--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you’re violent you undermine…" description: "\"“When you’re violent you undermine everything.”\" — Chris Hedges" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/chris-hedges-2131_undermine_when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everyt_3109828.png" --- # When you’re violent you undermine everything. ![“When you’re violent you undermine everything.” quote by Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/chris-hedges-2131_undermine_when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everyt_3109828.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/chris-hedges-2131_undermine_when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everyt_3109828.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/chris-hedges-2131_undermine_when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everyt_3109828.png) > ““When you’re violent you undermine everything.”” [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence erodes moral authority and destabilizes societies, undermining all other values. **In simple terms:** Violence destroys trust and stability. Key Takeaway Seek non‑violent solutions. Themes morality societal health power dynamics Mood serious urgent Type political ethical When to use this quote - activism - conflict resolution - community building Key Concepts ethics social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - Can non‑violence achieve lasting change? - What are the limits of non‑violent resistance? A Different Perspective Violence may sometimes be justified in self‑defense, complicating the blanket claim. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Undermine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undermine/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) [Violent Undermine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent-undermine-5427641/) ## Related quotes > [When you rely on incentives, you undermine virtues. Then when you discover that you actually need people who want to do the right thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/when-you-rely-on-incentives-you-undermine-virtues-then-when-you/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [Barack Obama is a street corner community organizer who is using the office of the presidency here to virtually undermine it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/barack-obama-is-a-street-corner-community-organizer-who-is-using-the/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“People do not undermine your ideas; they undermine you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhaidev/people-do-not-undermine-your-ideas-they-undermine-you/) [Abhaidev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhaidev/) > [Discriminatory wage practices undermine women's ability to provide for their families and survive on a decent retirement income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gillibrand/discriminatory-wage-practices-undermine-women-s-ability-to-provide/) [Kirsten Gillibrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gillibrand/) > [“People in love overvalue their heart and undervalue their mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/people-in-love-overvalue-their-heart-and-undervalue-their-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Mind your own business or you will undermine your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/mind-your-own-business-or-you-will-undermine-your-own-business/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“When you self-sabotage, you undermine yourself and act in ways that dishonor your mind, body and soul, and ultimately weaken you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanesia-harris/when-you-self-sabotage-you-undermine-yourself-and-act-in-ways-that/) [Tanesia Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanesia-harris/) > [What the right-wing in the United States tries to do is undermine the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/what-the-right-wing-in-the-united-states-tries-to-do-is-undermine-the/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [A good ground rule for writing in any genre is, start with a form, then undermine its confidence in itself. Ask what it's afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/a-good-ground-rule-for-writing-in-any-genre-is-start-with-a-form-then/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [Lies can be verbal or nonverbal, kindhearted or self-serving, devious or bald-faced; they can be lies of omission or lies of commission; they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-marantz-henig/lies-can-be-verbal-or-nonverbal-kindhearted-or-self-serving-devious/) [Robin Marantz Henig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-marantz-henig/) > [I intend to be the president of all citizens of Macedonia, regardless of their ethnic or religious background, regardless of their political standing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-trajkovski/i-intend-to-be-the-president-of-all-citizens-of-macedonia-regardless/) [Boris Trajkovski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-trajkovski/) > [Want to depose the government of a poor country with resources? Want to bash Muslims? Want to build support for American military interventions around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/want-to-depose-the-government-of-a-poor-country-with-resources-want/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [I have voted against only one of President Obama's nominees: Michael Froman, a Citigroup alumnus who is currently storming the halls of Congress as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/i-have-voted-against-only-one-of-president-obama-s-nominees-michael/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [No one can undermine national unity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivica-dacic/no-one-can-undermine-national-unity/) [Ivica Dacic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivica-dacic/) > [The fight against Ebola cannot undermine the fight against poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-ibrahim/the-fight-against-ebola-cannot-undermine-the-fight-against-poverty/) [Mo Ibrahim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-ibrahim/) ## More by Chris Hedges > [“the property that grounded the self in Romanticism was sincerity, and in modernism was authenticity, then in postmod ernism it is visibility.10”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/the-property-that-grounded-the-self-in-romanticism-was-sincerity-and/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Revolutionists who took part in uprisings in one part of the globe would often migrate to take part in uprisings in another. Francisco de…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/revolutionists-who-took-part-in-uprisings-in-one-part-of-the-globe/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Those captivated by the cult of celebrity do not examine voting records or compare verbal claims with written and published facts and reports. