--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s depressing at times, but I try to…" description: "\"“It’s depressing at times, but I try to keep a sense of perspective. Sweet F.A. will never be more than a bunch of thugs and vandals, high in nuisance ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55e/greg-egan-8766_north-america_it-s-depressing-at-times-but-i-try-to-ke_2182117.jpg" --- # It’s depressing at times, but I try to keep a sense of… ![“It’s depressing at times, but I try to keep a sense of perspective. Sweet F.A. will never be more than a bunch of thugs and vandals, high in nuisance value, but politically irrelevant. I’ve seen them on TV, marching around their “training camps” in designer camouflage, or sitting in lecture…” quote by Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55e/greg-egan-8766_north-america_it-s-depressing-at-times-but-i-try-to-ke_2182117.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55e/greg-egan-8766_north-america_it-s-depressing-at-times-but-i-try-to-ke_2182117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55e/greg-egan-8766_north-america_it-s-depressing-at-times-but-i-try-to-ke_2182117.jpg) > ““It’s depressing at times, but I try to keep a sense of perspective. Sweet F.A. will never be more than a bunch of thugs and vandals, high in nuisance value, but politically irrelevant. I’ve seen them on TV, marching around their “training camps” in designer camouflage, or sitting in lecture theaters, watching recorded speeches by their guru, Jack Kelly, or (oblivious to the irony) messages of “international solidarity” from similar organizations in Europe and North America.”” [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author critiques extremist groups, viewing them as noisy but ultimately powerless, and highlights their theatrical self‑presentation. **In simple terms:** Extremist groups are loud but politically irrelevant. Key Takeaway Recognize and dismiss empty threats. Themes politics extremism media perception power Mood cautious critical analytical Type commentary observational critical When to use this quote - political analysis - media literacy - activism - public policy Key Concepts ideology propaganda social influence Questions to Reflect On - How do media portrayals affect public fear? - Can dismissing groups as irrelevant overlook hidden threats? A Different Perspective Their self‑promotion can mask real danger if ignored. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [North america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-america/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [A sweet thing, perspective - a chance to see your enemies so small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/a-sweet-thing-perspective-a-chance-to-see-your-enemies-so-small/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [In sum, as we enter the 21st century, the Euro-Atlantic community - North America and Europe together - has to face some tough challenges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-robertson/in-sum-as-we-enter-the-21st-century-the-euro-atlantic-community-north/) [Lord Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-robertson/) > [If you think about the history of mobile handsets, in many respects there was a time when Asia and then Europe all led North…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-elop/if-you-think-about-the-history-of-mobile-handsets-in-many-respects/) [Stephen Elop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-elop/) > [“Hoping to create a little prestige, some retailers develop and advertise premium clothes sub-brands. In 2006, Myer, one of Australia’s largest retailers, launched a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-thain/hoping-to-create-a-little-prestige-some-retailers-develop-and/) [Greg Thain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-thain/) > [Land. 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Bush, the little gentleman of the North, the political cadaver that is visiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/the-president-of-the-united-states-of-north-america-george-w-bush-the/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [“Soon you catch your first glimpse of a vineyard basking in the sun, its broad leaves silently turning sunlight into sugar, ripening vitis vinifera,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-taylor-starwood/soon-you-catch-your-first-glimpse-of-a-vineyard-basking-in-the-sun/) [Jane Taylor Starwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-taylor-starwood/) > [Scotland's political identity was destroyed, and a huge Scottish emigration to North America followed the brutal Highland clearances. These included every layer of Scottish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/scotland-s-political-identity-was-destroyed-and-a-huge-scottish/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [Currently intellectuals in Western Europe and North America are extremely demoralized and shaken by the rise of a virulent conservative tendency (which some have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/currently-intellectuals-in-western-europe-and-north-america-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [In North America and Western Europe, ten percent of the population of the world consumes fifty percent of its energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-levi/in-north-america-and-western-europe-ten-percent-of-the-population-of/) [Yehuda Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-levi/) > [So-called Western Civilization, as practised in half of Europe, some of Asia and a few parts of North America, is better than anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/so-called-western-civilization-as-practised-in-half-of-europe-some-of/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“As healthy and viable populations of wild animals, wolves were gone from most of eastern North America long before the death of the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-hampton/as-healthy-and-viable-populations-of-wild-animals-wolves-were-gone/) [Bruce Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-hampton/) > [We have a big opportunity in China. We think the number of stores here can rival the number in North America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schultz/we-have-a-big-opportunity-in-china-we-think-the-number-of-stores-here/) [Howard Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-schultz/) ## More by Greg Egan > [“Paul closed his eyes and turned his face to the sun. 