--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Basically no, I mean I think that it's…" description: "\"Basically no, I mean I think that it's very easy to like I say, smoke a joint or even to wear a Chairman Mao button, or do a lot of these things with o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/lester-bangs-9750_behinds_basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-ve_2267959.jpg" --- # Basically no, I mean I think that it's very easy to like I… ![“Basically no, I mean I think that it's very easy to like I say, smoke a joint or even to wear a Chairman Mao button, or do a lot of these things with out knowing what's behind it, and what it really means.” quote by Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/lester-bangs-9750_behinds_basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-ve_2267959.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/lester-bangs-9750_behinds_basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-ve_2267959.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/lester-bangs-9750_behinds_basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-ve_2267959.jpg) > “Basically no, I mean I think that it's very easy to like I say, smoke a joint or even to wear a Chairman Mao button, or do a lot of these things with out knowing what's behind it, and what it really means.” [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often adopt symbols or actions without understanding their deeper significance, reducing complex ideas to superficial gestures. **In simple terms:** People use symbols without grasping meaning. Key Takeaway Seek deeper understanding before adopting symbols. Themes culture symbolism awareness Mood reflective critical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - fashion choices - music fandom - social media trends Key Concepts critical thinking social influence identity meaning superficiality Questions to Reflect On - Why do we adopt symbols without research? - How does this affect cultural respect? A Different Perspective Symbols can be co-opted, losing original context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [It's much easier to wear a Chairman Mao button and shake your fists in the air and all that, then to actually read the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/it-s-much-easier-to-wear-a-chairman-mao-button-and-shake-your-fists/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [Remember the words of Chairman Mao: 'It's always darkest before it's totally black.'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/remember-the-words-of-chairman-mao-it-s-always-darkest-before-it-s/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [We should not lay all past mistakes on Chairman Mao. So we must be very objective in assessing him. His contributions were primary, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deng-xiaoping/we-should-not-lay-all-past-mistakes-on-chairman-mao-so-we-must-be/) [Deng Xiaoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deng-xiaoping/) > [I was Chairman Mao's dog. What he said to bite, I bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiang-qing/i-was-chairman-mao-s-dog-what-he-said-to-bite-i-bit/) Jiang Qing > [Chairman Mao once said that political power comes from the barrel of a gun. He was only partly right: power that comes from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/chairman-mao-once-said-that-political-power-comes-from-the-barrel-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [If children were brought up to become non-conformists it would only ruin their lives. So parents all over China who loved their children told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jung-chang/if-children-were-brought-up-to-become-non-conformists-it-would-only/) [Jung Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jung-chang/) > [So far as Chairman Mao's own hopes were concerned, he initiated the "Cultural Revolution" in order to avert the restoration of capitalism, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deng-xiaoping/so-far-as-chairman-mao-s-own-hopes-were-concerned-he-initiated-the/) [Deng Xiaoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deng-xiaoping/) > [The influence of the Gang of Four should not be underrated, but it should be noted that 97 or 98 per cent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deng-xiaoping/the-influence-of-the-gang-of-four-should-not-be-underrated-but-it/) [Deng Xiaoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deng-xiaoping/) > [Chairman Mao's greatest contribution was that he applied the principles of Marxism-Leninism to the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution, pointing the way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deng-xiaoping/chairman-mao-s-greatest-contribution-was-that-he-applied-the/) [Deng Xiaoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deng-xiaoping/) > [One Mongolian leader became a very, very brutal dictator and eventually became a murderer. Previously, he was a monk, and then he became a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/one-mongolian-leader-became-a-very-very-brutal-dictator-and/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Chairman Mao was after all a principal founder of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China. In evaluating his merits and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deng-xiaoping/chairman-mao-was-after-all-a-principal-founder-of-the-chinese/) [Deng Xiaoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deng-xiaoping/) > [It is in that spirit, the spirit of '76, that I ask you to rise and join me in a toast to Chairman Mao,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/it-is-in-that-spirit-the-spirit-of-76-that-i-ask-you-to-rise-and-join/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [One thing that Chairman Mao did was to end the appalling foot binding of women. That alone justifies the Mao Tse-tung era.