--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The laughing way we make damaged people…" description: "\"The laughing way we make damaged people our playthings, it's so dehumanizing.\" — Jon Ronson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/jon-ronson-1772_dehumanizing_the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people_3191721.png" --- # The laughing way we make damaged people our playthings… ![“The laughing way we make damaged people our playthings, it's so dehumanizing.” quote by Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/jon-ronson-1772_dehumanizing_the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people_3191721.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/jon-ronson-1772_dehumanizing_the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people_3191721.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/jon-ronson-1772_dehumanizing_the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people_3191721.png) > “The laughing way we make damaged people our playthings, it's so dehumanizing.” [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating vulnerable individuals as entertainment degrades humanity and erodes empathy. **In simple terms:** Playing with suffering is dehumanizing. Key Takeaway Respect dignity of all people. Themes ethics empathy dehumanization Mood concerned reflective Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - media coverage - online trolling - reality TV - public discourse Key Concepts psychology social critique Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do creators have? - How does humor affect victims? A Different Perspective Some may argue satire raises awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Damaged People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damaged-people/) [Dehumanizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dehumanizing/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“She kept laughing all the way to her car, but I couldn’t move.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tijan/she-kept-laughing-all-the-way-to-her-car-but-i-couldn-t-move/) [Tijan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tijan/) > [“There are those laughing their way to hell; and those, crying themselves to heaven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/there-are-those-laughing-their-way-to-hell-and-those-crying/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“The truck went on its way in the night and Gedaleh shouted, laughing, "If not this way, how? And if not now, when?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/the-truck-went-on-its-way-in-the-night-and-gedaleh-shouted-laughing/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [America is laughing her way to Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/america-is-laughing-her-way-to-hell/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [My Pa always said, 'Live fast, die laughing,' that's the way to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcclure/my-pa-always-said-live-fast-die-laughing-that-s-the-way-to-do-it/) Doug McClure > [Laughing on the way to your execution is not generally understood by less-advanced life forms, and they call you crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/laughing-on-the-way-to-your-execution-is-not-generally-understood-by/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [If we go down in flames, we will be laughing on the way down, believe me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-we-go-down-in-flames-we-will-be-laughing-on-the-way-down-believe-me/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [When you have an entire amphitheatre of people laughing that way, it makes you feel so funny and it frees you to go further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ripa/when-you-have-an-entire-amphitheatre-of-people-laughing-that-way-it/) [Kelly Ripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ripa/) > [“...an obsession is a way for damaged people to damage themselves more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-barrowcliffe/an-obsession-is-a-way-for-damaged-people-to-damage-themselves-more/) [Mark Barrowcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-barrowcliffe/) > [I think 'Ek Chhotisi Love Story' has really damaged me. People think they can compromise my reputation and get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-koirala/i-think-ek-chhotisi-love-story-has-really-damaged-me-people-think/) [Manisha Koirala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-koirala/) > [But now, I think I have found a corner, a groove of what kind of stories I want to be part of and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-sadh/but-now-i-think-i-have-found-a-corner-a-groove-of-what-kind-of/) [Amit Sadh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-sadh/) > [“This family business can be so stressful - difficult, damaged people showing up t spend time with other difficult, damanged people”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/this-family-business-can-be-so-stressful-difficult-damaged-people/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The lonliest people are the kindest. The saddest people smile the brightest. The most damaged people are the wisest. All because they do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-lonliest-people-are-the-kindest-the-saddest-people-smile-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The loneiest people are the kindest The saddest people smile the brightest and the most damaged people are the wisest All because they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-loneiest-people-are-the-kindest-the-saddest-people-smile-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All writers, I think, are to one extent or another, damaged people. Writing is our way of repairing ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-writers-i-think-are-to-one-extent-or-another-damaged-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Jon Ronson > [Sometimes labeling is only useful, like with OCD. Once you're labeled you can be treated. On other occasions labeling leads to tyranny, like with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/sometimes-labeling-is-only-useful-like-with-ocd-once-you-re-labeled/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“I wonder if I’ve got any of the 374 mental disorders,” I thought. I opened the manual again. And I instantly diagnosed myself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/i-wonder-if-i-ve-got-any-of-the-374-mental-disorders-i-thought-i/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Trying to prove you’re not a psychopath is even harder than trying to prove you’re not mentally ill,’ said Tony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/trying-to-prove-you-re-not-a-psychopath-is-even-harder-than-trying-to/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“It may very well be that the frotteurist is a helpless victim in the clutches of his obsession, but it’s equally possible that he’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/it-may-very-well-be-that-the-frotteurist-is-a-helpless-victim-in-the/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“We are defining the boundaries of normality by tearing apart the people outside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/we-are-defining-the-boundaries-of-normality-by-tearing-apart-the/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [My worryingly paradoxical thought process could be summarized thus: Thank God I don't believe in the secret rulers of the world. Imagine what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/my-worryingly-paradoxical-thought-process-could-be-summarized-thus/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Friends are the fruitcake of life - some nutty, some soaked in alcohol, some sweet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/friends-are-the-fruitcake-of-life-some-nutty-some-soaked-in-alcohol/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“The consensus from the beginning was that only 1 percent of humans had it, but the chaos they caused was so far-reaching it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/the-consensus-from-the-beginning-was-that-only-1-percent-of-humans/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“That's an incredibly depressing