--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are two things you should know…" description: "\"“There are two things you should know about the poor: they tend to smell, and they are ungrateful.”\" — Dorothy Day" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/dorothy-day-1629_charity_there-are-two-things-you-should-know-abo_1793394.png" --- # There are two things you should know about the poor: they… ![“There are two things you should know about the poor: they tend to smell, and they are ungrateful.” quote by Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/dorothy-day-1629_charity_there-are-two-things-you-should-know-abo_1793394.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/dorothy-day-1629_charity_there-are-two-things-you-should-know-abo_1793394.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13b/dorothy-day-1629_charity_there-are-two-things-you-should-know-abo_1793394.png) > ““There are two things you should know about the poor: they tend to smell, and they are ungrateful.”” [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poor are stereotyped as smelly and ungrateful, reflecting harsh bias. **In simple terms:** Stereotypes paint the poor negatively. Key Takeaway Challenge harmful stereotypes. Themes poverty stereotypes social bias human dignity empathy Mood critical concerned activist Type social political When to use this quote - policy advocacy - community outreach - education campaigns Key Concepts social prejudice dehumanization economic injustice Questions to Reflect On - Why do such stereotypes persist? - How can we humanize the poor? A Different Perspective Generalization ignores individual dignity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Charity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charity/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) ## Related quotes > [“I take from the poor and give to the rich. They just happen to be the same individuals. 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I didn't know that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-jal/i-was-shocked-when-i-came-to-new-orleans-i-never-knew-there-were/) [Emmanuel Jal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-jal/) > [When I had the honor to be a second lieutenant, I ate dry bread, but I never let anyone know that I was poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/when-i-had-the-honor-to-be-a-second-lieutenant-i-ate-dry-bread-but-i/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Back then, we didn't know we were poor, and people were more proud then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-lynn/back-then-we-didn-t-know-we-were-poor-and-people-were-more-proud-then/) [Loretta Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-lynn/) > [“You know we poor artists have to show ourselves in society from time to time, just to remind the public that we are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-know-we-poor-artists-have-to-show-ourselves-in-society-from-time/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The trouble is that rich people, well-to-do people, very often don't really know who the poor are; and that is why we can forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa-of-calcutta/the-trouble-is-that-rich-people-well-to-do-people-very-often-don-t/) [Mother Teresa Of Calcutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa-of-calcutta/) > [You know, when you're poor and you have a bunch of kids in your family, you don't know that everybody's not poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-rogers/you-know-when-you-re-poor-and-you-have-a-bunch-of-kids-in-your-family/) [Kenny Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-rogers/) > [“Did you ever know a poor man made better by law or a lawyer!' said Bunce bitterly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/did-you-ever-know-a-poor-man-made-better-by-law-or-a-lawyer-said/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“They don't know what poor is. 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Perhaps they are not hungry for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/do-we-know-our-poor-people-do-we-know-the-poor-in-our-house-in-our/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Whats my mission please debrief me on that information/All I know-the poor is hurtin while the rich is on vacation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/whats-my-mission-please-debrief-me-on-that-information-all-i-know-the/) C-DASH > [“When everyone is poor you don't know you're poor. My father worked so some of the boys thought I was actually rich.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-grant/when-everyone-is-poor-you-don-t-know-you-re-poor-my-father-worked-so/) Stan Grant > [Get to know the poor in your country. Love them. Serve them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/get-to-know-the-poor-in-your-country-love-them-serve-them/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [To be rich you have to know what it is to be poor. Getting financially literate is part of the price you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/to-be-rich-you-have-to-know-what-it-is-to-be-poor-getting-financially/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) ## More by Dorothy Day > [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. 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They didn't do anything to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-communists-in-cuba-didn-t-assist-castro-in-his-revolution-they/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [Dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/dear-god-please-enlarge-our-hearts-to-love-each-other-to-love-our/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [A conversion is a lonely experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/a-conversion-is-a-lonely-experience/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [The sense is always that community is natural to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-sense-is-always-that-community-is-natural-to-people/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [“We must practice the presence of God. He said that when two or three are gathered together, there he is in the midst of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/we-must-practice-the-presence-of-god-he-said-that-when-two-or-three/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) [Explore all 220 Dorothy Day quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) ## More Charity quotes > [The greatest charity you can contribute to is yourself. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-shall-pray-god-to-send-charity-into-this-hideous-world-and-sympathy/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Considering community support and cost-benefit analysis, I have supported earmarks for projects of high public purpose involving such areas as higher education, alternative energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/considering-community-support-and-cost-benefit-analysis-i-have/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [It's always great to be able to give back to the community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-vucevic/it-s-always-great-to-be-able-to-give-back-to-the-community/) [Nikola Vucevic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-vucevic/) > [Slander is a poison which kills charity, both in the slanderer and the one who listens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-of-clairvaux/slander-is-a-poison-which-kills-charity-both-in-the-slanderer-and-the/) [Bernard of Clairvaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-of-clairvaux/) > [I like to give back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-chan/i-like-to-give-back/) [Jackie Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-chan/) > [We have to restore power to the family, to the neighborhood, and the community with a non-market principle, a principle of equality, of charity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/we-have-to-restore-power-to-the-family-to-the-neighborhood-and-the/) [Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/) > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. 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