--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’ve killed men against whom I had no…" description: "\"“I’ve killed men against whom I had no grievance.”\" — James Lee Burke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/james-lee-burke-2289_grievance_i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-gr_1494953.png" --- # I’ve killed men against whom I had no grievance. ![“I’ve killed men against whom I had no grievance.” quote by James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/james-lee-burke-2289_grievance_i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-gr_1494953.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/james-lee-burke-2289_grievance_i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-gr_1494953.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/james-lee-burke-2289_grievance_i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-gr_1494953.png) > ““I’ve killed men against whom I had no grievance.”” [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He killed men he had no personal grievance against. **In simple terms:** He killed without personal motive. Key Takeaway Reflect on actions beyond personal bias. Themes morality violence justice Mood serious reflective Type literary ethical When to use this quote - law enforcement - military - personal decisions Key Concepts conflict ethical dilemmas personal motive Questions to Reflect On - Why do people act against those they don't know? - Can you separate duty from personal feeling? A Different Perspective Justifying violence without grievance raises ethical concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grievance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grievance/) ## Related quotes > [I've only killed 5 men, and people love me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-villa/i-ve-only-killed-5-men-and-people-love-me/) [Pancho Villa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-villa/) > [There are people who said he killed over a hundred men. Historical fact doesn't corroborate one hundred men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carradine/there-are-people-who-said-he-killed-over-a-hundred-men-historical/) [Keith Carradine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carradine/) > [“He killed more men than the cholera.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-killed-more-men-than-the-cholera/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I've killed hundreds of teenagers. Hundreds. And I didn't know why. Why did I enjoy doing it so much? Why? And then I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-stine/i-ve-killed-hundreds-of-teenagers-hundreds-and-i-didn-t-know-why-why/) [R. L. Stine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-stine/) > [“It’s been fifteen years since I’ve killed a man. At least a man against whom I held a grudge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-martin/it-s-been-fifteen-years-since-i-ve-killed-a-man-at-least-a-man/) L.J. Martin > [The fact that you were born means that there are no other children born because of you – you’ve killed them in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/the-fact-that-you-were-born-means-that-there-are-no-other-children/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [I'm not Sammy Glick. I've never killed anyone. I don't have to. I'm too talented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-geffen/i-m-not-sammy-glick-i-ve-never-killed-anyone-i-don-t-have-to-i-m-too/) [David Geffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-geffen/) > [None of my problems come from the people I've killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/none-of-my-problems-come-from-the-people-i-ve-killed/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [The only meat I eat is from animals I've killed myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/the-only-meat-i-eat-is-from-animals-i-ve-killed-myself/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [“I’ve killed more stars than anyone will ever see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/i-ve-killed-more-stars-than-anyone-will-ever-see/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“I may look calm, but in my head, I've killed you about 5 times..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-hayek/i-may-look-calm-but-in-my-head-i-ve-killed-you-about-5-times/) Angel hayek > [“You’re right, I’m a killer. 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(Ushakii)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinley-macgregor/hello-serenity-i-ve-killed-over-a-hundred-men-half-of-them-i-kill-for/) [Kinley MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinley-macgregor/) ## More by James Lee Burke > [“Why don’t you try to make me feel bad?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/why-don-t-you-try-to-make-me-feel-bad/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [ But the participants \[in war\] never forgot the details of their experience, and like the Wandering Jew, they were condemned to remain their own… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/but-the-participants-in-war-never-forgot-the-details-of-their/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [“A wet cigarette butt clung to my cheek like a mashed cockroach. I could smell whiskey and beer in my clothes and Gable’s blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/a-wet-cigarette-butt-clung-to-my-cheek-like-a-mashed-cockroach-i/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [“And I suppose that what I have learned is a lesson that the years, or self-concern, had begun to hide from me, namely, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/and-i-suppose-that-what-i-have-learned-is-a-lesson-that-the-years-or/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [“The Homeric Epic does not have to be discovered inside a book; it begins just west of Fort Worth and extends all the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/the-homeric-epic-does-not-have-to-be-discovered-inside-a-book-it/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [“The best moments in life are not the kind many historians record.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/the-best-moments-in-life-are-not-the-kind-many-historians-record/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [“I would almost forget about Ida Durbin. But a sin of omission, if indeed that's what it was, can be like the rusty head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/i-would-almost-forget-about-ida-durbin-but-a-sin-of-omission-if/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [The best thing about being a best-selling writer is being a best-selling writer. 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This is a whiff of early Nazi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-historical-analogs-which-are-not-exact-of-course-but-are/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When the 2008 victory of Barack Obama and the defeat of grumpy old John McCain began looking, um, inevitable, I started fielding inquiries about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/when-the-2008-victory-of-barack-obama-and-the-defeat-of-grumpy-old/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [Every decision I make is a choice between a grievance and a miracle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/every-decision-i-make-is-a-choice-between-a-grievance-and-a-miracle/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [the greater the bureaucratization of public life, the greater will be the attraction of violence. 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When you take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-picciolini/i-received-compassion-from-the-people-i-deserved-it-least-from-when-i/) [Christian Picciolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-picciolini/) > [Terrorism needs to be fought against and certainly delegitimized or attacked, but some of the underlying grievances that might in fact lead individuals astray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-brennan/terrorism-needs-to-be-fought-against-and-certainly-delegitimized-or/) [John O. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-brennan/) > [The United States Supreme Court, once a reliable if ultimate recourse for progressive and even revolutionary grievances, has become a retrograde wellspring for enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/the-united-states-supreme-court-once-a-reliable-if-ultimate-recourse/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/of-the-seven-deadly-sins-anger-is-possibly-the-most-fun-to-lick-your/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Never repeat old grievances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/never-repeat-old-grievances/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The university is a series of individual entrepreneurs held together by a common grievance about parking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-kerr/the-university-is-a-series-of-individual-entrepreneurs-held-together/) [Clark Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-kerr/) > [it is the worst humiliation and grievance of the suffering, that they cause suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/it-is-the-worst-humiliation-and-grievance-of-the-suffering-that-they/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [ I want to win. \[...\] We're not going on win by doing what Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton do each and every day. Dividing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-want-to-win-we-re-not-going-on-win-by-doing-what-barack-obama-and/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) [Browse all 236 Grievance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grievance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I’ve killed men against whom I had no grievance.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Lee Burke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-grievance/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grievance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-grievance/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/james-lee-burke-2289_grievance_i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-gr_1494953.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/james-lee-burke-2289_grievance_i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-gr_1494953.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/james-lee-burke-2289_grievance_i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-gr_1494953.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’ve killed men against whom I had no grievance.” — James Lee Burke", "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": "James Lee Burke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I’ve killed men against whom I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-grievance/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/i-ve-killed-men-against-whom-i-had-no-grievance/#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 } } ] } ```