--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do not abandon ship. I say, as corny…" description: "\"We do not abandon ship. I say, as corny as it may sound, through the strength and spirit and fire and dare and gamble of a few men in a few ways we can..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/charles-bukowski-73_abandon_we-do-not-abandon-ship-i-say-as-corny-as_2856074.jpg" --- # We do not abandon ship. I say, as corny as it may sound… ![“We do not abandon ship. I say, as corny as it may sound, through the strength and spirit and fire and dare and gamble of a few men in a few ways we can save the carcass of humanity from drowning. No light goes out until it goes out. Let's fight as men, not rats. Period. No further addition.” quote by Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/charles-bukowski-73_abandon_we-do-not-abandon-ship-i-say-as-corny-as_2856074.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/charles-bukowski-73_abandon_we-do-not-abandon-ship-i-say-as-corny-as_2856074.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60c/charles-bukowski-73_abandon_we-do-not-abandon-ship-i-say-as-corny-as_2856074.jpg) > “We do not abandon ship. I say, as corny as it may sound, through the strength and spirit and fire and dare and gamble of a few men in a few ways we can save the carcass of humanity from drowning. No light goes out until it goes out. Let's fight as men, not rats. Period. No further addition.” [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity can be rescued by courageous, daring individuals; hope persists until extinguished. **In simple terms:** Bold actions can save humanity; hope endures. Key Takeaway Act bravely to protect others. Themes heroism humanity hope Mood determined urgent Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - disaster response - activism - community building - leadership - emergency aid Key Concepts ethics social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What risks are you willing to take for others? A Different Perspective Not all can be saved; resources limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon/) [Abandon Ship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon-ship-669436/) [Corny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corny/) [Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dare/) [Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning/) [Fight Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-men-1598398/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Gamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gamble/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-drowning-3826908/) [Let Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-fight/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Periods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periods/) [Rats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rats/) [Ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Abandon ship. Fend for yourself. Youve got that sinking feeling and nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-swellers/abandon-ship-fend-for-yourself-youve-got-that-sinking-feeling-and/) [The Swellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-swellers/) > [“Fight on my men,"says Sir Andrew Barton, I am hurt,but I am not slain; I'll lay me down and bleed a-while, And then I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-moore/fight-on-my-men-says-sir-andrew-barton-i-am-hurt-but-i-am-not-slain-i/) [Thomas Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-moore/) > [You wouldn't abandon ship in a storm just because you couldn't control the winds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/you-wouldn-t-abandon-ship-in-a-storm-just-because-you-couldn-t/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [I do not fight against men, but against the system that is sexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elfriede-jelinek/i-do-not-fight-against-men-but-against-the-system-that-is-sexist/) [Elfriede Jelinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elfriede-jelinek/) > [“Do not abandon ship: Some countries of the world are like people fighting on a large boat. In the middle of their battle over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-a-barnes/do-not-abandon-ship-some-countries-of-the-world-are-like-people/) [Julie A. Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-a-barnes/) > [“. . . in a fight between two men, their wives were not allowed to step in and grab the testicles of the opponent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-bertsch/in-a-fight-between-two-men-their-wives-were-not-allowed-to-step-in/) [Wendy Bertsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-bertsch/) > [Knowing how to fight made men more bold, because no one fears doing what it seems to him he has learned to do. Therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/knowing-how-to-fight-made-men-more-bold-because-no-one-fears-doing/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [God's people should plan for a voyage of a thousand years, but be prepared to abandon ship tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bayly/god-s-people-should-plan-for-a-voyage-of-a-thousand-years-but-be/) [Joseph Bayly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bayly/) > [A ship is designed to take you place.If your frienship,companionship,relationship isn't taking you anywhere maybe it's time to abandon ship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-ship-is-designed-to-take-you-place-if-your-frienship-companionship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've seen men and women who were fit for combat that I wanted to fight beside, and men and women who I really wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mj-hegar/i-ve-seen-men-and-women-who-were-fit-for-combat-that-i-wanted-to/) [MJ Hegar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mj-hegar/) > [I think kids abandon stories all the time. They start stories and get frustrated or get a different, better idea. I think that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carson-levine/i-think-kids-abandon-stories-all-the-time-they-start-stories-and-get/) [Gail Carson Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carson-levine/) > [“I am glad," he said, "that I do not dwell in your country among such savage peoples. Here, in Caspak, men fight with men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/i-am-glad-he-said-that-i-do-not-dwell-in-your-country-among-such/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“when there are no battles to fight, men start to think about hearth and harvest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/when-there-are-no-battles-to-fight-men-start-to-think-about-hearth/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [A ship is designed to take you places, so if your friendship, companionship, partnership or relationship isn't taking you anywhere... abandon ship!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-ship-is-designed-to-take-you-places-so-if-your-friendship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We can't let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!'Let's fight like hell and stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-can-t-let-this-happen-we-should-march-on-washington-and-stop-this/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) ## More by Charles Bukowski > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [well, death says, as he walks by, I'm going to get you anyhow no matter what you've been: writer, cab-driver, pimp, butcher, sky-diver, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/well-death-says-as-he-walks-by-i-m-going-to-get-you-anyhow-no-matter/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“There is only one place to write and that is alone at a typewriter. A writer who has to go into the streets is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-only-one-place-to-write-and-that-is-alone-at-a-typewriter-a/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“nerves twitching in the sheets -- to face the sunlight again, that's clearly trouble. I like the city better when the neon lights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/nerves-twitching-in-the-sheets-to-face-the-sunlight-again-that-s/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/their-love-is-average-seeks-average-but-there-is-genius-in-their/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I climbed the stairway (there was no elevator) and put the key in. The door swung open. Somebody had changed all the furniture around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-climbed-the-stairway-there-was-no-elevator-and-put-the-key-in-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Strangers when you meet, strangers when you part -a gymnasium of bodies namelessly masturbating each other. People with no morals often considered themselves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/strangers-when-you-meet-strangers-when-you-part-a-gymnasium-of-bodies/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I was like a turd that drew flies instead of like a flower that butterflies and bees desired. I wanted to live alone,I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-was-like-a-turd-that-drew-flies-instead-of-like-a-flower-that/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [It's 4:30 in the morning, it's always 4:30 in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/it-s-4-30-in-the-morning-it-s-always-4-30-in-the-morning/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I had no feeling for the things so many others needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-had-no-feeling-for-the-things-so-many-others-needed/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I am sick with caring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-sick-with-caring/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I went home each night dizzy and sick. He was murdering me with the sound of his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-went-home-each-night-dizzy-and-sick-he-was-murdering-me-with-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“the nights you fight best are when all the weapons are pointed at you, when all the voices hurl their insults while the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-nights-you-fight-best-are-when-all-the-weapons-are-pointed-at-you/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) [Explore all 1,492 Charles Bukowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) [Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We do not abandon ship. I say, as corny as it may sound, through the strength and spirit and fire and dare and gamble of a few men in a few ways we can save the carcass of humanity from drowning. No light goes out until it goes out. Let's fight as men, not rats. Period. 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