--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am often described to my irritation as…" description: "\"“I am often described to my irritation as a 'contrarian' and even had the title inflicted on me by the publisher of one of my early books. (At least on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/christopher-hitchens-117_authority_i-am-often-described-to-my-irritation-as_1266109.jpg" --- # I am often described to my irritation as a 'contrarian'… ![“I am often described to my irritation as a 'contrarian' and even had the title inflicted on me by the publisher of one of my early books. (At least on that occasion I lived up to the title by ridiculing the word in my introduction to the book's first chapter.) It is actually a pity that our…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/christopher-hitchens-117_authority_i-am-often-described-to-my-irritation-as_1266109.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/christopher-hitchens-117_authority_i-am-often-described-to-my-irritation-as_1266109.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/christopher-hitchens-117_authority_i-am-often-described-to-my-irritation-as_1266109.jpg) > ““I am often described to my irritation as a 'contrarian' and even had the title inflicted on me by the publisher of one of my early books. (At least on that occasion I lived up to the title by ridiculing the word in my introduction to the book's first chapter.) It is actually a pity that our culture doesn't have a good vernacular word for an oppositionist or even for someone who tries to do his own thinking: the word 'dissident' can't be self-conferred because it is really a title of honor that has to be won or earned, while terms like 'gadfly' or 'maverick' are somehow trivial and condescending as well as over-full of self-regard. And I've lost count of the number of memoirs by old comrades or ex-comrades that have titles like 'Against the Stream,' 'Against the Current,' 'Minority of One,' 'Breaking Ranks' and so forth—all of them lending point to Harold Rosenberg's withering remark about 'the herd of independent minds.' Even when I was quite young I disliked being called a 'rebel': it seemed to make the patronizing suggestion that 'questioning authority' was part of a 'phase' through which I would naturally go. On the contrary, I was a relatively well-behaved and well-mannered boy, and chose my battles with some deliberation rather than just thinking with my hormones.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author laments the lack of a respectful term for independent thinkers, noting that existing labels are either honorific, trivial, or condescending. **In simple terms:** People who think for themselves lack a good name. Key Takeaway Find or create a term that honors thoughtful dissent. Themes independence language identity culture rebellion Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - academic debate - political activism - personal branding - media commentary Key Concepts self‑determination social labeling intellectual autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape our view of dissent? - What term would you propose for independent thinkers? A Different Perspective Labels can oversimplify complex motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dissent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissent/) [Dissident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissident/) [Dissidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissidents/) [Free thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-thought/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Memoirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoirs/) [Questioning Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questioning-authority/) [Rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“People say, "What’s it like to be a minority of one, or a kick-bag for the Internet?" It washes off me like jizz off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/people-say-what-s-it-like-to-be-a-minority-of-one-or-a-kick-bag-for/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I was aware that he was laughing at me, but I told myself I didn't care what other people thought and would dress how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-barrowcliffe/i-was-aware-that-he-was-laughing-at-me-but-i-told-myself-i-didn-t/) [Mark Barrowcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-barrowcliffe/) > [I think people need to be comfortable questioning the authority of a doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/i-think-people-need-to-be-comfortable-questioning-the-authority-of-a/) [Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/) > [“Ms. Grant displays strong anti-establishment sentiments and has an awkward habit of questioning authority figures at all the wrong moments. This, combined with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amie-kaufman/ms-grant-displays-strong-anti-establishment-sentiments-and-has-an/) [Amie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amie-kaufman/) > [“The habit of questioning authority is one of the most valuable gifts that a book, or a teacher, can give a young would-be scientist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-habit-of-questioning-authority-is-one-of-the-most-valuable-gifts/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The entire force of the Conciliar revolt comes from the fact that it has apparently been imposed by the authority of the Church. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lane/the-entire-force-of-the-conciliar-revolt-comes-from-the-fact-that-it/) John Lane > [If you're just addressing your own emotions and challenging yourself to find some sort of harmonious sense of being in life and questioning authority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-williams/if-you-re-just-addressing-your-own-emotions-and-challenging-yourself/) [Saul Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-williams/) > [“When am I going to learn to stop questioning authority and just eat the Soylent Green?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-tash/when-am-i-going-to-learn-to-stop-questioning-authority-and-just-eat/) [Red Tash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-tash/) > [Questioning authority can hardly be called our national pastime. We even make a philosophy out of fear. Fatalism, destiny, karma... are the favourite cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahesh-bhatt/questioning-authority-can-hardly-be-called-our-national-pastime-we/) [Mahesh Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahesh-bhatt/) > [If you're using comedy to shame people for getting informed and questioning authority, you're not doing comedy, you're doing propaganda, 'cause comedy is supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-dore/if-you-re-using-comedy-to-shame-people-for-getting-informed-and/) [Jimmy Dore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-dore/) > [Questioning authority is, I think, a great thing to instill in children. I just didn't have enough of that when I was little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/questioning-authority-is-i-think-a-great-thing-to-instill-in-children/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [“Science needs the light of free expression to flourish. It depends on the fearless questioning of authority, and the open exchange of ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-needs-the-light-of-free-expression-to-flourish-it-depends-on/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [A Western upbringing tends to stress questioning authority, which is always asking why, why, why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/a-western-upbringing-tends-to-stress-questioning-authority-which-is/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [The most important aspect of my personality as far as determining my success goes; has been my questioning conventional wisdom, doubting experts and questioning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-ellison/the-most-important-aspect-of-my-personality-as-far-as-determining-my/) [Larry Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-ellison/) > [“Questioning authority doesn't make you resistant; who should follow blindly without knowing the destination”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ldarnell/questioning-authority-doesn-t-make-you-resistant-who-should-follow/) LDarnell ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [I think people need to be comfortable questioning the authority of a doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/i-think-people-need-to-be-comfortable-questioning-the-authority-of-a/) [Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/) > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [“I'm of the age and immaturity level that I cannot give you my respect solely because you are older or ranked higher on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-goros/i-m-of-the-age-and-immaturity-level-that-i-cannot-give-you-my-respect/) [Erica Goros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-goros/) > [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Sometimes it's easier for people who are in authority to be authoritarian, because people know where you stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/sometimes-it-s-easier-for-people-who-are-in-authority-to-be/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [The victory of Hamas is not only based on the corruption of the Palestinian Authority. Hamas has a vision and a program, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-haniyeh/the-victory-of-hamas-is-not-only-based-on-the-corruption-of-the/) [Ismail Haniyeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-haniyeh/) [Browse all 4,003 Authority quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am often described to my irritation as a 'contrarian' and even had the title inflicted on me by the publisher of one of my early books. (At least on that occasion I lived up to the title by ridiculing the word in my introduction to the book's first chapter.) It is actually a pity that our culture doesn't have a good vernacular word for an oppositionist or even for someone who tries to do his own thinking: the word 'dissident' can't be self-conferred because it is really a title of honor that has to be won or earned, while terms like 'gadfly' or 'maverick' are somehow trivial and condescending as well as over-full of self-regard. And I've lost count of the number of memoirs by old comrades or ex-comrades that have titles like 'Against the Stream,' 'Against the Current,' 'Minority of One,' 'Breaking Ranks' and so forth—all of them lending point to Harold Rosenberg's withering remark about 'the herd of independent minds.' Even when I was quite young I disliked being called a 'rebel': it seemed to make the patronizing suggestion that 'questioning authority' was part of a 'phase' through which I would naturally go. 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