--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not for any form of repression, but…" description: "\"I am not for any form of repression, but I sometimes think the desire for liberation masks the desire for oblivion. It's very hard to tell the differen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/francis-levy-41219_desire_i-am-not-for-any-form-of-repression-but_1230777.jpg" --- # I am not for any form of repression, but I sometimes think… ![“I am not for any form of repression, but I sometimes think the desire for liberation masks the desire for oblivion. It's very hard to tell the difference sometimes.” quote by Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/francis-levy-41219_desire_i-am-not-for-any-form-of-repression-but_1230777.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/francis-levy-41219_desire_i-am-not-for-any-form-of-repression-but_1230777.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/francis-levy-41219_desire_i-am-not-for-any-form-of-repression-but_1230777.jpg) > “I am not for any form of repression, but I sometimes think the desire for liberation masks the desire for oblivion. It's very hard to tell the difference sometimes.” [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire for freedom can hide a wish to escape existence, making motives ambiguous. **In simple terms:** Freedom may mask escape. Key Takeaway Examine true motivations. Themes freedom oblivion identity Mood analytical introspective Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - political activism - spiritual practice - creative expression - personal boundaries Key Concepts existentialism psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What does liberation mean to you? - Are you avoiding discomfort? A Different Perspective Freedom can be misused for avoidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) [Oblivion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivion/) [Repression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repression/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Beneath it all, desire of oblivion runs: Despite the artful tensions of the calendar, The life insurance, the tabled fertility rites, The costly aversion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/beneath-it-all-desire-of-oblivion-runs-despite-the-artful-tensions-of/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“The desire for liberation arises in human beings at the end of many births, through the ripening of their past virtuous conduct.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-desire-for-liberation-arises-in-human-beings-at-the-end-of-many/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Not less of love, but expanding Of love beyond desire, and so liberation From the Future as well as the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/not-less-of-love-but-expanding-of-love-beyond-desire-and-so/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Many journalists seem to desire 'liberation' from Christian roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/many-journalists-seem-to-desire-liberation-from-christian-roots/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [It was right after Woodrow Wilson's first serious post-World War I repression, which deported thousands of people, effectively destroyed unions and independent press, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-was-right-after-woodrow-wilson-s-first-serious-post-world-war-i/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Bras are a ludicrous invention; but if you make bralessness a rule, you're just subjecting yourself to yet another repression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/bras-are-a-ludicrous-invention-but-if-you-make-bralessness-a-rule-you/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [“Converting the Internet into a system of surveillance thus guts it of its core potential. Worse, it turns the Internet into a tool of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/converting-the-internet-into-a-system-of-surveillance-thus-guts-it-of/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Often, her mate is the child of a narcissist, already indoctrinated to regard exploitation and disregard as love. Others lured by the narcissistic aura…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elan-golomb/often-her-mate-is-the-child-of-a-narcissist-already-indoctrinated-to/) Elan Golomb > [What makes power hold good, what makes it accepted, is simply the fact that it doesn't only weigh on us as a force that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/what-makes-power-hold-good-what-makes-it-accepted-is-simply-the-fact/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [One mechanism of repression is the grand jury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/one-mechanism-of-repression-is-the-grand-jury/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [ \[As in the case of\] alcohol prohibition, illegality has driven organized crime, sent countless people to jail, and killed many thousands. Repression does not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-branson/as-in-the-case-of-alcohol-prohibition-illegality-has-driven-organized/) [Sam Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-branson/) > [ “repression, which “proceeds from the self-respect of the ego … \[the person\] has set up an ideal in himself by which he measures his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sandler/repression-which-proceeds-from-the-self-respect-of-the-ego-the-person/) Joseph Sandler > [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/) Hugh Williamson > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) ## More by Francis Levy > [Can we come to the point where we can accept the impossible strivings that we have, the utter inability to ever fulfill our narcissistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/can-we-come-to-the-point-where-we-can-accept-the-impossible-strivings/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) > [Brazil obviously connotes something in my mind to do with desire, sexuality and freedom. In fantasy, in mythology, Rio is the iconography of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/brazil-obviously-connotes-something-in-my-mind-to-do-with-desire/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) > [Imagination is always greater than reality, and the reality of a sex paradise is that they offer a supposed escape from the nightmare of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/imagination-is-always-greater-than-reality-and-the-reality-of-a-sex/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) > [I was in analysis for many years, and one of the things analysis does is open up forbidden territories. It opens up those unconscious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/i-was-in-analysis-for-many-years-and-one-of-the-things-analysis-does/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) > [“Fame Shark is American Psycho meets Call It Sleep. A no-holds -barred saga of the extremes a human being can go to in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/fame-shark-is-american-psycho-meets-call-it-sleep-a-no-holds-barred/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) > [I think men are still very loath to talk about their sexuality. Yet, I am so ashamed about my imperfection as a human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/i-think-men-are-still-very-loath-to-talk-about-their-sexuality-yet-i/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) > [If we're not conscious of sex, than we don't know we're having the pleasure. There's a compromise. By virtue of being human, there's self-reflection.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/if-we-re-not-conscious-of-sex-than-we-don-t-know-we-re-having-the/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) > [I haven't had a drink for 24 and a half years, so I don't live the kind of life anymore where I literally take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/i-haven-t-had-a-drink-for-24-and-a-half-years-so-i-don-t-live-the/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) > [All writers are autobiographical to a degree and writing about the nature of their inner life. My inner life has always been a struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-levy/all-writers-are-autobiographical-to-a-degree-and-writing-about-the/) [Francis Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) [Explore all 10 Francis Levy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-levy/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am not for any form of repression, but I sometimes think the desire for liberation masks the desire for oblivion. 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