--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I did not call for the extermination of…" description: "\"I did not call for the extermination of people, but of ideas.\" — John C. Wright" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/john-c-wright-11300_extermination_i-did-not-call-for-the-extermination-of_2961758.jpg" --- # I did not call for the extermination of people, but of… ![“I did not call for the extermination of people, but of ideas.” quote by John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/john-c-wright-11300_extermination_i-did-not-call-for-the-extermination-of_2961758.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/john-c-wright-11300_extermination_i-did-not-call-for-the-extermination-of_2961758.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/john-c-wright-11300_extermination_i-did-not-call-for-the-extermination-of_2961758.jpg) > “I did not call for the extermination of people, but of ideas.” [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker condemns physical extermination but endorses the eradication of ideas. **In simple terms:** Ideas, be destroyed. Key Takeaway Guard intellectual freedom. Themes ethics free speech censorship Mood provocative critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - education - media - political discourse Key Concepts philosophy political theory Questions to Reflect On - Is idea eradication ever justified? - How protect dissenting thoughts? A Different Perspective Violent rhetoric is dangerous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/serious-people-have-few-ideas-people-with-ideas-are-never-serious/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [I think so many people give us ideas of what we are. I think as women especially, because we're sensitive by nature, we're more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/i-think-so-many-people-give-us-ideas-of-what-we-are-i-think-as-women/) [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/) > [A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-bushnell/a-lot-of-people-have-ideas-but-there-are-few-who-decide-to-do/) [Nolan Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-bushnell/) > [The world is a very big place and there are many wonderful people in with ideas you haven't thought about. Talk to them, find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-morgan/the-world-is-a-very-big-place-and-there-are-many-wonderful-people-in/) [Nick Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-morgan/) > [I just love to collaborate with people who take my ideas real serious, and they don't put up walls around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diplo/i-just-love-to-collaborate-with-people-who-take-my-ideas-real-serious/) [Diplo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diplo/) > [The people that are around me that give me ideas that I pass along or we try, the one thing I never do, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calipari/the-people-that-are-around-me-that-give-me-ideas-that-i-pass-along-or/) [John Calipari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calipari/) > [...remember the dangers of the New Groupthink. If it's creativity you're after, ask your employees to solve problems alone before sharing their ideas. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/remember-the-dangers-of-the-new-groupthink-if-it-s-creativity-you-re/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [Politics lives in people, ideas live in people, they live in the concrete struggles that people have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/politics-lives-in-people-ideas-live-in-people-they-live-in-the/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [You can present people with ideas they may come to believe in, and as a result of them they will act, if they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/you-can-present-people-with-ideas-they-may-come-to-believe-in-and-as/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I don't do much more than organise other people's ideas and insights and thoughts, and sort of harvest them, and inventory them and present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-don-t-do-much-more-than-organise-other-people-s-ideas-and-insights/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Wouldn't it be great, if there was a one-stop shop where funny people could take their ideas and have them made?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-henry/wouldn-t-it-be-great-if-there-was-a-one-stop-shop-where-funny-people/) [Lenny Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-henry/) > [There's a lot of social input when you put these things out there. People's ideas cross with other people's thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/biz-stone/there-s-a-lot-of-social-input-when-you-put-these-things-out-there/) [Biz Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/biz-stone/) > [So when a good idea comes, you know, part of my job is to move it around, just see what different people think, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/so-when-a-good-idea-comes-you-know-part-of-my-job-is-to-move-it/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“It’s not a good idea to let on about extreme happy feelings. People get ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-juby/it-s-not-a-good-idea-to-let-on-about-extreme-happy-feelings-people/) [Susan Juby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-juby/) > [I surround myself, not with yes men, but people who have their own ideas and are on board with with I want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-coleman/i-surround-myself-not-with-yes-men-but-people-who-have-their-own/) [Chris Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-coleman/) ## More by John C. Wright > [“The sensation of a baseball bat to the face was not any more pleasant when it came from an unexpected direction, without warning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/the-sensation-of-a-baseball-bat-to-the-face-was-not-any-more-pleasant/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“Truth destroys the worst in man; pleasure destroys the best. If you love truth more than happiness, then open; otherwise, let rest.” His”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/truth-destroys-the-worst-in-man-pleasure-destroys-the-best-if-you/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [Men's souls are crooked and unsound things, not good materials out of which to build friendships, families, households, cities, civilizations. But good or no,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/men-s-souls-are-crooked-and-unsound-things-not-good-materials-out-of/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“You were burning in the middle of the worst solar storm our records can remember. (...) Everyone else fled. All your companions and crew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/you-were-burning-in-the-middle-of-the-worst-solar-storm-our-records/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“All medieval and classic cultures of the ancient world, including those on which Tolkien modeled his elves, routinely exposed their young and marriageable women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/all-medieval-and-classic-cultures-of-the-ancient-world-including/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“On THE AMBER SPYGLASS: "If this plotline was a motorist, it would have been arrested for driving while intoxicated, if it had not perished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/on-the-amber-spyglass-if-this-plotline-was-a-motorist-it-would-have/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“She said, “Look me right in the eye, and tell me you don’t love me, and I’ll go.” He stared at her. “Miss, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/she-said-look-me-right-in-the-eye-and-tell-me-you-don-t-love-me-and-i/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“Of the seven Archons that had combined to form the Milky Way mind, Orion had been the Archon whose verve and remorseless drive inspired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/of-the-seven-archons-that-had-combined-to-form-the-milky-way-mind/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“Euryphaean, and the music of an instrument called a pianoforte, infinite resistance coil and the sanity glass, and all the inventions that sprang from”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/euryphaean-and-the-music-of-an-instrument-called-a-pianoforte/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“Dr. Henry Templeton got the drop on me after I killed his grandfather before he was born. Apparently, that wasn’t enough to stop the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/dr-henry-templeton-got-the-drop-on-me-after-i-killed-his-grandfather/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [If Vulcans had a church, they’d be Catholics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/if-vulcans-had-a-church-they-d-be-catholics/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [Greek myths are heroic, noble and tragic; but the American Dream is heroic, comical, and uplifting. Americans are a people in whom overweening ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/greek-myths-are-heroic-noble-and-tragic-but-the-american-dream-is/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [ “\[After a period of separation, Phaeton and Daphne are cuddling.\] Diomedes, meanwhile, was leaning to look behind Helion, staring with open fascination at the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/after-a-period-of-separation-phaeton-and-daphne-are-cuddling-diomedes/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [The future did not arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/the-future-did-not-arrive/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“ ... a Second Generation of machine intelligences was attempted, designed with their instructions for how to think unalterably imprinted into their main process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/a-second-generation-of-machine-intelligences-was-attempted-designed/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) [Explore all 59 John C. Wright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) ## More Extermination quotes > [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [We need not fear the judgement of history. Who, after all, speaks today of the extermination of the Armenians?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/we-need-not-fear-the-judgement-of-history-who-after-all-speaks-today/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [The Indian is but a sketch in red crayon of a rudimental manhood. To the problem of his relation to the white race, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-indian-is-but-a-sketch-in-red-crayon-of-a-rudimental-manhood-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jews were segregated from 1933 on. We could only play against other Jewish teams. This wasn't just social segregation; this was the beginning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/jews-were-segregated-from-1933-on-we-could-only-play-against-other/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [And now the forces marshaled around the concept of the group have declared a war of extermination on that preciousness, the mind of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-the-forces-marshaled-around-the-concept-of-the-group-have/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I really wanted to take the viewer to the 'here and now' regarding the exterminations, and communicate directly in a visceral way. The art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-nemes/i-really-wanted-to-take-the-viewer-to-the-here-and-now-regarding-the/) [Laszlo Nemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-nemes/) > [ The text \[The Skeptical Environmentalist\] employs the strategy of those who, for example, argue ...that Jews weren't singled out by the Nazis for extermination. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-l-pimm/the-text-the-skeptical-environmentalist-employs-the-strategy-of-those/) Stuart L. Pimm > [MAN, n. An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/man-n-an-animal-so-lost-in-rapturous-contemplation-of-what-he-thinks/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I have given orders to my Death units to exterminate without mercy or pity men, women and children belonging to the Polish speaking race...After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-have-given-orders-to-my-death-units-to-exterminate-without-mercy-or/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [If one looks into the genealogies of many 'old families,' one discovers episodes of slave trafficking, bootlegging, gun running, opium trading, falsified land claims,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/if-one-looks-into-the-genealogies-of-many-old-families-one-discovers/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [If the German nation wants to end a state of affairs that threatens its extermination in Europe, it must not fall into the error…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/if-the-german-nation-wants-to-end-a-state-of-affairs-that-threatens/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I hate the poor and look forward eagerly to their extermination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-hate-the-poor-and-look-forward-eagerly-to-their-extermination/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Only the power of unbounded love practiced in regard to all human beings can defeat the forces of interhuman strife, and can prevent the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pitirim-sorokin/only-the-power-of-unbounded-love-practiced-in-regard-to-all-human/) [Pitirim Sorokin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pitirim-sorokin/) > [The world is going mad in mutual extermination, and murder, considered as a crime when committed individually, becomes a virtue when it is committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyprian/the-world-is-going-mad-in-mutual-extermination-and-murder-considered/) [Cyprian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyprian/) > [“Extermination of city could be prevented by presence of a few who have faith of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/extermination-of-city-could-be-prevented-by-presence-of-a-few-who/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) Browse all 82 Extermination quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I did not call for the extermination of people, but of ideas.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John C. 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