--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never seen a situation so dismal…" description: "\"I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn't make it worse.\" — Brendan Behan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/brendan-behan-8832_dismal_i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal_1261116.png" --- # I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman… ![“I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn't make it worse.” quote by Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/brendan-behan-8832_dismal_i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal_1261116.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/brendan-behan-8832_dismal_i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal_1261116.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/brendan-behan-8832_dismal_i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal_1261116.png) > “I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn't make it worse.” [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even the worst situations can be worsened by authority figures. **In simple terms:** Authorities can make things worse. Key Takeaway Question power and its impact. Themes politics authority human folly Mood cynical critical Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - public policy - community meetings - legal reforms Key Concepts bureaucracy corruption social critique Questions to Reflect On - When have you seen power improve a situation? - What checks prevent abuse? A Different Perspective Not all authority is harmful; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police/) ## Related quotes > [There is no human situation so miserable that it cannot be made worse by the presence of a policeman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/there-is-no-human-situation-so-miserable-that-it-cannot-be-made-worse/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [The policeman on the beat or in the patrol car makes more decisions and exercises broader discretion affecting the daily lives of people every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-e-burger/the-policeman-on-the-beat-or-in-the-patrol-car-makes-more-decisions/) [Warren E. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/) > [In keeping people straight, principle is not as powerful as a policeman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-hermant/in-keeping-people-straight-principle-is-not-as-powerful-as-a-policeman/) Abel Hermant > [“He firmly pulled her body against his and he brushed her lips with his. Staring into her eyes, he lightly slid his tongue across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laney-smith/he-firmly-pulled-her-body-against-his-and-he-brushed-her-lips-with/) Laney Smith > [One policeman may be a friend, but two are the Law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-allingham/one-policeman-may-be-a-friend-but-two-are-the-law/) [Margery Allingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-allingham/) > [I have never paid a policeman myself. I have never sanctioned, knowingly sanctioned, a payment to a police officer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebekah-brooks/i-have-never-paid-a-policeman-myself-i-have-never-sanctioned/) [Rebekah Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebekah-brooks/) > [I know the police cause you trouble They cause trouble everywhere But when you die and go to heaven You find no policeman there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-guthrie/i-know-the-police-cause-you-trouble-they-cause-trouble-everywhere-but/) [Woody Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-guthrie/) > [“Sometimes a policeman must confront people about lying. No one likes to be called a liar. But it is what it is! A fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-a-policeman-must-confront-people-about-lying-no-one-likes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy, and a gentleman. And, of course, he'd have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/the-policeman-must-be-a-minister-a-social-worker-a-diplomat-a-tough/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) > [“Police not enforcing laws results in a high crime rate that is formally reported as a low crime rate in police statistics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/police-not-enforcing-laws-results-in-a-high-crime-rate-that-is/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Truly environmentalism has displaced economics as the dismal science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-f-hayward/truly-environmentalism-has-displaced-economics-as-the-dismal-science/) [Steven F. Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-f-hayward/) > [The fact is that the New Deal was, overall, a dismal failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-levin/the-fact-is-that-the-new-deal-was-overall-a-dismal-failure/) [Mark Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-levin/) > [A part of me looks at life from a dismal perspective, not unlike Woody Allen and Larry David. But I don't want to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/a-part-of-me-looks-at-life-from-a-dismal-perspective-not-unlike-woody/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [“A dismal omen: ...this morning a woman handed me a dollar bill that was translucent from age, as soft and warm as living tissue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-maher/a-dismal-omen-this-morning-a-woman-handed-me-a-dollar-bill-that-was/) Kathleen Maher ## More by Brendan Behan > [Many a man has decided to stay alive not because of the will to live but because of the determination not to give assorted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/many-a-man-has-decided-to-stay-alive-not-because-of-the-will-to-live/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Pound notes are the best religion in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/pound-notes-are-the-best-religion-in-the-world/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [“It's a queer world, God knows, but the best we have to be going on with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/it-s-a-queer-world-god-knows-but-the-best-we-have-to-be-going-on-with/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [There is no human situation so miserable that it cannot be made worse by the presence of a policeman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/there-is-no-human-situation-so-miserable-that-it-cannot-be-made-worse/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-have-a-total-irreverence-for-anything-connected-with-society-except/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [I ruined my health drinking to other people's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-ruined-my-health-drinking-to-other-people-s/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [“I respect kindness in human beings first of all, and kindness to animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-respect-kindness-in-human-beings-first-of-all-and-kindness-to/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Other