--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you socially neglect a people, when…" description: "\"When you socially neglect a people, when you economically abandon a people, when you transfer wealth from them to the well-to-do, what are a people goi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/cornel-west-708_despair_when-you-socially-neglect-a-people-when_174306.jpg" --- # When you socially neglect a people, when you economically… ![“When you socially neglect a people, when you economically abandon a people, when you transfer wealth from them to the well-to-do, what are a people going to do? They're going to respond with very sad forms of despair, and that's true for everybody - I don't care what color you are.” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/cornel-west-708_despair_when-you-socially-neglect-a-people-when_174306.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/cornel-west-708_despair_when-you-socially-neglect-a-people-when_174306.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/cornel-west-708_despair_when-you-socially-neglect-a-people-when_174306.jpg) > “When you socially neglect a people, when you economically abandon a people, when you transfer wealth from them to the well-to-do, what are a people going to do? They're going to respond with very sad forms of despair, and that's true for everybody - I don't care what color you are.” [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. Ignoring social and economic needs of a group breeds deep despair across all demographics. **In simple terms:** Neglect leads to widespread sadness. Key Takeaway Address inequality to prevent despair. Themes social justice economics human dignity Mood somber urgent Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy reform - community support - education programs - activism Key Concepts inequality systemic oppression collective trauma Questions to Reflect On - How can societies rebuild trust after neglect? - What policies most effectively reduce economic abandonment? A Different Perspective Structural change is needed beyond awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [“Dessy, don't grow up to be a writer. Because when you live too much in your own head, you neglect the people you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-tracy/dessy-don-t-grow-up-to-be-a-writer-because-when-you-live-too-much-in/) [Kristen Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-tracy/) > [I think Haiti is a place that suffers so much from neglect that people only want to hear about it when it’s at its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-think-haiti-is-a-place-that-suffers-so-much-from-neglect-that/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [Few are drawn to the person whom others avoid and neglect; people gather around those who have already attracted interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/few-are-drawn-to-the-person-whom-others-avoid-and-neglect-people/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I don't give up on people. I don't have a dimmer switch. It's who I am. Until I am kicked out, I will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/i-don-t-give-up-on-people-i-don-t-have-a-dimmer-switch-it-s-who-i-am/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [“It’s true that if friends can never count on you being there the next time they need you, the place they leave for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-florand/it-s-true-that-if-friends-can-never-count-on-you-being-there-the-next/) [Laura Florand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-florand/) > [I am not a great believer in the idea that journalistic neutrality means you have to abandon the people you talk to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-the-idea-that-journalistic-neutrality/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Visit me once each year, for it's wrong to abandon people forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/visit-me-once-each-year-for-it-s-wrong-to-abandon-people-forever/) [Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/) > [“It is not because we are rats that we tend to abandon people who are down, it is because we are embarrassed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/it-is-not-because-we-are-rats-that-we-tend-to-abandon-people-who-are/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [You can't abandon people there and say, go and find a job, when you know they are not going to be able to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/you-can-t-abandon-people-there-and-say-go-and-find-a-job-when-you/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [There's accountability in the mutual fund industry. And they've been tremendous engines of wealth for people and they're going to continue to be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cramer/there-s-accountability-in-the-mutual-fund-industry-and-they-ve-been/) [Jim Cramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cramer/) > [If our economic system is to survive, there has to be a better distribution of wealth ... we can't have a system where some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/if-our-economic-system-is-to-survive-there-has-to-be-a-better/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I noticed that difference early on, like if you were successful in rock 'n' roll, that was a really bad thing, you almost had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/i-noticed-that-difference-early-on-like-if-you-were-successful-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [If you look at anyone who has achieved great success and wealth, people like Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, or Lance Armstrong, they have all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-you-look-at-anyone-who-has-achieved-great-success-and-wealth/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Capitalism places every man in competition with his fellows for a share of the available wealth. A few people accumulate big piles, but most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/capitalism-places-every-man-in-competition-with-his-fellows-for-a/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [I would like to say something just about the Mexican people. It is a population that has a wealth, such great wealth, a people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-would-like-to-say-something-just-about-the-mexican-people-it-is-a/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) ## 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. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) Louaiq8 > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you socially neglect a people, when you economically abandon a people, when you transfer wealth from them to the well-to-do, what are a people going to do? 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