--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What you hear in focus groups and…" description: "\"What you hear in focus groups and conversations, people will give you 20 minutes of rage about how the borders are out of control. But then you start s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/david-brooks-644_borders_what-you-hear-in-focus-groups-and-conver_1902744.jpg" --- # What you hear in focus groups and conversations, people… ![“What you hear in focus groups and conversations, people will give you 20 minutes of rage about how the borders are out of control. But then you start saying, practically, what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do about the 11 million here? What are we going to do to get some…” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/david-brooks-644_borders_what-you-hear-in-focus-groups-and-conver_1902744.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/david-brooks-644_borders_what-you-hear-in-focus-groups-and-conver_1902744.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/242/david-brooks-644_borders_what-you-hear-in-focus-groups-and-conver_1902744.jpg) > “What you hear in focus groups and conversations, people will give you 20 minutes of rage about how the borders are out of control. But then you start saying, practically, what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do about the 11 million here? What are we going to do to get some workers we need for the farms? Then people start having a normal conversation.” [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People express anger about border issues until concrete solutions are discussed, which shifts the tone to constructive dialogue. **In simple terms:** Anger turns to calm when solutions are offered. Key Takeaway Offer practical plans to change anger into conversation. Themes immigration public discourse policy communication Mood thoughtful optimistic Type policy motivational When to use this quote - town hall meetings - policy workshops - community forums - media interviews Key Concepts solution focus dialogue management public opinion Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders frame complex problems to invite solutions? - What concrete steps reduce public fear? A Different Perspective If solutions are vague, frustration may persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Conversations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversations/) [Conversations People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversations-people-400013/) [Farms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farms/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Focus groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus-groups/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Groups Conversations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups-conversations-2819030/) [Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millions/) [Minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minutes/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Normal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rage/) [Rage Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rage-borders-2819031/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [“With nowhere to be and all day to have them, conversations out on the trail took on a whole new meaning and depth. 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I feel like I'm constantly having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-hanks/i-m-always-amazed-that-anyone-is-paying-attention-to-anything-that-i/) [Colin Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-hanks/) > [“Conversations with people we don’t usually talk to lead to ideas we wouldn’t think of on our own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sturt/conversations-with-people-we-don-t-usually-talk-to-lead-to-ideas-we/) [David Sturt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sturt/) > [I still don't know how to end conversations with people, so now I just quietly hug them until they go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-still-don-t-know-how-to-end-conversations-with-people-so-now-i-just/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Trust is what leads to the best conversations. 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I did the same, and as we all lifted our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mcneal/kids-in-my-history-class-pulled-out-their-cell-phones-and-turned-them/) [Laura McNeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mcneal/) > [The more you get into conversations with people, you find out they've been brainwashed by the news and they don't actually know any better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lissie/the-more-you-get-into-conversations-with-people-you-find-out-they-ve/) [Lissie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lissie/) > [I measure my life in encounters and conversations with people and I've had a nice time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ryder/i-measure-my-life-in-encounters-and-conversations-with-people-and-i/) [Sam Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ryder/) > [Having sarcastic conversations with yourself when people are ignoring you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/having-sarcastic-conversations-with-yourself-when-people-are-ignoring/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) ## More by David Brooks > [The brain is not the mind. 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I think free trade has been wonderful for America on balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/trade-has-suddenly-become-massively-unpopular-i-think-that-s/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Politics is based on social identity, and so, again, there is going to be differences between rural and urban and between left and right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/politics-is-based-on-social-identity-and-so-again-there-is-going-to/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Pain now is better than pain deferred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/pain-now-is-better-than-pain-deferred/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [It’s worth noting that you can devote your life to community service and be a total schmuck. You can spend your life on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/it-s-worth-noting-that-you-can-devote-your-life-to-community-service/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [If it feels all right for you, it's probably OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/if-it-feels-all-right-for-you-it-s-probably-ok/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I do think Donald Trump is a fundamentally unstabilizing force and that the people who swore to uphold the Constitution are going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-do-think-donald-trump-is-a-fundamentally-unstabilizing-force-and/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Tim Kaine has been obviously a governor. He's been a senator. He's one of the smartest rising stars in the Democratic Party. 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I have another life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-wasn-t-born-with-a-tie-or-with-mark-shields-stapled-to-my-left-hip/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) [Explore all 431 David Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## More Borders quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [Preemptive war is what Israel did in '67 with Arab armies on its borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/preemptive-war-is-what-israel-did-in-67-with-arab-armies-on-its/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [When I went to law school, which after all was back in the dark ages, we never looked beyond our borders for precedents. 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We want a bill. There is no ifs, ands or buts about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boehner/house-republicans-want-to-pass-a-strong-border-security-illegal/) [John Boehner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boehner/) [Browse all 1,650 Borders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What you hear in focus groups and conversations, people will give you 20 minutes of rage about how the borders are out of control. But then you start saying, practically, what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do about the 11 million here? What are we going to do to get some workers we need for the farms? 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