-to-dislike/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'd been arrested many times by then. I'd been an organizer, so many things had changed over those three years \[from 1965 till 1968\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-d-been-arrested-many-times-by-then-i-d-been-an-organizer-so-many/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You cannot live a political life, you cannot live a moral life if you're not willing to open your eyes and see the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/you-cannot-live-a-political-life-you-cannot-live-a-moral-life-if-you/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-that-point-i-wanted-to-end-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-fact-is-that-in-my-prep-school-i-went-to-a-boarding-school-39/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[The whole first year at university\] was a great time for me and great time of awakening. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-whole-first-year-at-university-was-a-great-time-for-me-and-great/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The truth is that the antiwar movement was powered by the working class. The students were the ones that got the media and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-truth-is-that-the-antiwar-movement-was-powered-by-the-working/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [There was one moment when J. Edgar Hoover and us had the same distorted lens about who we were - "a real threat," you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/there-was-one-moment-when-j-edgar-hoover-and-us-had-the-same/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Every politician - FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama - they're all conservative by nature. They are part of the big thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/every-politician-fdr-lyndon-johnson-abraham-lincoln-barack-obama-they/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) [Explore all 204 Bill Ayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More Flaws quotes > [I'm perfectly flawed... I've got tons of flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-m-perfectly-flawed-i-ve-got-tons-of-flaws/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [The queen of virtues is the recognition of one's own flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/the-queen-of-virtues-is-the-recognition-of-one-s-own-flaws/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I almost always mess up. I fall too easily in love. I cry over boys. I'm not the prettiest girl you can find. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-almost-always-mess-up-i-fall-too-easily-in-love-i-cry-over-boys-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [Louisville is a place with no labels. It’s not the South, it’s not Chicago, and you don’t think of it as you think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-james/louisville-is-a-place-with-no-labels-it-s-not-the-south-it-s-not/) [Jim James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-james/) > [..in that moment i realize how much i love the little everyday routines of my life..the details that are my life's special pattern, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/in-that-moment-i-realize-how-much-i-love-the-little-everyday-routines/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Heroes became heroes flaws and all gives us hope. "You mean I don't have to be perfect to fulfill my Dream, to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/heroes-became-heroes-flaws-and-all-gives-us-hope-you-mean-i-don-t/) [Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/) > [“Perfection was a myth. Beauty was in the flaws." - Tommas de Rossi “Chicago War: The Complete Series”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-kris/perfection-was-a-myth-beauty-was-in-the-flaws-tommas-de-rossi-chicago/) [Bethany-Kris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-kris/) > [Liberalism's fatal flaw,... is that it has no permanent norms, only a succession of enthusiasms espoused by minor prophets. Each of these seems like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberalism-s-fatal-flaw-is-that-it-has-no-permanent-norms-only-a/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Pure essence, and pure matter, and the two joined into one were shot forth without flaw, like three bright arrows from a three-string bow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/pure-essence-and-pure-matter-and-the-two-joined-into-one-were-shot/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I'm attracted to playing characters that have flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-shahi/i-m-attracted-to-playing-characters-that-have-flaws/) [Sarah Shahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-shahi/) > [Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/certain-flaws-are-necessary-for-the-whole-it-would-seem-strange-if/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Rich men are resolved to be astonished at nothing. When they see a masterpiece, they must needs at one glance recognize some flaw to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/rich-men-are-resolved-to-be-astonished-at-nothing-when-they-see-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) [Browse all 1,403 Flaws quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I suffer from a genetic flaw, which is that my mother was a hopeless Pollyanna.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Ayers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-that-my-mother-was-a-hopeless/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flaws" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-that-my-mother-was-a-hopeless/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/bill-ayers-1848_flaws_i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-th_1405850.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/bill-ayers-1848_flaws_i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-th_1405850.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/bill-ayers-1848_flaws_i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-th_1405850.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I suffer from a genetic flaw, which is that my mother was a hopeless Pollyanna.” — Bill Ayers", "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": "Bill Ayers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I suffer from a genetic flaw,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-that-my-mother-was-a-hopeless/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-suffer-from-a-genetic-flaw-which-is-that-my-mother-was-a-hopeless/#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 } } ] } ```