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About the only relatively new artists whose albums I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/i-m-rarely-grabbed-by-anything-the-way-i-was-when-i-was-10-years/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [If we spend all our time gazing at the wonders ahead without remembering where we're standing right now, we're going to trip and fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/if-we-spend-all-our-time-gazing-at-the-wonders-ahead-without/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“The Transmuters had built a structure that dwarfed universes, but touched each one only lightly. They hadn’t turned whole worlds to rubble, they hadn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/the-transmuters-had-built-a-structure-that-dwarfed-universes-but/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“I have no strength now to speak of my loss of strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/i-have-no-strength-now-to-speak-of-my-loss-of-strength/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“The only way up is up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/the-only-way-up-is-up/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“My earliest memories are of CP4 — that's a Kähler manifold that looks locally like a vector space with four complex directions, though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/my-earliest-memories-are-of-cp4-that-s-a-k-hler-manifold-that-looks/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“We’ve been half right about a lot of things, but there’s something missing from our theories, something whose nature we haven’t even guessed yet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/we-ve-been-half-right-about-a-lot-of-things-but-there-s-something/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [A story in Asimov's is read by hundreds of thousands of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/a-story-in-asimov-s-is-read-by-hundreds-of-thousands-of-people/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [“Imagine a universe entirely without structure, without shape, without connections. A cloud of microscopic events, like fragments of space-time … except that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/imagine-a-universe-entirely-without-structure-without-shape-without/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) [Explore all 78 Greg Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) ## More North america quotes > [In sum, as we enter the 21st century, the Euro-Atlantic community - North America and Europe together - has to face some tough challenges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-robertson/in-sum-as-we-enter-the-21st-century-the-euro-atlantic-community-north/) [Lord Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-robertson/) > [“As healthy and viable populations of wild animals, wolves were gone from most of eastern North America long before the death of the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-hampton/as-healthy-and-viable-populations-of-wild-animals-wolves-were-gone/) [Bruce Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-hampton/) > [So-called Western Civilization, as practised in half of Europe, some of Asia and a few parts of North America, is better than anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/so-called-western-civilization-as-practised-in-half-of-europe-some-of/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In North America and Western Europe, ten percent of the population of the world consumes fifty percent of its energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-levi/in-north-america-and-western-europe-ten-percent-of-the-population-of/) [Yehuda Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-levi/) > [Currently intellectuals in Western Europe and North America are extremely demoralized and shaken by the rise of a virulent conservative tendency (which some have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/currently-intellectuals-in-western-europe-and-north-america-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Scotland's political identity was destroyed, and a huge Scottish emigration to North America followed the brutal Highland clearances. These included every layer of Scottish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/scotland-s-political-identity-was-destroyed-and-a-huge-scottish/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [“Soon you catch your first glimpse of a vineyard basking in the sun, its broad leaves silently turning sunlight into sugar, ripening vitis vinifera,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-taylor-starwood/soon-you-catch-your-first-glimpse-of-a-vineyard-basking-in-the-sun/) [Jane Taylor Starwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-taylor-starwood/) > [The president of the United States of North America, George W. Bush, the little gentleman of the North, the political cadaver that is visiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/the-president-of-the-united-states-of-north-america-george-w-bush-the/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [The undisturbed coastal plain is home to a wide variety of plants and animals and is the only wilderness sanctuary in North America that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/the-undisturbed-coastal-plain-is-home-to-a-wide-variety-of-plants-and/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [There are lots of places I would love to go to in Europe and North America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nasser-hussain/there-are-lots-of-places-i-would-love-to-go-to-in-europe-and-north/) [Nasser Hussain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nasser-hussain/) > [Land. 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We think the number of stores here can rival the number in North America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schultz/we-have-a-big-opportunity-in-china-we-think-the-number-of-stores-here/) [Howard Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-schultz/) > [We've set up groups in schools across North America. They apply and receive a curriculum about different issues facing the world - from environment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-kielburger/we-ve-set-up-groups-in-schools-across-north-america-they-apply-and/) [Craig Kielburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-kielburger/) [Browse all 425 North america quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s depressing at times, but I try to keep a sense of perspective. Sweet F.A. will never be more than a bunch of thugs and vandals, high in nuisance value, but politically irrelevant. 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