--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can say it, but it doesn’t seem…" description: "\"“I can say it, but it doesn’t seem convincing to most people. I can call it an ‘injustice,’ but that doesn’t always sink in either. You have to underst..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bee/jonathan-kozol-2747_justice_i-can-say-it-but-it-doesn-t-seem-convinc_1213807.jpg" --- # I can say it, but it doesn’t seem convincing to most… ![“I can say it, but it doesn’t seem convincing to most people. I can call it an ‘injustice,’ but that doesn’t always sink in either. You have to understand the nature of the culture in New York. Words that are equal to the pain of the poor are pretty easily discredited. A quarter of the truth…” quote by Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bee/jonathan-kozol-2747_justice_i-can-say-it-but-it-doesn-t-seem-convinc_1213807.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bee/jonathan-kozol-2747_justice_i-can-say-it-but-it-doesn-t-seem-convinc_1213807.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bee/jonathan-kozol-2747_justice_i-can-say-it-but-it-doesn-t-seem-convinc_1213807.jpg) > ““I can say it, but it doesn’t seem convincing to most people. I can call it an ‘injustice,’ but that doesn’t always sink in either. You have to understand the nature of the culture in New York. Words that are equal to the pain of the poor are pretty easily discredited. A quarter of the truth, stated with lots of indirection, is regarded as more seemly. Even when people do accept the idea of ‘injustice,’ there are ways to live with it without it causing you to change a great deal in your life. A mildly embarrassed toleration of injustice is an elemental part of cultural sophistication here. the stile is, ‘Oh yes. We know all that. So tell us something new.’ There’s a kind of cultivated weariness in this. Talking about injustice, I am told, is ‘tiresome’ unless you do it in a way that sounds amusing.”” [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) ## 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 notes that New York’s culture often dismisses or dilutes discussions of poverty and injustice, treating them as abstract or tolerable rather than prompting change. **In simple terms:** NY culture downplays injustice, making it seem tolerable. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge cultural complacency toward injustice. Themes social inequality culture justice complacency Mood critical reflective Type analytical observational When to use this quote - policy advocacy - community organizing - educational reform - media framing Key Concepts structural inequality cultural sophistication public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How does cultural sophistication affect activism? - What can break the cycle of tolerating injustice? A Different Perspective The claim may overgeneralize New Yorkers and ignore individuals who do act against injustice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [When you speak up about any sense of unfairness or injustice, you're told that you're overreacting, you're too angry, too silly-shut up already. 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It will not work today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/separate-and-unequal-didn-t-work-100-years-ago-it-will-not-work-today/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [“Unless we have the wealth to pay for private education, we are compelled by law to go to public school—and to the public school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/unless-we-have-the-wealth-to-pay-for-private-education-we-are/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [At present, black children are more segregated in their public schools than at any time since 1968. In the inner-city schools I visit, minority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/at-present-black-children-are-more-segregated-in-their-public-schools/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [“I want to correct something I told you once,' she says. 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It denies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/no-child-left-behind-widens-the-gap-between-the-races-more-than-any/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [An awful lot of people come to college with this strange idea that there's no longer segregation in America's schools, that our schools are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/an-awful-lot-of-people-come-to-college-with-this-strange-idea-that/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [The answers I remember longest are the ones that answer questions that I didn't think of asking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-answers-i-remember-longest-are-the-ones-that-answer-questions/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) [Explore all 151 Jonathan Kozol quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) ## More Justice quotes > [Never fight on the wrong side; you might win but the burden of guilt is more than a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-salan/never-fight-on-the-wrong-side-you-might-win-but-the-burden-of-guilt/) [Lilian Salan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-salan/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [In the battle for police reform, accountability and justice, Americans don't have to re-invent the wheel. We just have to revoke the thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-johnson/in-the-battle-for-police-reform-accountability-and-justice-americans/) [Jason Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-johnson/) > [“Why do so many people do nothing? I think it’s because most of us look at the evils and injustice around us, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/why-do-so-many-people-do-nothing-i-think-it-s-because-most-of-us-look/) [John C. 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I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [At minimum, we must recognize that there are legitimate, unanswered questions about whether the Obama Justice Department involved themselves in a political project targeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-meadows/at-minimum-we-must-recognize-that-there-are-legitimate-unanswered/) [Mark Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-meadows/) > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [There is no freedom without justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/there-is-no-freedom-without-justice/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [“The absence of judgment becomes a catalyst and an enabler for greater injustice. Contrary to popular thought, judgment is a GOOD thing when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-chace-gordon/the-absence-of-judgment-becomes-a-catalyst-and-an-enabler-for-greater/) [J. Chace Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-chace-gordon/) > [The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/the-function-of-the-law-is-not-to-provide-justice-or-to-preserve/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) [Browse all 13,527 Justice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I can say it, but it doesn’t seem convincing to most people. I can call it an ‘injustice,’ but that doesn’t always sink in either. You have to understand the nature of the culture in New York. Words that are equal to the pain of the poor are pretty easily discredited. A quarter of the truth, stated with lots of indirection, is regarded as more seemly. Even when people do accept the idea of ‘injustice,’ there are ways to live with it without it causing you to change a great deal in your life. A mildly embarrassed toleration of injustice is an elemental part of cultural sophistication here. the stile is, ‘Oh yes. We know all that. So tell us something new.’ There’s a kind of cultivated weariness in this. 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