--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They are committing the greatest…" description: "\"They are committing the greatest indignity human beings can inflict on one another: telling people who have suffered excruciating pain and loss that th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/482/elie-wiesel-341_excruciating-pain_they-are-committing-the-greatest-indigni_2873606.png" --- # They are committing the greatest indignity human beings… ![“They are committing the greatest indignity human beings can inflict on one another: telling people who have suffered excruciating pain and loss that their pain and loss were illusions. (v)” quote by Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/482/elie-wiesel-341_excruciating-pain_they-are-committing-the-greatest-indigni_2873606.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/482/elie-wiesel-341_excruciating-pain_they-are-committing-the-greatest-indigni_2873606.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/482/elie-wiesel-341_excruciating-pain_they-are-committing-the-greatest-indigni_2873606.png) > “They are committing the greatest indignity human beings can inflict on one another: telling people who have suffered excruciating pain and loss that their pain and loss were illusions. (v)” [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. Denying victims' suffering is a profound injustice inflicted by others. **In simple terms:** Ignoring pain is a grave injustice. Key Takeaway Validate and acknowledge others' suffering. Themes justice empathy human rights Mood somber empathetic Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - counseling - conflict resolution - human rights advocacy - support groups Key Concepts trauma psychology ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can we better support those who claim their pain is dismissed? - What societal structures prevent acknowledgment of suffering? A Different Perspective Some may argue pain is subjective, leading to denial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beings Inflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings-inflict-3944748/) [Excruciating pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excruciating-pain/) [Greatest Indignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-indignity-3944747/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Indignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indignity/) [Indignity Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indignity-human-3944746/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain and loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-and-loss/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Suffered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-suffered-268777/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) ## Related quotes > [A people who have suffered so much for so long at the hands of a racist society must draw the line somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-seale/a-people-who-have-suffered-so-much-for-so-long-at-the-hands-of-a/) [Bobby Seale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-seale/) > [Year - 1984 Place - India (most populous Democracy in the world), two cold-blooded tragedies within a month in winters of 1984 killed thousands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohit-sharma/year-1984-place-india-most-populous-democracy-in-the-world-two-cold/) [Mohit Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohit-sharma/) > [People who have suffered know more about compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-buckley/people-who-have-suffered-know-more-about-compassion/) [Betty Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-buckley/) > [Most of the people we see don't want to live in a shelter and feel save in their own little camp. Experience has taught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gallagher-jr/most-of-the-people-we-see-don-t-want-to-live-in-a-shelter-and-feel/) [John Gallagher, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gallagher-jr/) > [Germany is a nation that created an enormous amount of suffering on the planet. The German people also themselves have suffered, because it always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/germany-is-a-nation-that-created-an-enormous-amount-of-suffering-on/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Price of peace could only be valued by people who had suffered loss in the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/price-of-peace-could-only-be-valued-by-people-who-had-suffered-loss/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Behind that picture of me, thousands and thousands of people, they suffered - more than me. They died. They lost parts of their bodies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phan-thi-kim-phuc/behind-that-picture-of-me-thousands-and-thousands-of-people-they/) [Phan Thi Kim Phuc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phan-thi-kim-phuc/) > [I didn’t want to hear that people lived happily ever after. I wanted to know that other people suffered, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-king/i-didn-t-want-to-hear-that-people-lived-happily-ever-after-i-wanted/) [Heather King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-king/) > [“Then it occurred to me that many of these people had suffered more than Christ himself. “I pondered this until I felt that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-undset/then-it-occurred-to-me-that-many-of-these-people-had-suffered-more/) [Sigrid Undset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-undset/) > [Look at black people dying and suffering in South Africa. I ask why. We've dropped bombs on no one, we've harmed no one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-dellums/look-at-black-people-dying-and-suffering-in-south-africa-i-ask-why-we/) [Ron Dellums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-dellums/) > [“People who have suffered understand pain and are often the best at helping others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-fezzani/people-who-have-suffered-understand-pain-and-are-often-the-best-at/) [Nadia Fezzani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-fezzani/) > [Among people who have suffered, politics is never a pose adopted for its facile rectitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/among-people-who-have-suffered-politics-is-never-a-pose-adopted-for/) [Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/) > [“now he knew that there were communities everywhere, sprinkled across the vast landscape of the known world, in which people suffered. Not always from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/now-he-knew-that-there-were-communities-everywhere-sprinkled-across/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Cubans are a people who suffered from capitalism in the cruelest way, in the social order, the economic order and the political order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/cubans-are-a-people-who-suffered-from-capitalism-in-the-cruelest-way/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [Look at how lucky white people are compared to black people, who have suffered so much just because of their skin color, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/severn-cullis-suzuki/look-at-how-lucky-white-people-are-compared-to-black-people-who-have/) [Severn Cullis-Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/severn-cullis-suzuki/) ## 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 Excruciating pain quotes > [“Sentience is not an end in itself. It is a means to the end of staying alive. Sentient beings use sensations of pain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francione-gary-l/sentience-is-not-an-end-in-itself-it-is-a-means-to-the-end-of-staying/) [Francione, Gary L](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francione-gary-l/) > [“Returning to his Manhattan town house on Christmas Eve, Grant, sixty-one, pivoted to hand the driver a holiday tip when he slipped on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/returning-to-his-manhattan-town-house-on-christmas-eve-grant-sixty/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [It's very difficult to advocate for yourself while you're in excruciating pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandra-wilson/it-s-very-difficult-to-advocate-for-yourself-while-you-re-in/) [Chandra Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandra-wilson/) > [They say you don't get over someone until you find someone or something better. As humans, we don't deal well with emptiness. Any empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/they-say-you-don-t-get-over-someone-until-you-find-someone-or/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“Loss and betrayal, however, cause such excruciating pain that it is tempting to block the heart to prevent this misery from happening again. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-simpson/loss-and-betrayal-however-cause-such-excruciating-pain-that-it-is/) [Fay Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-simpson/) > [“Temporary, but excruciating, pain is the price of healing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/temporary-but-excruciating-pain-is-the-price-of-healing/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [“The first consequence of love is pain—whether it is the fascinating jovial pain of love or the excruciating pain of a torn and tormented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nely-cab/the-first-consequence-of-love-is-pain-whether-it-is-the-fascinating/) [Nely Cab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nely-cab/) > [“Life is too hard to maintain a constantly serious outlook. You have to laugh at yourself and the world now and then―see humor in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/life-is-too-hard-to-maintain-a-constantly-serious-outlook-you-have-to/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [When we make ourselves vulnerable, we do open ourselves to pain, sometimes excruciating pain. The more people we love, the more we are liable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/when-we-make-ourselves-vulnerable-we-do-open-ourselves-to-pain/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Okay, I guess I can start with what I told you about my family this morning. 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She felt sick for months with nausea, then she watched her feet swell & her skin stretch;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muniir-zero/my-mom-carried-me-for-nine-months-she-felt-sick-for-months-with/) [Muniir Zero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muniir-zero/) [Browse all 41 Excruciating pain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excruciating-pain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They are committing the greatest indignity human beings can inflict on one another: telling people who have suffered excruciating pain and loss that their pain and loss were illusions. 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