---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And when enough people are quiet for long…"
description: "\"“And when enough people are quiet for long enough, a handful of voices can give the impression that everyone is screaming.”\" — Fredrik Backman"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/fredrik-backman-857_screaming_and-when-enough-people-are-quiet-for-lon_564848.jpg"
---

#  And when enough people are quiet for long enough, a…

![“And when enough people are quiet for long enough, a handful of voices can give the impression that everyone is screaming.” quote by Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/fredrik-backman-857_screaming_and-when-enough-people-are-quiet-for-lon_564848.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/fredrik-backman-857_screaming_and-when-enough-people-are-quiet-for-lon_564848.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/fredrik-backman-857_screaming_and-when-enough-people-are-quiet-for-lon_564848.jpg)

> ““And when enough people are quiet for long enough, a handful of voices can give the impression that everyone is screaming.””

[Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Explains how a few vocal minorities can create the illusion of widespread consensus.

**In simple terms:** Minorities can seem like majority.

Key Takeaway

Listen to diverse voices.

Themes

media perception consensus

Mood

critical analytical

Type

social political

When to use this quote

- political discourse
- marketing campaigns
- social media trends

Key Concepts

social influence group dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you verify the true breadth of opinion?
- What mechanisms ensure balanced representation?

A Different Perspective

Risk of amplifying fringe opinions unintentionally.

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## Related quotes

> [“It doesn't take long to persuade each other to stop seeing a person as a person. And when enough people are quiet for long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/it-doesn-t-take-long-to-persuade-each-other-to-stop-seeing-a-person/)

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> [People: You're so quiet, like you don't talk... Me: I talk, just not to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xoe/people-you-re-so-quiet-like-you-don-t-talk-me-i-talk-just-not-to-you/)

Xoe

> [People are never quiet. It's go, go, go. I'm a go-getter, but you need rest and silence, just to sit around and think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-hill/people-are-never-quiet-it-s-go-go-go-i-m-a-go-getter-but-you-need/)

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> [In cities no one is quiet but many are lonely; in the country, people are quiet but few are lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-fisher/in-cities-no-one-is-quiet-but-many-are-lonely-in-the-country-people/)

[Geoffrey Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-fisher/)

> [“The silence between us stretched out, but it wasn’t awkward. Sometimes there are people you can be quiet with, and you never feel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/the-silence-between-us-stretched-out-but-it-wasn-t-awkward-sometimes/)

[Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/)

> [Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/religion-is-excellent-stuff-for-keeping-common-people-quiet/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [Funny how people get quiet when I come near. Yeah, you known that's that fear!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/funny-how-people-get-quiet-when-i-come-near-yeah-you-known-that-s/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Most people are quiet in the world, and live in it tentatively, as if it were not their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/most-people-are-quiet-in-the-world-and-live-in-it-tentatively-as-if/)

[E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/)

> [I'm sure people see me as quiet and someone who keeps things to himself a little bit. I might be quiet, but there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-donald/i-m-sure-people-see-me-as-quiet-and-someone-who-keeps-things-to/)

[Luke Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-donald/)

> [You call it demonic because you hear screaming, I call it life saving because I hear the meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-lucker/you-call-it-demonic-because-you-hear-screaming-i-call-it-life-saving/)

[Mitch Lucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-lucker/)

> [There's not much competition with One Direction when it comes to screaming girls. We have a lot more 19-year-old screaming men. -Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-wanted/there-s-not-much-competition-with-one-direction-when-it-comes-to/)

[The Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-wanted/)

> [Language just gradually came in, one or two stressed words a time. Before then, I would just scream. I couldn't talk. I couldn't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/language-just-gradually-came-in-one-or-two-stressed-words-a-time/)

[Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/)

> [I pound on the glass, screaming my head off. Everyone ignores me except for some Capitol attendant who appears behind me and offers me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-pound-on-the-glass-screaming-my-head-off-everyone-ignores-me-except/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [Filmmaking, like sex, isn't a polite enterprise. It involves a lot of mess and the bottom line is, if somebody ain't screaming, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-woods/filmmaking-like-sex-isn-t-a-polite-enterprise-it-involves-a-lot-of/)

[James Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-woods/)

## More by Fredrik Backman

> [“So she bowed her head and devoted herself to Beartown’s real traditional sports: shame and silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/so-she-bowed-her-head-and-devoted-herself-to-beartown-s-real/)

