--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's fashionable to be indifferent to…" description: "\"It's fashionable to be indifferent to other people's suffering\" — Cornel West" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/cornel-west-708_fashionable_it-s-fashionable-to-be-indifferent-to-ot_1548950.jpg" --- # It's fashionable to be indifferent to other people's… ![“It's fashionable to be indifferent to other people's suffering” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/cornel-west-708_fashionable_it-s-fashionable-to-be-indifferent-to-ot_1548950.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/cornel-west-708_fashionable_it-s-fashionable-to-be-indifferent-to-ot_1548950.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/cornel-west-708_fashionable_it-s-fashionable-to-be-indifferent-to-ot_1548950.jpg) > “It's fashionable to be indifferent to other people's suffering” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Indifference to others' pain is a fashionable but morally shallow stance. **In simple terms:** Being indifferent to suffering is trendy but wrong. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy over apathy. Themes ethics empathy social justice Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - politics - media - personal interactions - community work Key Concepts indifference fashion morality Questions to Reflect On - Why is it easy to ignore others' pain? - How can we make empathy fashionable? A Different Perspective Indifference can be a defense against discomfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fashionable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashionable/) [Fashionable Indifferent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashionable-indifferent-5785565/) [Indifferent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifferent/) [Indifferent People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifferent-people-754038/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-suffering/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [“Indifferent people are afraid of the world and the repercussions of their own choices. That’s why they don’t make any meaningful choices. They hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/indifferent-people-are-afraid-of-the-world-and-the-repercussions-of/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [Sometimes we have to behave indifferent towards people who proclaim their love to us, just to see if they are really different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-we-have-to-behave-indifferent-towards-people-who-proclaim/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Well, let her—she should see that he could be as indifferent as some other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/well-let-her-she-should-see-that-he-could-be-as-indifferent-as-some/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The aim is not for me to be right. The aim is to make sure that we keep the focus on the people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-aim-is-not-for-me-to-be-right-the-aim-is-to-make-sure-that-we/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [We are ordinarily so indifferent to people that when we have invested one of them with the possibility of giving us joy, or suffering,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-are-ordinarily-so-indifferent-to-people-that-when-we-have-invested/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“The story Grandpa told us helped me realize that people cannot be divided into groups by ethnicity, religion, or any other feature, only into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savo-heleta/the-story-grandpa-told-us-helped-me-realize-that-people-cannot-be/) [Savo Heleta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savo-heleta/) > [A different world cannot be built by indifferent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/a-different-world-cannot-be-built-by-indifferent-people/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [Ultimately, whenever you have a new opportunity, do it with gusto and fun and be wholly indifferent to what other people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rinder/ultimately-whenever-you-have-a-new-opportunity-do-it-with-gusto-and/) [Robert Rinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rinder/) > [Nigerian nun Bernadette Duru says the African church hierarchy is indifferent to people in rural areas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-poggioli/nigerian-nun-bernadette-duru-says-the-african-church-hierarchy-is/) [Sylvia Poggioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-poggioli/) > [“Because if you walk in a city you’re jostled by hundreds of indifferent people with indifferent eyes that look at you as if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-e-stevenson/because-if-you-walk-in-a-city-you-re-jostled-by-hundreds-of/) [D.E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-e-stevenson/) > [We cannot be indifferent to people's life and business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-rouhani/we-cannot-be-indifferent-to-people-s-life-and-business/) [Hassan Rouhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-rouhani/) > [Be with those who help your being. Don't sit with indifferent people, whose breath comes cold out of their mouths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/be-with-those-who-help-your-being-don-t-sit-with-indifferent-people/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Maybe we, the cultural workers , could apply ourselves. We're not going to resolve it in this moment or even in this generation, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/maybe-we-the-cultural-workers-could-apply-ourselves-we-re-not-going/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I've seen suffering first-hand, and we have to make sure we relieve people's suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-gomez/i-ve-seen-suffering-first-hand-and-we-have-to-make-sure-we-relieve/) [Jimmy Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-gomez/) > [Obamacare is failing and the American people are suffering because of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johnson/obamacare-is-failing-and-the-american-people-are-suffering-because-of/) [Mike Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johnson/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. 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Other men swallowed water, here a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/other-men-puffed-snorted-and-splashed-george-passed-through-the-ocean/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I do feel that film and TV are often behind when it comes to the way women look, they often dress them in khakis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-davis/i-do-feel-that-film-and-tv-are-often-behind-when-it-comes-to-the-way/) [Kristin Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-davis/) > [I like to think, hopefully, people agree that I'm fashionable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-beer/i-like-to-think-hopefully-people-agree-that-i-m-fashionable/) [Madison Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-beer/) > [I can't stand the need to be fashionable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-may/i-can-t-stand-the-need-to-be-fashionable/) [James May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-may/) > [Where there are problems, there are angels hovering about just waiting for us to ask them to help us transform our suffering into blessings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pickard/where-there-are-problems-there-are-angels-hovering-about-just-waiting/) [Nancy Pickard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pickard/) > [It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, "mad cow" disease, and many others, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-is-fashionable-to-wax-apocalyptic-about-the-threat-to-humanity/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [In a way, Che Guevara's fate was far worse than Simon Bolivar's. Guevara's collapse was complete: his intentions were forgotten, but his style was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/in-a-way-che-guevara-s-fate-was-far-worse-than-simon-bolivar-s/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [When I was starting out, being a young entrepreneur was not fashionable. Parents would ask, 'When are you going to get a real job?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-harrington/when-i-was-starting-out-being-a-young-entrepreneur-was-not/) [Kevin Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-harrington/) > [I think the problem is that fashion has become too fashionable. For years, fashion wasn't fashionable. Today fashion is so fashionable that it's almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/i-think-the-problem-is-that-fashion-has-become-too-fashionable-for/) [Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/) > [Only the dead are truly smart, truly cool. Nothing touches them. 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