Bad thing Quote by Lawrence Weiner
“I think it's a waste of time to worry about the motives of why people are supportive of things. I think we should look at the thing itself. And if they're supportive of something that's sexist or racist, then it's a bad thing, but it's not because they're supportive of it that it's a bad thing.”
About This Quote
Focus on evaluating actions or ideas directly rather than attributing intent, arguing that the moral value of a stance is independent of who supports it.
In simple terms: Assess ideas, not supporters.
Key Takeaway
Judge content, not motives.
Themes
critical thinking
ethical evaluation
bias awareness
social responsibility
Mood
analytical
skeptical
Type
aphilosophical
advice
When to use this quote
- political debates
- media analysis
- organizational policy reviews
Key Concepts
intent vs. impact
moral objectivity
Practical Applications
- ethical decision‑making
- public discourse moderation
Questions to Reflect On
- Does the source of support affect the validity of an argument?
- How can we separate intent from impact in practice?
![“What interested me the most was that when I [traveled to Europe] I knew what Joseph Beuys was doing, he knew what I was doing, and we both, we just started to talk. How did I know what Daniel Buren was doing, and to an extent, he knew exactly what I was doing? How did everybody know? It's an…” quote by Lawrence Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/de8/lawrence-weiner-17466_artist_what-interested-me-the-most-was-that-whe_152283.jpg)
