--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If one lives in a country where racism is…" description: "\"If one lives in a country where racism is held valid and practiced in all ways of life eventually, no matter whether one is a racist or a victim, one c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/chester-himes-30065_absurd_if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-i_2993451.png" --- # If one lives in a country where racism is held valid and… ![“If one lives in a country where racism is held valid and practiced in all ways of life eventually, no matter whether one is a racist or a victim, one comes to feel the absurdity of life…Racism generated from whites is first of all absurd. Racism creates absurdity among blacks as a defense mechanism.” quote by Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/chester-himes-30065_absurd_if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-i_2993451.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/chester-himes-30065_absurd_if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-i_2993451.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/chester-himes-30065_absurd_if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-i_2993451.png) > “If one lives in a country where racism is held valid and practiced in all ways of life eventually, no matter whether one is a racist or a victim, one comes to feel the absurdity of life…Racism generated from whites is first of all absurd. Racism creates absurdity among blacks as a defense mechanism.” [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Racism creates absurdity for both oppressor and oppressed, leading to defensive absurdities. **In simple terms:** Racism makes life absurd for all involved. Key Takeaway Challenge racist beliefs and structures. Themes racism absurdity defense mechanisms Mood reflective serious Type social psychological When to use this quote - education - policy reform - community dialogue Key Concepts social psychology systemic oppression Questions to Reflect On - How does absurdity manifest in daily life? - What steps reduce racist absurdities? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑rooted attitudes is hard. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) [African american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) [Anti racist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-racist/) [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Defense mechanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defense-mechanism/) [Defense mechanisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defense-mechanisms/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Racist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racist/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) ## Related quotes > [“Most of us think the word racism is synonymous with the word prejudice. But racism is more than just discrimination based on skin color.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/most-of-us-think-the-word-racism-is-synonymous-with-the-word/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Just as racism creates disadvantages for people of color that make success harder to achieve, it also gives advantages to white people that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/just-as-racism-creates-disadvantages-for-people-of-color-that-make/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The combination of landing the biggest interview of my career and having a drill in my back reminds me that God only gives us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-roberts/the-combination-of-landing-the-biggest-interview-of-my-career-and/) [Robin Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-roberts/) > [This divorce between man and his life, the actor and his setting, is properly the feeling of absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/this-divorce-between-man-and-his-life-the-actor-and-his-setting-is/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Recognizing the absurdity of life is also a way of surviving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noa-ben-artzi-pelossof/recognizing-the-absurdity-of-life-is-also-a-way-of-surviving/) Noa Ben Artzi-Pelossof > [I've had many incidents in my life of racism. I've been thrown on the ground. I've been frisked. I've been arrested so many times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-ve-had-many-incidents-in-my-life-of-racism-i-ve-been-thrown-on-the/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [I was teasing my brother that he was penniless, homeless, jobless. Right now in his life, racism isn't the central highlighting force: it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/i-was-teasing-my-brother-that-he-was-penniless-homeless-jobless-right/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [“Racism and the days of slavery does not exist in me or my thought or everyday living. It does not encompass me as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-singleton/racism-and-the-days-of-slavery-does-not-exist-in-me-or-my-thought-or/) [Joan Singleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-singleton/) > [We have to be honest, we have to be truthful and speak to the one dirty secret in American life, and that is racism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cisneros/we-have-to-be-honest-we-have-to-be-truthful-and-speak-to-the-one/) [Henry Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cisneros/) ## More by Chester Himes > [“what i really need is a dead man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/what-i-really-need-is-a-dead-man/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [American violence is public life, it's a public way of life, it became a form, a detective story form. So I should think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/american-violence-is-public-life-it-s-a-public-way-of-life-it-became/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Our highest ambition is to be included in the stream of American life, to be permitted to "play the game" as any other American;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/our-highest-ambition-is-to-be-included-in-the-stream-of-american-life/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [It seemed so illogical to punish some poor criminal for doing something that civilization taught him how to do so he could have something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/it-seemed-so-illogical-to-punish-some-poor-criminal-for-doing/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“Don't ever lean your whole weight on happiness, Jimmy. You fall too hard too hard when it gives away”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/don-t-ever-lean-your-whole-weight-on-happiness-jimmy-you-fall-too/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“For he reached the conclusion that everything he had ever seen, or had ever done, or had ever dreamed of doing would in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/for-he-reached-the-conclusion-that-everything-he-had-ever-seen-or-had/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [I grew to manhood in the Ohio State Penitentiary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/i-grew-to-manhood-in-the-ohio-state-penitentiary/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [When you get to mixing sex and religion, it will make anybody crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/when-you-get-to-mixing-sex-and-religion-it-will-make-anybody-crazy/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Democracy is not tolerance. Democracy is a prescribed way of life erected on the premise that all men are created equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/democracy-is-not-tolerance-democracy-is-a-prescribed-way-of-life/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [I would sit in my room and become hysterical about the wild incredible story I was writing. And I thought I was writing realism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/i-would-sit-in-my-room-and-become-hysterical-about-the-wild/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Growth is the surviving influence in all our lives. The tree will send up its trunk in thick profusion from land burned black by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/growth-is-the-surviving-influence-in-all-our-lives-the-tree-will-send/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [Man cannot live without some knowledge of the purpose of life. If he can find no purpose in life he creates one in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/man-cannot-live-without-some-knowledge-of-the-purpose-of-life-if-he/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [The Harlem of my books was never meant to be real; I never called it real; I just wanted to take it away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/the-harlem-of-my-books-was-never-meant-to-be-real-i-never-called-it/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [There is an indomitable quality within the human spirit that cannot be destroyed; a face deep within the human personality that is impregnable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/there-is-an-indomitable-quality-within-the-human-spirit-that-cannot/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) > [“She held him at arms’ length, looked at the pipe still gripped in his hand, then looked at his face and read him like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/she-held-him-at-arms-length-looked-at-the-pipe-still-gripped-in-his/) [Chester Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) [Explore all 17 Chester Himes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [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/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If one lives in a country where racism is held valid and practiced in all ways of life eventually, no matter whether one is a racist or a victim, one comes to feel the absurdity of life…Racism generated from whites is first of all absurd. Racism creates absurdity among blacks as a defense mechanism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chester Himes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-is-held-valid-and-practiced-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-is-held-valid-and-practiced-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/chester-himes-30065_absurd_if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-i_2993451.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/chester-himes-30065_absurd_if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-i_2993451.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/chester-himes-30065_absurd_if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-i_2993451.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If one lives in a country where racism is held valid and practiced in all ways of life eventually, no matter…” — Chester Himes", "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": "Chester Himes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-himes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If one lives in a country...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-is-held-valid-and-practiced-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-himes/if-one-lives-in-a-country-where-racism-is-held-valid-and-practiced-in/#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 } } ] } ```