--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have lived those lines and I know that…" description: "\"I have lived those lines and I know that if I had not been apprehended I would have slit some white throats.\" — Eldridge Cleaver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/eldridge-cleaver-15004_ifs_i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that_1181996.jpg" --- # I have lived those lines and I know that if I had not been… ![“I have lived those lines and I know that if I had not been apprehended I would have slit some white throats.” quote by Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/eldridge-cleaver-15004_ifs_i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that_1181996.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/eldridge-cleaver-15004_ifs_i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that_1181996.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/eldridge-cleaver-15004_ifs_i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that_1181996.jpg) > “I have lived those lines and I know that if I had not been apprehended I would have slit some white throats.” [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal experience can drive extreme thoughts about violence when threatened. **In simple terms:** Threats can provoke violent fantasies. Key Takeaway Recognize and address underlying fear. Themes violence psychology personal trauma Mood intense reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - prison life - political activism - mental health counseling Key Concepts radicalization self‑defense Questions to Reflect On - What coping mechanisms reduce violent urges? - How does environment shape such thoughts? A Different Perspective Violent ideation may not translate to action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apprehended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprehended-2932320/) [Apprehended Slit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprehended-slit-3470030/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Know Apprehended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-apprehended-3470031/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Slit White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slit-white-3470032/) [Slits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slits/) [Throat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throat/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White Throats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-throats-3470033/) ## Related quotes > [In many instances, order is apprehended first of all by the senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/in-many-instances-order-is-apprehended-first-of-all-by-the-senses/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-t-blackaby/brethren-i-do-not-count-myself-to-have-apprehended-but-one-thing-i-do/) [Henry T. 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In Turkey, if you got caught with tobacco, you had your nose slit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/in-europe-when-tobacco-was-first-introduced-it-was-immediately-banned/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [I think, in many ways, certain people sought me out maybe because they liked my body language or they liked the way I wore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carine-roitfeld/i-think-in-many-ways-certain-people-sought-me-out-maybe-because-they/) [Carine Roitfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carine-roitfeld/) > [Time is the eternal now, seen through the narrow slit of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-spira/time-is-the-eternal-now-seen-through-the-narrow-slit-of-the-mind/) [Rupert Spira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-spira/) > [ This \[health care reform\] cannot pass. What we have to do today is make a covenant, to slit our wrists, be blood brothers on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/this-health-care-reform-cannot-pass-what-we-have-to-do-today-is-make/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [Music didn't really hit me again until the '90s, when the dancehall scene got going. The '90s were perfect for me. I would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-up/music-didn-t-really-hit-me-again-until-the-90s-when-the-dancehall/) [Ari Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-up/) ## More by Eldridge Cleaver > [The myth of the strong black woman is the other side of the coin of the myth of the beautiful dumb blonde.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/the-myth-of-the-strong-black-woman-is-the-other-side-of-the-coin-of/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [In the increasingly mechanized, automated, cybernated environment of the modern world a cold, bodiless world of wheels, smooth plastic surfaces, tubes, pushbuttons, transistors, computers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/in-the-increasingly-mechanized-automated-cybernated-environment-of/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [If God himself wills such misery on people whom I love, then I say I will deal with him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/if-god-himself-wills-such-misery-on-people-whom-i-love-then-i-say-i/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [“I may even swagger a little, and, as I read in a book somewhere, 'push myself forward like a train.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-may-even-swagger-a-little-and-as-i-read-in-a-book-somewhere-push/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [The most revolutionary statement in history is "Love thine enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/the-most-revolutionary-statement-in-history-is-love-thine-enemy/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [I know that the black man's sick attitude toward the white woman is a revolutionary sickness: it keeps him perpetually out of harmony with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-know-that-the-black-man-s-sick-attitude-toward-the-white-woman-is-a/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [Americans think of themselves collectively as a huge rescue squad on twenty-four hour call to any spot on the globe where dispute and conflict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/americans-think-of-themselves-collectively-as-a-huge-rescue-squad-on/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [With all its faults, the American political system is the freest and most democratic in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/with-all-its-faults-the-american-political-system-is-the-freest-and/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [I've gone beyond civil rights and human rights to creation rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-ve-gone-beyond-civil-rights-and-human-rights-to-creation-rights/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [“If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/if-you-are-not-a-part-of-the-solution-you-are-a-part-of-the-problem/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [“Respect commands itself and it can neither be given nor withheld when it is due.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/respect-commands-itself-and-it-can-neither-be-given-nor-withheld-when/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [The racist conscience of America is such that murder does not register as murder really, unless the victim is white... blacks knew that white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/the-racist-conscience-of-america-is-such-that-murder-does-not/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [Every time I embrace a black woman I’m embracing slavery, and when I put my arms around a white woman, well, I’m hugging freedom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/every-time-i-embrace-a-black-woman-i-m-embracing-slavery-and-when-i/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/the-price-of-hating-other-human-beings-is-loving-oneself-less/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [“I have tried to mislead you. I am not humble at all. I have no humility and I do not fear you in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-have-tried-to-mislead-you-i-am-not-humble-at-all-i-have-no-humility/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) [Explore all 44 Eldridge Cleaver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. 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Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) [Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have lived those lines and I know that if I had not been apprehended I would have slit some white throats.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eldridge Cleaver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that-if-i-had-not-been/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that-if-i-had-not-been/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/eldridge-cleaver-15004_ifs_i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that_1181996.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/eldridge-cleaver-15004_ifs_i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that_1181996.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/eldridge-cleaver-15004_ifs_i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that_1181996.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have lived those lines and I know that if I had not been apprehended I would have slit some white throats.” — Eldridge Cleaver", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eldridge Cleaver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have lived those lines and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that-if-i-had-not-been/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-have-lived-those-lines-and-i-know-that-if-i-had-not-been/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```