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> [“If Peter has learned one thing about human nature during all his years in hockey, it’s that almost everyone regards themselves as a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/if-peter-has-learned-one-thing-about-human-nature-during-all-his/)

[Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

> [“That’s what parents often do, I think, we persuade ourselves we’re doing everything for the sake of the child. It’s too painful to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/that-s-what-parents-often-do-i-think-we-persuade-ourselves-we-re/)

[Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

> [“Uve je dobro znao da njeni prijatelji nisu shvatali zbog čega se onda svakog jutra budila sa odlukom da provede dan sa njim. Nije…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/uve-je-dobro-znao-da-njeni-prijatelji-nisu-shvatali-zbog-ega-se-onda/)

[Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

> [“Somebody has one of the worst hairstyles Britt-Marie has ever laid eyes on, as if she’s combed her hair with a terrified animal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/somebody-has-one-of-the-worst-hairstyles-britt-marie-has-ever-laid/)

[Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

> [“Hate can be a deeply stimulating emotion. The world becomes easier to understand and much less terrifying if you divide everything and everyone into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/hate-can-be-a-deeply-stimulating-emotion-the-world-becomes-easier-to/)

[Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

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> [“The girl glances at the surface of the desk, which looks as if toddlers have been trying to eat potatoes off it. With pitchforks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/the-girl-glances-at-the-surface-of-the-desk-which-looks-as-if/)

[Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

> [“Mnogim ljudima je teško da žive sa nekim ko ceni samoću. To neprijatno žulja one koji nisu i sami takvi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/mnogim-ljudima-je-te-ko-da-ive-sa-nekim-ko-ceni-samo-u-to-neprijatno/)

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> [“But his taste buds are as dysfunctional as the volume control on his voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/but-his-taste-buds-are-as-dysfunctional-as-the-volume-control-on-his/)

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> [“For more than half a century they belonged to one another. She detested the same characteristics in him that last day as she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/for-more-than-half-a-century-they-belonged-to-one-another-she/)

[Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

> [“His heart is too big.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/his-heart-is-too-big/)

[Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

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[Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

[Explore all 320 Fredrik Backman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/)

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> [Filmmaking, like sex, isn't a polite enterprise. It involves a lot of mess and the bottom line is, if somebody ain't screaming, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-woods/filmmaking-like-sex-isn-t-a-polite-enterprise-it-involves-a-lot-of/)

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[The Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-wanted/)

> [You call it demonic because you hear screaming, I call it life saving because I hear the meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-lucker/you-call-it-demonic-because-you-hear-screaming-i-call-it-life-saving/)

[Mitch Lucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-lucker/)

> [“And the sex,” I said. “It will be frequent. Possibly violent. You’ll be screaming. Neighbors will make phone calls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/and-the-sex-i-said-it-will-be-frequent-possibly-violent-you-ll-be/)

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> [When I get to the stage, I don't get no kind of weird feeling when everybody starts screaming. It doesn't make me feel superhuman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamillionaire/when-i-get-to-the-stage-i-don-t-get-no-kind-of-weird-feeling-when/)

[Chamillionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamillionaire/)

> [“Suddenly, I think I might start screaming at him — I’m not even sure about what”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/suddenly-i-think-i-might-start-screaming-at-him-i-m-not-even-sure/)

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> [“When pain inspires you, your thoughts scream its lungs out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/when-pain-inspires-you-your-thoughts-scream-its-lungs-out/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [You may have seen my firm's ads screaming, 'I Hate Annuities.' Folks ask why we run them. Simple: Because I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/you-may-have-seen-my-firm-s-ads-screaming-i-hate-annuities-folks-ask/)

[Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/)

> [I can't say it wasn't fun in the 70s having screaming people in the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-mael/i-can-t-say-it-wasn-t-fun-in-the-70s-having-screaming-people-in-the/)

[Ron Mael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-mael/)

> [U and I don't know What we lie so don't let more time pass on I know u won't understand Byt the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi/u-and-i-don-t-know-what-we-lie-so-don-t-let-more-time-pass-on-i-know/)

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> [I do not like - in the middle of a wrestling arena where they're serving alcohol and there are screaming fans including children in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sable/i-do-not-like-in-the-middle-of-a-wrestling-arena-where-they-re/)

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> [If she were going to die, I'd already be screaming. I'm a Banshee. That's what we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/if-she-were-going-to-die-i-d-already-be-screaming-i-m-a-banshee-that/)

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