--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There’s nothing more sickening to me than…" description: "\"“There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who’ll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance. Don’t fool yourselves—it’s all adding up..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6d/harper-lee-451_ignorance_there-s-nothing-more-sickening-to-me-tha_641079.png" --- # There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade… ![“There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who’ll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance. Don’t fool yourselves—it’s all adding up and one of these days we’re going to pay the bill for it. I hope it’s not in you children’s time.” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6d/harper-lee-451_ignorance_there-s-nothing-more-sickening-to-me-tha_641079.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6d/harper-lee-451_ignorance_there-s-nothing-more-sickening-to-me-tha_641079.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6d/harper-lee-451_ignorance_there-s-nothing-more-sickening-to-me-tha_641079.png) > ““There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who’ll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance. Don’t fool yourselves—it’s all adding up and one of these days we’re going to pay the bill for it. I hope it’s not in you children’s time.”” [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote condemns white individuals exploiting Black people's lack of knowledge, warning that such injustice will eventually have consequences, possibly affecting future generations. **In simple terms:** Exploiting ignorance leads to future repercussions. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge exploitation. Themes racism justice generational impact Mood concerned urgent Type social commentary activist When to use this quote - education reform - community activism - intergenerational dialogue Key Concepts systemic oppression social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can we educate to prevent exploitation? - What actions can protect future generations? A Different Perspective Change requires collective effort, not just individual awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Sickening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickening/) [White man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-man/) ## Related quotes > [“Thinking about the weather was one way of shutting out of his mind the appalling bloody human mess sprawled out over the bed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ellis/thinking-about-the-weather-was-one-way-of-shutting-out-of-his-mind/) [Mark Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ellis/) > [Pseudoscience is like a virus. At low levels, it's no big deal, but when it reaches a certain threshold it becomes sickening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-plait/pseudoscience-is-like-a-virus-at-low-levels-it-s-no-big-deal-but-when/) [Phil Plait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-plait/) > [There is a fine line between smelling good and smothering people with your scent to the point where it's actually sickening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-fine-line-between-smelling-good-and-smothering-people-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The very idea that human beings are held in bondage is sickening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-davey/the-very-idea-that-human-beings-are-held-in-bondage-is-sickening/) [Ed Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-davey/) > [“Killing animals to make a fashion statement = a sickening + cold-blooded vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-c-scott-2/killing-animals-to-make-a-fashion-statement-a-sickening-cold-blooded/) [Jess C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-c-scott-2/) > [The whole glorification of opulence and gluttony... it's just sickening to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everlast/the-whole-glorification-of-opulence-and-gluttony-it-s-just-sickening/) [Everlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everlast/) > [It's slanderous to report things I didn't say, to degrade my reputation, it's sickening to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-tannehill/it-s-slanderous-to-report-things-i-didn-t-say-to-degrade-my/) [Ryan Tannehill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-tannehill/) > [One moment you appear to be riding the crest of a wave, only to have the rug pulled away from you, bringing you back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrow/one-moment-you-appear-to-be-riding-the-crest-of-a-wave-only-to-have/) [John Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrow/) > [Its amazing how humanity can be both sickening and beautiful all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-amazing-how-humanity-can-be-both-sickening-and-beautiful-all-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Have you ever sent a loved son on vacation, and had him returned to you in a pine box, so horribly battered and water-logged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mamie-till/have-you-ever-sent-a-loved-son-on-vacation-and-had-him-returned-to/) [Mamie Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mamie-till/) > [“She was like a bride-to-be who begins to feel her sickening qualms as the day approaches, and dares not speak her mind because so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/she-was-like-a-bride-to-be-who-begins-to-feel-her-sickening-qualms-as/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Politicians are in the process of committing species extinction in honor of their corporate sponsors and the general public are along for the sickening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/politicians-are-in-the-process-of-committing-species-extinction-in/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“The smells arose from everything, everywhere, flowing together and remaining as a sickening, tantalizing discomfort. They flowed from the delicatessen shop with its uncovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-r-braithwaite/the-smells-arose-from-everything-everywhere-flowing-together-and/) [E.R. Braithwaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-r-braithwaite/) > [The murders in Paris are sickening, we stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/the-murders-in-paris-are-sickening-we-stand-with-the-french-people-in/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) > [“It was a sickening, humbling, maddeningly powerless sensation this watching them and waiting for them to come to him. For the time they could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-dewey/it-was-a-sickening-humbling-maddeningly-powerless-sensation-this/) [Genevieve Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-dewey/) ## More by Harper Lee > [“No jury in this part of the world's going to say, "We think you're guilty, but not very," on a charge like that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/no-jury-in-this-part-of-the-world-s-going-to-say-we-think-you-re/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [That proves something- that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/that-proves-something-that-a-gang-of-wild-animals-can-be-stopped/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/folks-don-t-like-to-have-somebody-around-knowin-more-than-they-do-it/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [ “...\[Summer\] was a thousand colors in a parched landscape...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/summer-was-a-thousand-colors-in-a-parched-landscape/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [It’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/it-s-never-an-insult-to-be-called-what-somebody-thinks-is-a-bad-name/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I wonder how much of the day I spend just callin' after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wonder-how-much-of-the-day-i-spend-just-callin-after-you/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Writing is something you'll never learn in any university or at any school. It's something that is within you, and if it isn't there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/writing-is-something-you-ll-never-learn-in-any-university-or-at-any/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-have-come-to-trial-the-state-has/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Naw, Jem. I think that there is just one kind of folks. Folks." Jen turned and punched his pillow. WHen he settle back his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/naw-jem-i-think-that-there-is-just-one-kind-of-folks-folks-jen-turned/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The course of English Literature would have been decidedly different had Mr. Wordsworth owned a power mower.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-course-of-english-literature-would-have-been-decidedly-different/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I would like to be the chronicler of something that I think is going down the drain very swiftly, and that is small-town, middle-class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-would-like-to-be-the-chronicler-of-something-that-i-think-is-going/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The gum looked fresh. I sniffed it and it smelled all right. I licked it and waited for a while. When I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-gum-looked-fresh-i-sniffed-it-and-it-smelled-all-right-i-licked/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I just thought you'd like to know I can read. You got anything needs readin' I can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-just-thought-you-d-like-to-know-i-can-read-you-got-anything-needs/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Explore all 494 Harper Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) John P Lintz Sr > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who’ll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance. Don’t fool yourselves—it’s all adding up and one of these days we’re going to pay the bill for it. 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