thought," I said "that if you're in a room and at one end lies madness and at the other end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/that-s-an-incredibly-depressing-thought-i-said-that-if-you-re-in-a/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [The world outside Twitter was great. I read books. I reconnected with people I knew from real life and met them for drinks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/the-world-outside-twitter-was-great-i-read-books-i-reconnected-with/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“What a brilliant cover story. In a success-obsessed society like this one, what's the best rock to hide something under? It's the rock called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/what-a-brilliant-cover-story-in-a-success-obsessed-society-like-this/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Guy Savelli's role in the War on Terror began when half-a-dozen strangers, within days of one another, contacted him via e-mail and telephone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/guy-savelli-s-role-in-the-war-on-terror-began-when-half-a-dozen/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [My paranoia never ends, but I haven't been paranoid about being spied on my shadowy forces for some time now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/my-paranoia-never-ends-but-i-haven-t-been-paranoid-about-being-spied/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“It is an awful lot harder, Tony told me, to convince people you’re sane than it is to convince them you’re crazy. “I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/it-is-an-awful-lot-harder-tony-told-me-to-convince-people-you-re-sane/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [It is slightly chilling to realize there are rational, functional people up there employed to spot, nurture, and exploit those down here among us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/it-is-slightly-chilling-to-realize-there-are-rational-functional/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) [Explore all 209 Jon Ronson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) ## More Dehumanizing quotes > [We are led by the least among us - the least intelligent, the least noble, the least visionary. We are led by the least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-led-by-the-least-among-us-the-least-intelligent-the-least/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > ['Crash' is a metaphor for what I see as the dehumanizing elements that are present in the world in which we live. We're distanced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/crash-is-a-metaphor-for-what-i-see-as-the-dehumanizing-elements-that/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [The big question that everyone is asking themselves, or what they should be asking themselves right now, is what role has the media played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/the-big-question-that-everyone-is-asking-themselves-or-what-they/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [To be on the other side of the law-and-order machine in this country is awful. It is dehumanizing and degrading and deforming. It fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-gessen/to-be-on-the-other-side-of-the-law-and-order-machine-in-this-country/) [Keith Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-gessen/) > [“I now believe that television itself, the medium of sitting in front of a magic box that pulses images at us endlessly, the act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/i-now-believe-that-television-itself-the-medium-of-sitting-in-front/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [I guess it's flattering that everyone believed I was those characters, but it also is dehumanizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-guess-it-s-flattering-that-everyone-believed-i-was-those-characters/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [ You come across \[online comments\] about yourself and about your friends, and it's a very dehumanizing thing,It's almost like how, in war, you go… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/you-come-across-online-comments-about-yourself-and-about-your-friends/) [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/) > [“As a teenager and young adult, I found being mute intensely isolating and dehumanizing. I felt truly like I was just a pair of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sutton/as-a-teenager-and-young-adult-i-found-being-mute-intensely-isolating/) Carl Sutton > [“Dehumanizing service workers looks to me to be mostly about insecurity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finn-murphy/dehumanizing-service-workers-looks-to-me-to-be-mostly-about-insecurity/) [Finn Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finn-murphy/) > [“Dehumanizing and holding people accountable are mutually exclusive. Humiliation and dehumanizing are not accountability or social justice tools, they’re emotional off-loading at best, emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/dehumanizing-and-holding-people-accountable-are-mutually-exclusive/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [If being human requires freedom, then enslavement to the cares of this world is dehumanizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/if-being-human-requires-freedom-then-enslavement-to-the-cares-of-this/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [Perhaps the most dehumanizing thing in Gaza is people there don't have the time to properly mourn the dead before strikes kill even more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yousef-munayyer/perhaps-the-most-dehumanizing-thing-in-gaza-is-people-there-don-t/) [Yousef Munayyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yousef-munayyer/) > [Mitchell claimed that her materialist view leads to “humbleness.” But it is not humbling; it is dehumanizing. It essentially reduces humans to robots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/mitchell-claimed-that-her-materialist-view-leads-to-humbleness-but-it/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [“The “b” word and the “n” word are like poison, whether you take poison from a vial or pour it into Bavarian crystal, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-b-word-and-the-n-word-are-like-poison-whether-you-take-poison/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“The author recognizes the power of the persecuting tribe referring to members of hers consistently as "snakes" or "roaches". This dehumanizing language, she realizes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immaculee-ilibagiza/the-author-recognizes-the-power-of-the-persecuting-tribe-referring-to/) [Immaculee Ilibagiza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immaculee-ilibagiza/) [Browse all 36 Dehumanizing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dehumanizing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The laughing way we make damaged people our playthings, it's so dehumanizing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Ronson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people-our-playthings-it-s-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dehumanizing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people-our-playthings-it-s-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/jon-ronson-1772_dehumanizing_the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people_3191721.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/jon-ronson-1772_dehumanizing_the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people_3191721.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/jon-ronson-1772_dehumanizing_the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people_3191721.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The laughing way we make damaged people our playthings, it's so dehumanizing.” — Jon Ronson", "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": "Jon Ronson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The laughing way we make damaged...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people-our-playthings-it-s-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/the-laughing-way-we-make-damaged-people-our-playthings-it-s-so/#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 } } ] } ```