--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not mistake your objection to defeat…" description: "\"Do not mistake your objection to defeat for an objection to fighting, your objection to being a slave for an objection to slavery, your objection to no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/george-bernard-shaw-68_cowardly_do-not-mistake-your-objection-to-defeat_705864.png" --- # Do not mistake your objection to defeat for an objection… ![“Do not mistake your objection to defeat for an objection to fighting, your objection to being a slave for an objection to slavery, your objection to not being as rich as your neighbor for an objection to poverty. The cowardly, the insubordinate, and the envious share your objections.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/george-bernard-shaw-68_cowardly_do-not-mistake-your-objection-to-defeat_705864.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/george-bernard-shaw-68_cowardly_do-not-mistake-your-objection-to-defeat_705864.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/george-bernard-shaw-68_cowardly_do-not-mistake-your-objection-to-defeat_705864.png) > “Do not mistake your objection to defeat for an objection to fighting, your objection to being a slave for an objection to slavery, your objection to not being as rich as your neighbor for an objection to poverty. The cowardly, the insubordinate, and the envious share your objections.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Opposing oppression is not the same as opposing the struggle against it; objections to injustice differ from objections to effort. **In simple terms:** Fighting for freedom is distinct from fearing hardship. Key Takeaway Distinguish between resisting oppression and resisting the fight itself. Themes justice freedom resistance ethics Mood critical inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - activism - civil rights movements - personal motivation Key Concepts moral philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - Do you confuse discomfort with lack of conviction? - How can we clarify our true objections? A Different Perspective Objections can be misinterpreted as laziness rather than principle. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Objections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objections/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [The true objection to slavery is not that it is unjust to the inferior but that it corrupts the superior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-true-objection-to-slavery-is-not-that-it-is-unjust-to-the/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [The chief objection to playing wind instruments is that it prolongs the life of the player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-chief-objection-to-playing-wind-instruments-is-that-it-prolongs/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I am because the Chinese have agreed - entered into this agreement in 1997. It sets out the circumstances in which the release of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brandis/i-am-because-the-chinese-have-agreed-entered-into-this-agreement-in/) [George Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brandis/) > [Whoever builds his faith exclusively on demonstrative proofs and deductive arguments, builds a faith on which it is impossible to rely. For he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-arabi/whoever-builds-his-faith-exclusively-on-demonstrative-proofs-and/) [Ibn Arabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-arabi/) > [It would not be possible for Noah to do in our day what he was permitted to do in his own ... The inspector…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-would-not-be-possible-for-noah-to-do-in-our-day-what-he-was/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Stem cells are probably going to be extremely useful. But it isn't a given, and even if it were, I don't think the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murray/stem-cells-are-probably-going-to-be-extremely-useful-but-it-isn-t-a/) [Joseph Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murray/) > [In England the practice of "virtual" representation provided reasonably well for the actual representation of the major interests of the society, and it raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-bailyn/in-england-the-practice-of-virtual-representation-provided-reasonably/) [Bernard Bailyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-bailyn/) > [Prophet Mohammed would have no objection to The Satanic Verses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/prophet-mohammed-would-have-no-objection-to-the-satanic-verses/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“People naturally have questions. They always have and always will. 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So they assemble in protests to convey their objections. What’s wrong with that? A similar outpouring came recently from American Walter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/at-their-disposal-so-they-assemble-in-protests-to-convey-their/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Among many other weighty objections to the Measure, it has been suggested, that it has a tendency to introduce religious disputes into the Army,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/among-many-other-weighty-objections-to-the-measure-it-has-been/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“Set aside your repertoire of objections and own 100 percent of your focus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/set-aside-your-repertoire-of-objections-and-own-100-percent-of-your/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each Act of Parliament intended to address harassment and discrimination has faced objections on the basis of 'you'll never be able to prove...' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-field/each-act-of-parliament-intended-to-address-harassment-and/) [Tim Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-field/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Cowardly quotes > [A love to Christ which is so cowardly and selfish that it is unwilling to proclaim by a public confession its faith in Him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/a-love-to-christ-which-is-so-cowardly-and-selfish-that-it-is/) [Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/) > [Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! All wars are wars among thieves who are too cowardly to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/poor-human-nature-what-horrible-crimes-have-been-committed-in-thy/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The world, and the great and free United States in particular, is full of narrow-minded, ignorant, moronic, bigoted, cowardly, self-righteous, anemic, pig-headed, stupid, puritanical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-world-and-the-great-and-free-united-states-in-particular-is-full/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [It is no less vain to wish death than it is cowardly to fear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sidney/it-is-no-less-vain-to-wish-death-than-it-is-cowardly-to-fear-it/) [Philip Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sidney/) > [Not to be cowardly when it comes to our own actions! Not to leave them in the lurch!--The sting of conscience is indecent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/not-to-be-cowardly-when-it-comes-to-our-own-actions-not-to-leave-them/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [To go behind a man's hall-door is mean, cowardly, unfair opposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-woodhull/to-go-behind-a-man-s-hall-door-is-mean-cowardly-unfair-opposition/) [Victoria Woodhull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-woodhull/) > [You're obliged to pretend respect for people and institutions you think absurd. You live attached in a cowardly fashion to moral and social conventions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/you-re-obliged-to-pretend-respect-for-people-and-institutions-you/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [ “\[...\] god's cowardly, it doesn't want to know or take responsibility for what it's doing.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-aylett/god-s-cowardly-it-doesn-t-want-to-know-or-take-responsibility-for/) [Steve Aylett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-aylett/) > [“I’m a coward.” “No—” “Don’t deny what we both know to be true.” Richard put his hand on Jonathan’s shoulder. “You are worn down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sondra-allan-carr/i-m-a-coward-no-don-t-deny-what-we-both-know-to-be-true-richard-put/) [Sondra Allan Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sondra-allan-carr/) > [We must be neither cowardly nor rash but courageous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/we-must-be-neither-cowardly-nor-rash-but-courageous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Blessed be those happy ages that were strangers to the dreadful fury of these devilish instruments of artillery, whose inventor I am satisfied is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/blessed-be-those-happy-ages-that-were-strangers-to-the-dreadful-fury/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [There is a time when to avoid trouble is to store up trouble, and when to seek for a lazy and a cowardly peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/there-is-a-time-when-to-avoid-trouble-is-to-store-up-trouble-and-when/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [“You may say suicide is a loss of control and cowardly. Foolish as it may sound, I am prepared to argue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-remy/you-may-say-suicide-is-a-loss-of-control-and-cowardly-foolish-as-it/) [Dee Remy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-remy/) > [“You are a man. You are an average, lazy, boring, cowardly, woman-fearing man. Without me, that's what you would have kept on being, ad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/you-are-a-man-you-are-an-average-lazy-boring-cowardly-woman-fearing/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I believe that women are many different types of people. There are brave women, there are cowardly women, there are altruistic women, there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/i-believe-that-women-are-many-different-types-of-people-there-are/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) Browse all 330 Cowardly quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Do not mistake your objection to defeat for an objection to fighting, your objection to being a slave for an objection to slavery, your objection to not being as rich as your neighbor for an objection to poverty. 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