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/those-captivated-by-the-cult-of-celebrity-do-not-examine-voting/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Positive psychology is to the corporate state what eugenics was to the Nazis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/positive-psychology-is-to-the-corporate-state-what-eugenics-was-to/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Hope has a cost. Hope is not comfortable or easy. Hope requires personal risk. It is not about the right attitude. Hope is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/hope-has-a-cost-hope-is-not-comfortable-or-easy-hope-requires/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [This too is a jihad. Yet we Americans find ourselves in the dangerous position of going to war not against a state but against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/this-too-is-a-jihad-yet-we-americans-find-ourselves-in-the-dangerous/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Human beings can be redeemed. Empires cannot. Our refusal to face the truth about empire, our refusal to defy the multitudinous crimes and atrocities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/human-beings-can-be-redeemed-empires-cannot-our-refusal-to-face-the/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [I have seen children shot in El Salvador, Algeria, Guatemala, Sarajevo, but I have never before watched soldiers entice children like mice into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/i-have-seen-children-shot-in-el-salvador-algeria-guatemala-sarajevo/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [A democracy survives when its citizens have access to trustworthy and impartial sources of information, when it can discern lies from truth. 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Those in power fear and dislike real journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/no-real-journalist-makes-5-million-a-year-those-in-power-fear-and/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Just remember,' a Marine Corps lieutenant colonel told me as he strapped his pistol belt under his arm before we crossed into Kuwait, 'that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/just-remember-a-marine-corps-lieutenant-colonel-told-me-as-he/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Most of these who are thrust into combat soon find it impossible to maintain the mythic perception of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/most-of-these-who-are-thrust-into-combat-soon-find-it-impossible-to/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [The imperial projects will continue, Wall Street will be unimpeded in its malfeasance and criminal activity, social programs will continue to be cut, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/the-imperial-projects-will-continue-wall-street-will-be-unimpeded-in/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) [Explore all 183 Chris Hedges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) ## More Undermine quotes > [When you rely on incentives, you undermine virtues. Then when you discover that you actually need people who want to do the right thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/when-you-rely-on-incentives-you-undermine-virtues-then-when-you/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [No one can undermine national unity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivica-dacic/no-one-can-undermine-national-unity/) [Ivica Dacic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivica-dacic/) > [I have voted against only one of President Obama's nominees: Michael Froman, a Citigroup alumnus who is currently storming the halls of Congress as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/i-have-voted-against-only-one-of-president-obama-s-nominees-michael/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [Want to depose the government of a poor country with resources? Want to bash Muslims? Want to build support for American military interventions around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/want-to-depose-the-government-of-a-poor-country-with-resources-want/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [I intend to be the president of all citizens of Macedonia, regardless of their ethnic or religious background, regardless of their political standing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-trajkovski/i-intend-to-be-the-president-of-all-citizens-of-macedonia-regardless/) [Boris Trajkovski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-trajkovski/) > [Lies can be verbal or nonverbal, kindhearted or self-serving, devious or bald-faced; they can be lies of omission or lies of commission; they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-marantz-henig/lies-can-be-verbal-or-nonverbal-kindhearted-or-self-serving-devious/) [Robin Marantz Henig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-marantz-henig/) > [A good ground rule for writing in any genre is, start with a form, then undermine its confidence in itself. Ask what it's afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/a-good-ground-rule-for-writing-in-any-genre-is-start-with-a-form-then/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [What the right-wing in the United States tries to do is undermine the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/what-the-right-wing-in-the-united-states-tries-to-do-is-undermine-the/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“When you self-sabotage, you undermine yourself and act in ways that dishonor your mind, body and soul, and ultimately weaken you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanesia-harris/when-you-self-sabotage-you-undermine-yourself-and-act-in-ways-that/) [Tanesia Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanesia-harris/) > [Mind your own business or you will undermine your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/mind-your-own-business-or-you-will-undermine-your-own-business/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“People in love overvalue their heart and undervalue their mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/people-in-love-overvalue-their-heart-and-undervalue-their-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Discriminatory wage practices undermine women's ability to provide for their families and survive on a decent retirement income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gillibrand/discriminatory-wage-practices-undermine-women-s-ability-to-provide/) [Kirsten Gillibrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gillibrand/) > [“People do not undermine your ideas; they undermine you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhaidev/people-do-not-undermine-your-ideas-they-undermine-you/) [Abhaidev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhaidev/) > [Barack Obama is a street corner community organizer who is using the office of the presidency here to virtually undermine it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/barack-obama-is-a-street-corner-community-organizer-who-is-using-the/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The fight against Ebola cannot undermine the fight against poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-ibrahim/the-fight-against-ebola-cannot-undermine-the-fight-against-poverty/) [Mo Ibrahim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-ibrahim/) [Browse all 52 Undermine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undermine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When you’re violent you undermine everything.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chris Hedges" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Undermine" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/chris-hedges-2131_undermine_when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everyt_3109828.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/chris-hedges-2131_undermine_when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everyt_3109828.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/chris-hedges-2131_undermine_when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everyt_3109828.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you’re violent you undermine everything.” — Chris Hedges", "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": "Chris Hedges", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When you’re violent you undermine everything.”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/when-you-re-violent-you-undermine-everything/#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 } } ] } ```