--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I turned around every time somebody…" description: "\"If I turned around every time somebody called me a faggot, I'd be walking backward - and I don't want to walk backward.\" — Harvey Milk" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/harvey-milk-9963_backward_if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-c_337214.jpg" --- # If I turned around every time somebody called me a faggot… ![“If I turned around every time somebody called me a faggot, I'd be walking backward - and I don't want to walk backward.” quote by Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/harvey-milk-9963_backward_if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-c_337214.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/harvey-milk-9963_backward_if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-c_337214.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/harvey-milk-9963_backward_if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-c_337214.jpg) > “If I turned around every time somebody called me a faggot, I'd be walking backward - and I don't want to walk backward.” [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Refuses to let insults dictate direction, asserting agency over self‑definition. **In simple terms:** Don’t let slurs push you backward. Key Takeaway Stand firm against demeaning labels. Themes identity resilience defiance Mood defiant empowering Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - activism - school counseling - support groups - media interviews Key Concepts self‑esteem social stigma personal agency Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when faced with hateful language? - What strategies protect your sense of self? A Different Perspective Labels can affect self‑image if internalized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“When people laughed at him because he walked backward beneath the portico, he said to them: "Aren't you ashamed, you who walk backward along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/when-people-laughed-at-him-because-he-walked-backward-beneath-the/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [Aren't you ashamed, you who walk backward along the whole path of existence, and blame me for walking backward along the path of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/aren-t-you-ashamed-you-who-walk-backward-along-the-whole-path-of/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [If you are walking backward, away from something you think is a mistake, you may be right in supposing it is a mistake, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/if-you-are-walking-backward-away-from-something-you-think-is-a/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [“Mrs. Aupers has taken to walking backward of late, because she thinks it makes her have to pee less often.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-groen/mrs-aupers-has-taken-to-walking-backward-of-late-because-she-thinks/) [Hendrik Groen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-groen/) > [“Time, I think, is like walking backward away from something: say, from a kiss. First there is the kiss; then you step back, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/time-i-think-is-like-walking-backward-away-from-something-say-from-a/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [Most of us prefer to walk backward into the future, a posture that may be uncomfortable but which at least allows us to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-handy/most-of-us-prefer-to-walk-backward-into-the-future-a-posture-that-may/) [Charles Handy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-handy/) > [I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-walk-slowly-but-i-never-walk-backward/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [While you have a future do not live too much in contemplation of your past: unless you are content to walk backward the mirror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/while-you-have-a-future-do-not-live-too-much-in-contemplation-of-your/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I will not walk backward in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-not-walk-backward-in-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They had their faces twisted toward their haunches and found it necessary to walk backward, because they could not see ahead of them. ...And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/they-had-their-faces-twisted-toward-their-haunches-and-found-it/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“And live by love though the stars walk backward”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-sherwood/and-live-by-love-though-the-stars-walk-backward/) [Ben Sherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-sherwood/) > [“I hadn’t been a Davenport in a very long time – not since the day my father called me a faggot and gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-kennedy/i-hadn-t-been-a-davenport-in-a-very-long-time-not-since-the-day-my/) [Sloane Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-kennedy/) > [Faggot never meant "gay" when I was a kid. You kind of knew that you could call a gay person faggot if you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/faggot-never-meant-gay-when-i-was-a-kid-you-kind-of-knew-that-you/) [Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/) > [Four years ago, I was fighting for the world championship title in Puerto Rico. The spectators bad-mouthed me; they called me a faggot. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-cruz/four-years-ago-i-was-fighting-for-the-world-championship-title-in/) [Orlando Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-cruz/) > [I'm one of those gay people who's constantly reminded of how fortunate I am to live now and not to be Ennis and Jack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/i-m-one-of-those-gay-people-who-s-constantly-reminded-of-how/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) ## More by Harvey Milk > [Some people call me the unofficial mayor of Castro Street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/some-people-call-me-the-unofficial-mayor-of-castro-street/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [“Let's make no mistake about this: The American Dream starts with the neighborhoods. If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/let-s-make-no-mistake-about-this-the-american-dream-starts-with-the/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/we-will-not-win-our-rights-by-staying-quietly-in-our-closets/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [If it were true that children mimicked their teachers, you'd sure have a helluva lot more nuns running around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/if-it-were-true-that-children-mimicked-their-teachers-you-d-sure-have/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Never take an elevator in city hall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/never-take-an-elevator-in-city-hall/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Out of the bars and into the streets!