--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anybody that competes with slaves becomes…" description: "\"“Anybody that competes with slaves becomes a slave,\" said Harrison thickly, and he left.”\" — Kurt Vonnegut" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/kurt-vonnegut-41_slaves_anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-become_786807.jpg" --- # Anybody that competes with slaves becomes a slave," said… ![“Anybody that competes with slaves becomes a slave," said Harrison thickly, and he left.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/kurt-vonnegut-41_slaves_anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-become_786807.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/kurt-vonnegut-41_slaves_anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-become_786807.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/kurt-vonnegut-41_slaves_anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-become_786807.jpg) > ““Anybody that competes with slaves becomes a slave," said Harrison thickly, and he left.”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Competing with oppression makes one complicit; freedom requires rejecting slave‑like dynamics. **In simple terms:** Competing with oppression leads to slavery. Key Takeaway Reject oppressive competition. Themes freedom ethics power Mood critical thought‑provoking Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - workplace hierarchies Key Concepts philosophy social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify oppressive patterns? - Can competition be ethical? A Different Perspective Hard to avoid subtle oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) ## Related quotes > [If you are competing with slaves, then you are a slave yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-competing-with-slaves-then-you-are-a-slave-yourself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I would rather be a freeman among slaves than a slave among freemen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-would-rather-be-a-freeman-among-slaves-than-a-slave-among-freemen/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“And if you expect you'll gain anything from us by your way of approachin' us, you're jolly well mistaken. That's all. Good-night.' They clattered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/and-if-you-expect-you-ll-gain-anything-from-us-by-your-way-of/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Proud men might shout that they would sooner die free than live as slaves, but pride was cheap. When the steel struck the flint,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/proud-men-might-shout-that-they-would-sooner-die-free-than-live-as/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Every king springs from a race of slaves, and every slave had kings among his ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/every-king-springs-from-a-race-of-slaves-and-every-slave-had-kings/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Every farm with slaves was a slave-breeding farm. Raising slaves was mostly a cottage industry...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-sublette/every-farm-with-slaves-was-a-slave-breeding-farm-raising-slaves-was/) [Ned Sublette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-sublette/) > [“I’m not your slave,’ said Damen. ‘I’m a man.’ Don’t”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/i-m-not-your-slave-said-damen-i-m-a-man-don-t/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [The other slaves in the field never let that house slave knew - know what they were really thinking. If the house slave said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-other-slaves-in-the-field-never-let-that-house-slave-knew-know/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“A free black walks different than a slave,” he said. “White people recognize it immediately, even if they don’t know it. 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All I know is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/there-was-no-slave-said-laurent-he-never-existed-i-don-t-know-what/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [Esca tossed the slender papyrus roll onto the cot, and set his own hands over Marcus's. "I have not served the Centurion because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-sutcliff/esca-tossed-the-slender-papyrus-roll-onto-the-cot-and-set-his-own/) [Rosemary Sutcliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-sutcliff/) > [“I didn’t believe that these nice liberals would have missed seeing the film 12 Years a Slave, in which Solomon Northup’s friend Patsey was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-brazile/i-didn-t-believe-that-these-nice-liberals-would-have-missed-seeing/) [Donna Brazile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-brazile/) > [I remember I was up for the role of Jim in 'Huck Finn,' and because I went to Harvard and Yale, they didn't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-b-vance/i-remember-i-was-up-for-the-role-of-jim-in-huck-finn-and-because-i/) [Courtney B. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-b-vance/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Slaves quotes > [I free slaves because I believe we are all created equal. I just can't think of anything that has a higher purpose than putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-williams/i-free-slaves-because-i-believe-we-are-all-created-equal-i-just-can-t/) [Virginia Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-williams/) > [In a lot of movies, African-Americans are either maids or slaves, but that's not all they were. We need to show that. And we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/in-a-lot-of-movies-african-americans-are-either-maids-or-slaves-but/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Every nation is part of the history we inherit, blacks and whites, slaves and gods; we have no other option, embracing each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/every-nation-is-part-of-the-history-we-inherit-blacks-and-whites/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“The master doesn’t need to chain his slaves; their needs will chain them to him. You can end slavery by the stroke of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-master-doesn-t-need-to-chain-his-slaves-their-needs-will-chain/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [If we gotta fight and die for America, why should we be treated like slaves in America?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosea-williams/if-we-gotta-fight-and-die-for-america-why-should-we-be-treated-like/) Hosea Williams > [I always read all these books about the slaves. My mother is very educated. My father would talk to us like we were grown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-always-read-all-these-books-about-the-slaves-my-mother-is-very/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Mungu hutumia watu 'wajinga' na 'wapumbavu' kufanya mambo makubwa katika maisha yao na ya watu wengine. Katika Biblia, Musa aliitwa mjinga alipokiuka amri ya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-hutumia-watu-wajinga-na-wapumbavu-kufanya-mambo-makubwa-katika/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred ans sixty-three, all persons held as slaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/that-on-the-first-day-of-january-in-the-year-of-our-lord-one-thousand/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Democracy is the suggestion box for slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/democracy-is-the-suggestion-box-for-slaves/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [“Slaves of Plastic! Leather-shoe chino-pants prisoners! Haircut junkies! Dacron-shiffers!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/slaves-of-plastic-leather-shoe-chino-pants-prisoners-haircut-junkies/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Are we not the son of slaves? Yeah! Are we not the children that run away from plantations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-delgado/are-we-not-the-son-of-slaves-yeah-are-we-not-the-children-that-run/) [Junior Delgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junior-delgado/) > [My father was a man of great charity towards the poor, and compassion for the sick, and also for servants; so much so, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-father-was-a-man-of-great-charity-towards-the-poor-and-compassion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’d like to run away, to flee from what I know, from what is mine, from what I love. I want to set off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-d-like-to-run-away-to-flee-from-what-i-know-from-what-is-mine-from/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Browse all 792 Slaves quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Anybody that competes with slaves becomes a slave,\" said Harrison thickly, and he left.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Vonnegut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-becomes-a-slave-said-harrison/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Slaves" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-becomes-a-slave-said-harrison/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/kurt-vonnegut-41_slaves_anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-become_786807.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/kurt-vonnegut-41_slaves_anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-become_786807.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/kurt-vonnegut-41_slaves_anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-become_786807.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anybody that competes with slaves becomes a slave,\" said Harrison thickly, and he left.” — Kurt Vonnegut", "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": "Kurt Vonnegut", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Anybody that competes with slaves becomes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-becomes-a-slave-said-harrison/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/anybody-that-competes-with-slaves-becomes-a-slave-said-harrison/#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 } } ] } ```