--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wow, I'm being shot at from both sides…" description: "\"Wow, I'm being shot at from both sides. That means I *must* be right.\" — Larry Wall" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/249/larry-wall-1576_both-sides_wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-th_2033342.png" --- # Wow, I'm being shot at from both sides. That means I… ![“Wow, I'm being shot at from both sides. That means I *must* be right.” quote by Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/249/larry-wall-1576_both-sides_wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-th_2033342.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/249/larry-wall-1576_both-sides_wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-th_2033342.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/249/larry-wall-1576_both-sides_wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-th_2033342.png) > “Wow, I'm being shot at from both sides. That means I \*must\* be right.” [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote satically highlights the absurdity of assuming correctness merely because one is attacked from all directions. **In simple terms:** Being attacked from both sides doesn’t prove you’re right. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions, not just the opposition. Themes irony conflict logic Mood wry skeptical reflective Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - software development discussions - personal arguments - media criticism Key Concepts self‑reference paradox critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - Why do we equate opposition with validation? - How can we assess correctness without relying on conflict? A Different Perspective The statement ignores that attacks can stem from misunderstanding or bias, not truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Both sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both-sides/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-right-1051423/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Shot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shot/) [Shot Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shot-sides-3746730/) [Shots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shots/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wow/) [Wow Shot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wow-shot-3746732/) ## Related quotes > [Forever this time," he said as Sawyer strode toward them. Tara sighed blissfully. "You know what this means, right?" "I'm done guessing," he said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-shalvis/forever-this-time-he-said-as-sawyer-strode-toward-them-tara-sighed/) [Jill Shalvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-shalvis/) > [Every man has a right to life, and this means that he has also a right to make a comfortable living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/every-man-has-a-right-to-life-and-this-means-that-he-has-also-a-right/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“That's what it means, right? That you love yourself enough to let someone else do it, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rocha/that-s-what-it-means-right-that-you-love-yourself-enough-to-let/) [Kit Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rocha/) > [In this world of you people, at every step, a human is wrong.. whatever I feel is right and say, you call it wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yashraj-suman/in-this-world-of-you-people-at-every-step-a-human-is-wrong-whatever-i/) [Yashraj Suman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yashraj-suman/) > [Every man has a right to life. That means that he also has a right to make a comfortable living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/every-man-has-a-right-to-life-that-means-that-he-also-has-a-right-to/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [No doesn't always mean no; sometimes it means not right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/no-doesn-t-always-mean-no-sometimes-it-means-not-right-now/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Love means that everything is right with the world. Love and only love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/love-means-that-everything-is-right-with-the-world-love-and-only-love-2/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-liberty-means-anything-at-all-it-means-the-right-to-tell-people/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“I think if you tell someone that you love him or her, (especially a person that once screamed, “I’m not gonna love you ever!”)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-caldwell/i-think-if-you-tell-someone-that-you-love-him-or-her-especially-a/) [Chloe Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-caldwell/) > [Freedom means the right of people to assemble, organize, and debate openly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/freedom-means-the-right-of-people-to-assemble-organize-and-debate/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [M O T H E R M is for the Million things she gave me, O means Only that shes growing old, T is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muniir-zero/m-o-t-h-e-r-m-is-for-the-million-things-she-gave-me-o-means-only-that-2/) [Muniir Zero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muniir-zero/) > [“Time means nothing and when you find the right person, you just know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samanthe-beck/time-means-nothing-and-when-you-find-the-right-person-you-just-know/) [Samanthe Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samanthe-beck/) > [For me, faith means that what is right will win out one day. It means that the universe is not aimless but moves by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ferguson/for-me-faith-means-that-what-is-right-will-win-out-one-day-it-means/) [Sarah Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ferguson/) > [Freedom means the right to be stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/freedom-means-the-right-to-be-stupid/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [When the enemy attacks you, this means that you are on the right road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enver-hoxha/when-the-enemy-attacks-you-this-means-that-you-are-on-the-right-road/) [Enver Hoxha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enver-hoxha/) ## More by Larry Wall > [Not that I have anything much against redundancy. But I said that already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/not-that-i-have-anything-much-against-redundancy-but-i-said-that/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Perhaps you should compile your Perl with long doubles one of these megaseconds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/perhaps-you-should-compile-your-perl-with-long-doubles-one-of-these/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Take Lisp, you know its the most beautiful language in the world -- at least up until Haskell came along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/take-lisp-you-know-its-the-most-beautiful-language-in-the-world-at/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [I'm reminded of the day my daughter came in, looked over my shoulder at some Perl 4 code, and said, 'What is that, swearing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/i-m-reminded-of-the-day-my-daughter-came-in-looked-over-my-shoulder/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Yes, but I did manage to increase the amount of virginity in the world by that method.