--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not hatred that kills people, it's…" description: "\"It's not hatred that kills people, it's indifference\" — Elie Wiesel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/elie-wiesel-341_hatred_it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-i_2606482.png" --- # It's not hatred that kills people, it's indifference ![“It's not hatred that kills people, it's indifference” quote by Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/elie-wiesel-341_hatred_it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-i_2606482.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/elie-wiesel-341_hatred_it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-i_2606482.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/elie-wiesel-341_hatred_it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-i_2606482.png) > “It's not hatred that kills people, it's indifference” [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Indifference allows suffering to continue, while hatred is an active force. **In simple terms:** Ignoring pain is worse than hate. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy and act. Themes empathy responsibility humanity Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - community service - policy advocacy - daily interactions Key Concepts moral duty social apathy activism Questions to Reflect On - What can you do to notice others' pain? - How does indifference affect society? A Different Perspective Changing hearts is hard; people may resist empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Hatred Kills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred-kills-1990196/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Kills People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kills-people-319299/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-indifference-1990195/) ## Related quotes > [One of the real dangers of our time is people's indifference to history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/one-of-the-real-dangers-of-our-time-is-people-s-indifference-to/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Hatred ever kills, love never dies. Such is the vast difference between the two. What is obtained by love is retained for all time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hatred-ever-kills-love-never-dies-such-is-the-vast-difference-between-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Jealousy and hatred kills the hater and empowers the hated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-kanyera/jealousy-and-hatred-kills-the-hater-and-empowers-the-hated/) [Audrey Kanyera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-kanyera/) > [Hatred ever kills, love never dies. Such is the vast difference between the two... The duty of a human being is to diminish hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/hatred-ever-kills-love-never-dies-such-is-the-vast-difference-between/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“That's the hatred that kills you. There'll be more of it, so deep and thick there will always be some left, enough to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/that-s-the-hatred-that-kills-you-there-ll-be-more-of-it-so-deep-and/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“Indifference to me, is the epitome of all evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/indifference-to-me-is-the-epitome-of-all-evil/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Only one enemy is worse than despair: indifference. In every area of human creativity, indifference is the enemy; indifference of evil is worse than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/only-one-enemy-is-worse-than-despair-indifference-in-every-area-of/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Indifference is the sign of sickness, a sickness of the soul more contagious than any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/indifference-is-the-sign-of-sickness-a-sickness-of-the-soul-more/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Fanaticism in many lands has surfaced as the greatest threat to the world. Indifference to its consequences would be a serious mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/fanaticism-in-many-lands-has-surfaced-as-the-greatest-threat-to-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/because-of-indifference-one-dies-before-one-actually-dies/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [And action is the only remedy to indifference, the most insidious danger of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/and-action-is-the-only-remedy-to-indifference-the-most-insidious/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I have no doubt that faith is only pure when it does not negate the faith of another. I have no doubt that evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-have-no-doubt-that-faith-is-only-pure-when-it-does-not-negate-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [The opposite of faith is not heresy but indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-opposite-of-faith-is-not-heresy-but-indifference/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/indifference-elicits-no-response-indifference-is-not-a-response/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Every dead body that is not exterminated, gets up and kills. The people it kills, get up and kill!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-james-foster/every-dead-body-that-is-not-exterminated-gets-up-and-kills-the-people/) [Dr. James Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-james-foster/) ## More by Elie Wiesel > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [One more stab to the heart, one more reason to hate. One less reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/one-more-stab-to-the-heart-one-more-reason-to-hate-one-less-reason-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-all-these-victims-need-above-all-is-to-know-that-they-are-not/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-feel-that-books-just-like-people-have-a-destiny-some-invite-sorrow/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ \[Chinese\] are a huge empire now, you'll soon be - in a few years two billion people in the world. So, you should be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/chinese-are-a-huge-empire-now-you-ll-soon-be-in-a-few-years-two/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-i-write-it-so-as-not-to-go-mad-or-on-the-contrary-to-go-mad-in/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/mankind-must-remember-that-peace-is-not-god-s-gift-to-his-creatures/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [The world? The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-world-the-world-is-not-interested-in-us-today-everything-is/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-question-possessed-a-power-that-was-lost-in-the-answer/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [His cold eyes stared at me. At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/his-cold-eyes-stared-at-me-at-last-he-said-wearily-i-have-more-faith/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [As you know, I describe Shirat ha-Yam as part of an epic story that has qualities of history and which also has qualities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/as-you-know-i-describe-shirat-ha-yam-as-part-of-an-epic-story-that/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate -healthy virile hate- for what the German personifies and for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-jew-somewhere-in-his-being-should-set-apart-a-zone-of-hate/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did hope help us to survive, or not? Too many families clung to it all through the war, thus falling into the enemy's trap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-hope-help-us-to-survive-or-not-too-many-families-clung-to-it-all/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) [Explore all 662 Elie Wiesel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More Hatred quotes > [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/) > [Only those who hate the Negro see hatred in the Negro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/only-those-who-hate-the-negro-see-hatred-in-the-negro/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [We witness anti-Semitic attacks in the heart of Europe. We hear anti-Semitic slanders in European media. We feel anti-Semitic hatred in the continent that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-shaked/we-witness-anti-semitic-attacks-in-the-heart-of-europe-we-hear-anti/) [Ayelet Shaked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-shaked/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [If the mind is dominated by hatred, the best part of the brain, which is used to judge right and wrong, does not function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/if-the-mind-is-dominated-by-hatred-the-best-part-of-the-brain-which/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [The hatred of those who are near to us is the most violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publius-cornelius-tacitus/the-hatred-of-those-who-are-near-to-us-is-the-most-violent/) [Publius Cornelius Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publius-cornelius-tacitus/) > [“Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/their-love-is-average-seeks-average-but-there-is-genius-in-their/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [Too many years of feeling degraded now hatred's the only feeling that comes~~~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/too-many-years-of-feeling-degraded-now-hatred-s-the-only-feeling-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“It’s a continual revelation when you come to understand that the only thing you can expect in return for your own dignity is hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/it-s-a-continual-revelation-when-you-come-to-understand-that-the-only/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Everybody loves to talk about calmness and peace, whether in a family, national, or international context, but without inner peace how can we make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/everybody-loves-to-talk-about-calmness-and-peace-whether-in-a-family/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Browse all 3,825 Hatred quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's not hatred that kills people, it's indifference", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elie Wiesel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-indifference/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hatred" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-indifference/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/elie-wiesel-341_hatred_it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-i_2606482.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/elie-wiesel-341_hatred_it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-i_2606482.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/elie-wiesel-341_hatred_it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-i_2606482.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's not hatred that kills people, it's indifference” — Elie Wiesel", "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": "Elie Wiesel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's not hatred that kills people,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-indifference/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/it-s-not-hatred-that-kills-people-it-s-indifference/#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 } } ] } ```