--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hate and fear violence myself, have…" description: "\"“I hate and fear violence myself, have always avoided barroom brawls, and tho' I'm a bit of a gun-nut, and a member of the NRA, I never shoot at anythi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_guns_i-hate-and-fear-violence-myself-have-alw_2798652.jpg" --- # I hate and fear violence myself, have always avoided… ![“I hate and fear violence myself, have always avoided barroom brawls, and tho' I'm a bit of a gun-nut, and a member of the NRA, I never shoot at anything but beer cans and mule deer. (In season.) And seldom hit either, except by accident.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_guns_i-hate-and-fear-violence-myself-have-alw_2798652.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_guns_i-hate-and-fear-violence-myself-have-alw_2798652.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/edward-abbey-254_guns_i-hate-and-fear-violence-myself-have-alw_2798652.jpg) > ““I hate and fear violence myself, have always avoided barroom brawls, and tho' I'm a bit of a gun-nut, and a member of the NRA, I never shoot at anything but beer cans and mule deer. (In season.) And seldom hit either, except by accident.”” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence is avoided personally, yet paradoxically embraces firearms for sport. **In simple terms:** He dislikes violence but enjoys hunting. Key Takeaway Reflect on personal contradictions regarding violence. Themes environment violence recreation paradox Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - outdoor recreation - wildlife management - personal memoirs Key Concepts Ethics of hunting personal philosophy cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How do personal hobbies align with ethical beliefs? - Can one separate sport from aggression? A Different Perspective Recreational violence may conflict with moral stance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Guns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guns/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [“Violence is avoided, when we sit down with others, and discuss issues, and work together for solutions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/violence-is-avoided-when-we-sit-down-with-others-and-discuss-issues/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [“He, too, was in the grip of rage and rhetoric. I saw that, attractive though his side of the political spectrum was. A cancerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/he-too-was-in-the-grip-of-rage-and-rhetoric-i-saw-that-attractive/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [If you so much as set foot downtown, you will be sorry. 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I'm in a prayer group with the D.A., I'm a member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-anne-touhy/if-you-so-much-as-set-foot-downtown-you-will-be-sorry-i-m-in-a-prayer/) Leigh Anne Touhy > [I'm a lifetime member of the NRA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-lambert/i-m-a-lifetime-member-of-the-nra/) [Miranda Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-lambert/) > [Well, you know, first of all, let me just say that I am a proud member of the NRA and have been, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-manchin/well-you-know-first-of-all-let-me-just-say-that-i-am-a-proud-member/) [Joe Manchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-manchin/) > [In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrell-scott/in-the-days-that-followed-the-columbine-tragedy-i-was-amazed-at-how/) Darrell Scott > [All fear violence, all are afraid of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/all-fear-violence-all-are-afraid-of-death/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [What sparks wars? The will to power, the backbone of human nature. The threat of violence, the fear of violence, or actual violence, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/what-sparks-wars-the-will-to-power-the-backbone-of-human-nature-the/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [He that pursues fame with just claims, trusts his happiness to the winds; but he that endeavors after it by false merit, has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/he-that-pursues-fame-with-just-claims-trusts-his-happiness-to-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [I know what it is like to fear violence. I understand the adrenalin rush that comes before violent confrontations. I write my scripts from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sherman/i-know-what-it-is-like-to-fear-violence-i-understand-the-adrenalin/) [Gary Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sherman/) > [To be free, first of all, is to be free from wrong views that are the foundation of all kinds of suffering and fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/to-be-free-first-of-all-is-to-be-free-from-wrong-views-that-are-the/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [We fear violence less than our own feelings. Personal, private, solitary pain is more terrifying than what anyone else can inflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/we-fear-violence-less-than-our-own-feelings-personal-private-solitary/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [“But the Butlerians turn fear into violence and panic into a weapon. By creating imaginary problems and raising the specter of nonexistent enemies, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert-kevin-j-anderson/but-the-butlerians-turn-fear-into-violence-and-panic-into-a-weapon-by/) [Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert-kevin-j-anderson/) > [“What do violent individuals fear most? Violence? I should say not! By what do the cruel and selfish feel most threatened? All of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-philipp-sendker/what-do-violent-individuals-fear-most-violence-i-should-say-not-by/) [Jan-Philipp Sendker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-philipp-sendker/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. 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Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Guns quotes > [I'm OK with guns in schools, if it's a security, trained security personnel. But every teacher having a gun, I don't know if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-tantaros/i-m-ok-with-guns-in-schools-if-it-s-a-security-trained-security/) [Andrea Tantaros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-tantaros/) > [If you reduce the guns and the ammo, you'll reduce the murders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/if-you-reduce-the-guns-and-the-ammo-you-ll-reduce-the-murders/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [Guns aren't the problem; sick people are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/guns-aren-t-the-problem-sick-people-are/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [I grew up with my dad's music, so my introduction to rock was Alice Cooper and Cinderella and Dio and Black Sabbath, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/i-grew-up-with-my-dad-s-music-so-my-introduction-to-rock-was-alice/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [Guns cause crime like flies cause garbage!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/guns-cause-crime-like-flies-cause-garbage/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I don't know anybody that doesn't own a gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-manchin/i-don-t-know-anybody-that-doesn-t-own-a-gun/) [Joe Manchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-manchin/) > [I once went down the Amazon and our boat got charged by Columbian policemen with guns and we all had to get on motorbikes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-skelton/i-once-went-down-the-amazon-and-our-boat-got-charged-by-columbian/) [Helen Skelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-skelton/) > [I have a lot of guns on my ranch. I don't use them for hunting. I'm not a hunter. It's for protection. The Second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-norris/i-have-a-lot-of-guns-on-my-ranch-i-don-t-use-them-for-hunting-i-m-not/) [Chuck Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-norris/) > [There's nothing I've done that I feel a lot of regret over because I stuck to my guns, even when it got uncomfortable -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-manson/there-s-nothing-i-ve-done-that-i-feel-a-lot-of-regret-over-because-i/) [Shirley Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-manson/) > [I hate being safe. There's a lot of easy rides and boring films out there, but I've stuck to my guns. It's not an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-ramsay/i-hate-being-safe-there-s-a-lot-of-easy-rides-and-boring-films-out/) [Lynne Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-ramsay/) > [“Shooting hell out of a piece of cardboard doesn't prove anything' was his single-line introduction to the Small-arms Defence Manual.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/shooting-hell-out-of-a-piece-of-cardboard-doesn-t-prove-anything-was/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [“I don't believe in a country where it's more acceptable to see two men holding guns than two men holding hands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-whitaker/i-don-t-believe-in-a-country-where-it-s-more-acceptable-to-see-two/) [Brian Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-whitaker/) > [I'm a registered, vetted gun owner, but that's because I live way out in the country, like way out in the middle of nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-judd/i-m-a-registered-vetted-gun-owner-but-that-s-because-i-live-way-out/) [Naomi Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-judd/) > [“Violence isn't a Democrat or Republican problem. 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