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/yes-but-i-did-manage-to-increase-the-amount-of-virginity-in-the-world/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [I won't mention any names, because I don't want to get sun4's into trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/i-won-t-mention-any-names-because-i-don-t-want-to-get-sun4-s-into/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [And besides, if Perl really takes off in the Windows space, I think the rest of us would just as soon have a double-agent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/and-besides-if-perl-really-takes-off-in-the-windows-space-i-think-the/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [In general, they do what you want, unless you want consistency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless-you-want-consistency/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [I suppose you could switch grammars once you've seen 'use strict subs'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/i-suppose-you-could-switch-grammars-once-you-ve-seen-use-strict-subs/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [While I have historically been a late worker, you know, sometimes I even like to get up early and see what's happened in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/while-i-have-historically-been-a-late-worker-you-know-sometimes-i/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [All language designers are arrogant. Goes with the territory...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/all-language-designers-are-arrogant-goes-with-the-territory/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Perl has a long tradition of working around compilers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/perl-has-a-long-tradition-of-working-around-compilers/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Part of language design is perturbing the proposed feature in various directions to see how it might generalize in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/part-of-language-design-is-perturbing-the-proposed-feature-in-various/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [We can debug relationships, but it's always good policy to consider the people themselves to be features. People get annoyed when you try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/we-can-debug-relationships-but-it-s-always-good-policy-to-consider/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [The whole intent of Perl 5's module system was to encourage the growth of Perl culture rather than the Perl core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-whole-intent-of-perl-5-s-module-system-was-to-encourage-the/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) [Explore all 226 Larry Wall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) ## More Both sides quotes > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/some-of-the-folks-on-both-sides-might-be-sincere-but-it-does-seem-as/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [There's no way to have a peace agreement unless the mediator or negotiator looks at both sides from an equal basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/there-s-no-way-to-have-a-peace-agreement-unless-the-mediator-or/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [It's almost inevitable there's going to be an escalation on both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-luther/it-s-almost-inevitable-there-s-going-to-be-an-escalation-on-both-sides/) [Bill Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-luther/) > [I have yet to see someone attack Obama over his report card. A lot of people I talk to from both sides of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/i-have-yet-to-see-someone-attack-obama-over-his-report-card-a-lot-of/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [I have an office full of product from brands trying to be in videos and an inbox full of songs from artists, but at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kluger/i-have-an-office-full-of-product-from-brands-trying-to-be-in-videos/) [Adam Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kluger/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) > [When the war ends, it will be found that there was an equal amount of 'thuggery' practiced on both sides, that terrible things were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-jones/when-the-war-ends-it-will-be-found-that-there-was-an-equal-amount-of/) [Rufus Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-jones/) > [I find that Americans are all in the middle somewhere, except for the extreme nuts, and extreme nuts on both sides are the loudest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/i-find-that-americans-are-all-in-the-middle-somewhere-except-for-the/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [My family was musical on both sides. My father's family had a famous flautist and a classical pianist. My mother won a contest to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/my-family-was-musical-on-both-sides-my-father-s-family-had-a-famous/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) > [I come from a long line of saloon keepers and proselytizers, and I draw from both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-huntsman-jr/i-come-from-a-long-line-of-saloon-keepers-and-proselytizers-and-i/) [Jon Huntsman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-huntsman-jr/) > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I really like seeing players like Ousmane Dembele and other players who can take corners from both sides and things like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-bellingham/i-really-like-seeing-players-like-ousmane-dembele-and-other-players/) [Jude Bellingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-bellingham/) > [I come from both sides of the spectrum: I grew up listening to hip-hop and R&B then learned how to make a track by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lotic/i-come-from-both-sides-of-the-spectrum-i-grew-up-listening-to-hip-hop/) [Lotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lotic/) > [ \[Albert Camus\] positions are sensed. So, naturally, those intellectuals who don't have that experience have difficulty in comprehending it. But I think it made… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-camus/albert-camus-positions-are-sensed-so-naturally-those-intellectuals/) [Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-camus/) [Browse all 597 Both sides quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both-sides/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Wow, I'm being shot at from both sides. That means I *must* be right.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Larry Wall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-that-means-i-must-be-right/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Both sides" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-that-means-i-must-be-right/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/249/larry-wall-1576_both-sides_wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-th_2033342.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/249/larry-wall-1576_both-sides_wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-th_2033342.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/249/larry-wall-1576_both-sides_wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-th_2033342.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Wow, I'm being shot at from both sides. That means I *must* be right.” — Larry Wall", "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": "Larry Wall", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Wow, I'm being shot at from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-that-means-i-must-be-right/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/wow-i-m-being-shot-at-from-both-sides-that-means-i-must-be-right/#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 } } ] } ```