--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It won't hurt you. It's just to kill…" description: "\"It won't hurt you. It's just to kill plants. It's called Agent Orange...and it won't bother humans.\" — Karl Marlantes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/karl-marlantes-13122_agent-orange_it-won-t-hurt-you-it-s-just-to-kill-plan_1303095.jpg" --- # It won't hurt you. It's just to kill plants. It's called… ![“It won't hurt you. It's just to kill plants. It's called Agent Orange...and it won't bother humans.” quote by Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/karl-marlantes-13122_agent-orange_it-won-t-hurt-you-it-s-just-to-kill-plan_1303095.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/karl-marlantes-13122_agent-orange_it-won-t-hurt-you-it-s-just-to-kill-plan_1303095.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be0/karl-marlantes-13122_agent-orange_it-won-t-hurt-you-it-s-just-to-kill-plan_1303095.jpg) > “It won't hurt you. It's just to kill plants. It's called Agent Orange...and it won't bother humans.” [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) ## 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 downplays the harm of a chemical weapon, claiming it spares humans while destroying plants **In simple terms:** Minimizing environmental damage to justify weapon use Key Takeaway Question the ethics of selective destruction Themes ethics war environment military technology Mood grim critical inquisitive Type political environmental philosophical When to use this quote - combat zones - policy debates - public health - environmental activism Key Concepts just war theory ecological impact humanitarian law Questions to Reflect On - Should any weapon be deemed 'harmless'? - What are the long‑term ecological costs? A Different Perspective Selective harm still causes broader ecological collapse; moral blind spots exist ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agent orange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agent-orange/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) ## Related quotes > [At this moment, glyphosate is the biggest threat. And because of its overuse, we are seeing the emergence of superweeds, which have grown resistant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-lister-jones/at-this-moment-glyphosate-is-the-biggest-threat-and-because-of-its/) [Zoe Lister-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-lister-jones/) > [The reason I'm not more political is because I have music. And from a young age, I needed it. 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And there's a high relationship between people that were exposed to Agent Orange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamilton-jordan/i-was-in-vietnam-and-i-was-exposed-to-agent-orange-and-there-s-a-high/) [Hamilton Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamilton-jordan/) > [Yes, there is a story about Agent Orange, and we knew that it harmed our troops and we knew how long it was to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-shays/yes-there-is-a-story-about-agent-orange-and-we-knew-that-it-harmed/) [Christopher Shays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-shays/) > [Being responsible for another human life terrifies me, because I kill plants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-conrad/being-responsible-for-another-human-life-terrifies-me-because-i-kill/) [Lauren Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-conrad/) > [I don't mind Silk plants. I actually think they are very practical if you kill plants like I do. I have the best sources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-zarin/i-don-t-mind-silk-plants-i-actually-think-they-are-very-practical-if/) [Jill Zarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-zarin/) > [I think I just want to garden - or kill some plants, in my case.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-think-i-just-want-to-garden-or-kill-some-plants-in-my-case/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [“Much of my early career was spent working with two of the most toxic chemicals ever discovered, dioxin and aflatoxin. I initially worked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-colin-campbell/much-of-my-early-career-was-spent-working-with-two-of-the-most-toxic/) [T. Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-colin-campbell/) > [Seeing the B-52s dropped from planes, watching the burning of civilians with Agent Orange, reading about the incarceration of Vietnamese militants in cages only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/seeing-the-b-52s-dropped-from-planes-watching-the-burning-of/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [“For Americans, Acts 16:9 is the high-fructose corn syrup of Bible verses--an all-purpose ingredient we'll stir into everything from the ink on the Marshall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/for-americans-acts-16-9-is-the-high-fructose-corn-syrup-of-bible/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“Government By The Industry, For The Industry Vice President George Bush sat in his chair across from four Monsanto executives. They had come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/government-by-the-industry-for-the-industry-vice-president-george/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My mum knows people in the village who died or were affected by Agent Orange who had kids who are disabled. I could have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anh-do/my-mum-knows-people-in-the-village-who-died-or-were-affected-by-agent/) [Anh Do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anh-do/) > [Let me tell you something ass-eyes, let me tell you ALL something: war has made me very PARANOID! and when you get to eye-balling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-wayans/let-me-tell-you-something-ass-eyes-let-me-tell-you-all-something-war/) [Damon Wayans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-wayans/) > [ The achievements of past struggles and the aspirations of an entire nation are \[being\] undone and erased… No Agent Orange or steel pellet bombs,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-chossudovsky/the-achievements-of-past-struggles-and-the-aspirations-of-an-entire/) [Michel Chossudovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-chossudovsky/) ## More by Karl Marlantes > [“Emotion constricted Hawke’s throat. He suddenly understood why the victims of concentration camps had walked quietly to the gas chambers. In the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/emotion-constricted-hawke-s-throat-he-suddenly-understood-why-the/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [Quitting is unthinkable and pain is just weakness leaving the body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/quitting-is-unthinkable-and-pain-is-just-weakness-leaving-the-body/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [I began writing 'Matterhorn' in 1975 and for more than 30 years I kept working on my novel in my spare time, unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/i-began-writing-matterhorn-in-1975-and-for-more-than-30-years-i-kept/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“We have an idea of what is right or wrong. And we can debate moral issues as ideas. But moral \*standards\* are not ideas;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/we-have-an-idea-of-what-is-right-or-wrong-and-we-can-debate-moral/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [It was all absurd, without reason or meaning. People who didn't know each other were going to kill each other over a hill none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/it-was-all-absurd-without-reason-or-meaning-people-who-didn-t-know/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [Everything is touched by the holy when it is in the presence of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/everything-is-touched-by-the-holy-when-it-is-in-the-presence-of-death/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [In the military I could exercise the power of being automatically respected because of the medals on my chest, not because I had done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/in-the-military-i-could-exercise-the-power-of-being-automatically/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [Once we recognize our shadow's existence we must resist the enticing step of going with its flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/once-we-recognize-our-shadow-s-existence-we-must-resist-the-enticing/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“Many will argue that there is nothing remotely spiritual in combat. Consider this. Mystical or religious experiences have four common components: constant awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/many-will-argue-that-there-is-nothing-remotely-spiritual-in-combat/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/when-i-first-got-back-from-the-war-i-said-i-m-gonna-write-the-great/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“But just below the grim tranquility he had learned to display, he cursed with boiling intensity the ambitious men who used him and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/but-just-below-the-grim-tranquility-he-had-learned-to-display-he/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [And I think that it's - the military has actually made improvements, so people are considering post-traumatic stress disorder as, at the least, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/and-i-think-that-it-s-the-military-has-actually-made-improvements-so/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn't over for the veterans, or the family. It's just starting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/when-the-peace-treaty-is-signed-the-war-isn-t-over-for-the-veterans/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > ['Matterhorn' is my metaphor of the Vietnam War - we built it, we abandoned it, we assaulted it, we lost, and then we abandoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/matterhorn-is-my-metaphor-of-the-vietnam-war-we-built-it-we-abandoned/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [Really important books to me are the classics. 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A big part of the reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-hayes/politicians-had-always-viewed-environmental-issues-as-narrow-things/) [Denis Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-hayes/) [Browse all 18 Agent orange quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agent-orange/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It won't hurt you. It's just to kill plants. 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