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/out-of-the-bars-and-into-the-streets/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/rights-are-won-only-by-those-who-make-their-voices-heard/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [We are coming out to tell the truths about gays, for I am tired of the conspiracy of silence, so I'm going to talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/we-are-coming-out-to-tell-the-truths-about-gays-for-i-am-tired-of-the/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [The first gay people we elect must be strong. They must not be content to sit in the back of the bus. They must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/the-first-gay-people-we-elect-must-be-strong-they-must-not-be-content/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Let me have my tax money go for my protection and not for my prosecution. Let my tax money go for the protection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/let-me-have-my-tax-money-go-for-my-protection-and-not-for-my/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [I wish I had time to explain everything I did. Almost everything was done with an eye on the GLBT movement...last week I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/i-wish-i-had-time-to-explain-everything-i-did-almost-everything-was/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Freedom is too enormous to be slipped under a closet door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/freedom-is-too-enormous-to-be-slipped-under-a-closet-door/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/it-takes-no-compromising-to-give-people-their-rights-it-takes-no/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [“You’ve gotta give them hope. If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/you-ve-gotta-give-them-hope-if-a-bullet-should-enter-my-brain-let/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [I'm a small businessman and I'm well aware of the uncertainties of the economy, exactly what the 'inflationary spiral' means when I'm forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/i-m-a-small-businessman-and-i-m-well-aware-of-the-uncertainties-of/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) [Explore all 69 Harvey Milk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) ## More Backward quotes > [I hate looking backward, but every once in a while it sneaks up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-lancaster/i-hate-looking-backward-but-every-once-in-a-while-it-sneaks-up-on-you/) [Burt Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-lancaster/) > [“Thus the thoughtless drift backward toward slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-g-woodson/thus-the-thoughtless-drift-backward-toward-slavery/) [Carter G. Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-g-woodson/) > [“Whoever said that the past isn’t dead had it backward. It’s the future that’s already dead, already played out. This whole night has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/whoever-said-that-the-past-isn-t-dead-had-it-backward-it-s-the-future/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-if-you-were-any-slower-you-d-be-going-backward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I learn things in a backward way. I learn all those limitations, and slowly my brain soaks them up, and if things go right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-odenkirk/i-learn-things-in-a-backward-way-i-learn-all-those-limitations-and/) [Bob Odenkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-odenkirk/) > [“It took us a while to discover that we do effectively think, but that we more readily narrate backward in order to give ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-took-us-a-while-to-discover-that-we-do-effectively-think-but-that/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Our habit of wishing backward from what is to what might have been is the soft but persistent tapping that cracks the crystal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/our-habit-of-wishing-backward-from-what-is-to-what-might-have-been-is/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The thing I love most about my job is watching people age backward, becoming more lively and energetic as they free themselves from situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-thing-i-love-most-about-my-job-is-watching-people-age-backward/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dreaming-her-way-backward-in-time-resurrecting-images-the-young-girl/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Us ballplayers do things backward. First we play, then we retire and go to work. —CHARLIE GEHRINGER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-wilde/us-ballplayers-do-things-backward-first-we-play-then-we-retire-and-go-2/) [Lori Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-wilde/) > [This was the Darker Life, where every truth was written backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-was-the-darker-life-where-every-truth-was-written-backward/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!I am so weary of toil and of tears,-Toil without recompense, tears all in vain!Take them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chase-allen/backward-flow-backward-o-tide-of-the-years-i-am-so-weary-of-toil-and/) [Elizabeth Chase Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chase-allen/) > [I loved you backward and forward in time. I loved you beyond boundaries of time and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-loved-you-backward-and-forward-in-time-i-loved-you-beyond/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead; that is where your future lies. Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/nobody-gets-to-live-life-backward-look-ahead-that-is-where-your/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [“Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward." from CUTTING FOR STONE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) Browse all 340 Backward quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I turned around every time somebody called me a faggot, I'd be walking backward - and I don't want to walk backward.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harvey Milk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-called-me-a-faggot-i-d-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Backward" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-called-me-a-faggot-i-d-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/harvey-milk-9963_backward_if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-c_337214.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/harvey-milk-9963_backward_if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-c_337214.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/harvey-milk-9963_backward_if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-c_337214.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I turned around every time somebody called me a faggot, I'd be walking backward - and I don't want to…” — Harvey Milk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harvey Milk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I turned around every time...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-called-me-a-faggot-i-d-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/if-i-turned-around-every-time-somebody-called-me-a-faggot-i-d-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```