people have a nationality. The Irish and the Jews have a psychosis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/other-people-have-a-nationality-the-irish-and-the-jews-have-a/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/there-is-no-such-thing-as-bad-publicity-except-your-own-obituary/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [There's no bad publicity except an obituary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/there-s-no-bad-publicity-except-an-obituary/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [The big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money usually costs a lot less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/the-big-difference-between-sex-for-money-and-sex-for-free-is-that-sex/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [I saw a notice which said, 'Drink Canada Dry' and I've just started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-saw-a-notice-which-said-drink-canada-dry-and-i-ve-just-started/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [All publicity is good, except an obituary notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/all-publicity-is-good-except-an-obituary-notice/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Whatever you hold in contempt is your jailer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/whatever-you-hold-in-contempt-is-your-jailer/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Message? What the hell do you think I am, a bloody postman?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/message-what-the-hell-do-you-think-i-am-a-bloody-postman/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) [Explore all 77 Brendan Behan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) ## More Dismal quotes > [Truly environmentalism has displaced economics as the dismal science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-f-hayward/truly-environmentalism-has-displaced-economics-as-the-dismal-science/) [Steven F. Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-f-hayward/) > [The fact is that the New Deal was, overall, a dismal failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-levin/the-fact-is-that-the-new-deal-was-overall-a-dismal-failure/) [Mark Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-levin/) > [A part of me looks at life from a dismal perspective, not unlike Woody Allen and Larry David. But I don't want to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/a-part-of-me-looks-at-life-from-a-dismal-perspective-not-unlike-woody/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [“A dismal omen: ...this morning a woman handed me a dollar bill that was translucent from age, as soft and warm as living tissue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-maher/a-dismal-omen-this-morning-a-woman-handed-me-a-dollar-bill-that-was/) Kathleen Maher > [We certainly have at present the dismal situation that the most imaginative men are directed by a group, the top managers, who are among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/we-certainly-have-at-present-the-dismal-situation-that-the-most/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Easter is not limited to the passion and death of Christ; it also includes the dismal tragedy of life unlived by the many, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/easter-is-not-limited-to-the-passion-and-death-of-christ-it-also/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [I believe the poor fierce-eyed child had figured out that with a mere fifty dollars in her purse she might somehow reach Broadway or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-believe-the-poor-fierce-eyed-child-had-figured-out-that-with-a-mere/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“What, in nature," Kit asked, "is the most beautiful thing you've seen? Or the most terrible?" "The Dismals," Giles answered promptly. "A beautiful aberration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sena-jeter-naslund/what-in-nature-kit-asked-is-the-most-beautiful-thing-you-ve-seen-or/) [Sena Jeter Naslund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sena-jeter-naslund/) > [I don't want to go out hunting for dismal topics to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-tobin-anderson/i-don-t-want-to-go-out-hunting-for-dismal-topics-to-write-about/) [Matthew Tobin Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-tobin-anderson/) > [When things are really dismal, you can laugh, or you can cave in completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-things-are-really-dismal-you-can-laugh-or-you-can-cave-in/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [If I were only allowed to read or enjoy art or listen to music made by people whose opinions and beliefs were the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/if-i-were-only-allowed-to-read-or-enjoy-art-or-listen-to-music-made/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I am wrapped in dismal thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-am-wrapped-in-dismal-thinking/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Mike DeWine has been a dismal failure as Ohio's top cop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cordray/mike-dewine-has-been-a-dismal-failure-as-ohio-s-top-cop/) [Richard Cordray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cordray/) > [“Economics is not a gay science. It is a dreary, desolate, and indeed quite abject and distressing one; what we might call, by way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/economics-is-not-a-gay-science-it-is-a-dreary-desolate-and-indeed/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“It was 9pm, the fag end of another dismal day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-lewis/it-was-9pm-the-fag-end-of-another-dismal-day/) Steve Lewis Browse all 42 Dismal quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn't make it worse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brendan Behan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal-that-a-policeman-couldn-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dismal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal-that-a-policeman-couldn-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/brendan-behan-8832_dismal_i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal_1261116.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/brendan-behan-8832_dismal_i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal_1261116.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b9/brendan-behan-8832_dismal_i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal_1261116.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn't make it worse.” — Brendan Behan", "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": "Brendan Behan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have never seen a situation...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal-that-a-policeman-couldn-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-have-never-seen-a-situation-so-dismal-that-a-policeman-couldn-t/#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 } } ] } ```