Blood-diamonds Quote by Bill Maher
““A diamond may be forever, but terrorism, promiscuously funded, will be too. Let's make the connection clearly by tracing the path of the diamond. Diamonds start out in the earth, and eventually that earth is part of a country, like Sierra Leone, Angola, or the Democratic Republic of Congo. In those countries, desperate battles for control have been going on for decades, and the armies that fight the battles finance their ambitions with diamonds. Villagers are forced to mine the diamonds by ruthless rebels who maintain order through terror: by raping women and hacking off the limbs of the children, something, by the way, you never see in the De Beers ads. The rebels then smuggle the diamonds into neighboring dictatorships in exchange for guns and cash. There the diamonds are sold to the highest bidder--whether they be terrorists or "legitimate" dealers--and finally they're laundered in Europe, shipped to America, and end up in jewelry stores where they're purchased by men and given to women in exchange for oral sex. In the feminized world we live in, it's practically national policy that women are more evolved that men--but if that's so, how come they're still so impressed by shiny objects?””
About This Quote
Source Speech: The Tonight Show with Bill Maher, 2005
The quote links the diamond trade to funding terrorism and gender dynamics, exposing how luxury goods can mask violent exploitation and societal contradictions.
In simple terms: Diamonds fund conflict and reveal gender biases.
Recognize hidden costs of luxury.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- journalism
- policy analysis
- consumer education
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we trace ethical sourcing?
- What role does gender perception play in consumption?
Awareness campaigns can be limited by entrenched interests.