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/one-thing-that-chairman-mao-did-was-to-end-the-appalling-foot-binding/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) > [Chairman Mao not only introduced Pinyin in China, but also simplified half the Chinese characters, believing that fewer strokes would enable more people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tang/chairman-mao-not-only-introduced-pinyin-in-china-but-also-simplified/) [David Tang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tang/) > [In the past there were too many portraits of Chairman Mao in China. They were hung everywhere. That was not proper and it didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deng-xiaoping/in-the-past-there-were-too-many-portraits-of-chairman-mao-in-china/) [Deng Xiaoping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deng-xiaoping/) ## More by Lester Bangs > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [I can guarantee you one thing, we will never agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-can-guarantee-you-one-thing-we-will-never-agree-on-anything-as-we/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [ “Like almost all of Beefheart's recorded work, \[Trout Mask Replica\] was not even "ahead" of its time in 1969. Then and now, it stands… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/like-almost-all-of-beefheart-s-recorded-work-trout-mask-replica-was/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [Here we are in the 70's when everything really is horrible and it really stinks. The mass media, everything on television everything everywhere is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/here-we-are-in-the-70-s-when-everything-really-is-horrible-and-it/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [The ultimate sin of any performer is contempt for the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/the-ultimate-sin-of-any-performer-is-contempt-for-the-audience/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [I don't see that there are any particular changes in popular music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-don-t-see-that-there-are-any-particular-changes-in-popular-music/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“Look at it this way: there are many here among us for whom the life force is best represented by the livid twitching of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/look-at-it-this-way-there-are-many-here-among-us-for-whom-the-life/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“Art", "Bop" and "rock and roll" and whatever is all just a joke and a mistake, just a hunka foolishness so stop treating it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/art-bop-and-rock-and-roll-and-whatever-is-all-just-a-joke-and-a/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [Don’t ask me why I obsessively look to rock ’n’ roll bands for some kind of model for a better society. I guess it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/don-t-ask-me-why-i-obsessively-look-to-rock-n-roll-bands-for-some/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [No, I see it as meaning very little at the moment because none of the groups are about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/no-i-see-it-as-meaning-very-little-at-the-moment-because-none-of-the/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [A young woman is dead. I don’t care. You probably don’t care. The police don’t care. The papers don’t care. The punks for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/a-young-woman-is-dead-i-don-t-care-you-probably-don-t-care-the-police/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [Sexual chaos reigns currently, but out of chaos may flow true understanding and harmony, and either way Elvis almost singlehandedly opened the floodgates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/sexual-chaos-reigns-currently-but-out-of-chaos-may-flow-true/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [When kids can't afford to see it anymore maybe we'll have a whole resurgence of garage bands all over America and this New Wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/when-kids-can-t-afford-to-see-it-anymore-maybe-we-ll-have-a-whole/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [The Mekons are the most revolutionary group in the history of rock 'n' roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/the-mekons-are-the-most-revolutionary-group-in-the-history-of-rock-n/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“But since death is inevitable we don’t have to deal with it (it’ll deal with us when it decides to). 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If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. 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Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) Browse all 6,789 Behinds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Basically no, I mean I think that it's very easy to like I say, smoke a joint or even to wear a Chairman Mao button, or do a lot of these things with out knowing what's behind it, and what it really means.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lester Bangs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-very-easy-to-like-i-say-smoke-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-very-easy-to-like-i-say-smoke-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/lester-bangs-9750_behinds_basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-ve_2267959.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/lester-bangs-9750_behinds_basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-ve_2267959.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/lester-bangs-9750_behinds_basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-ve_2267959.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Basically no, I mean I think that it's very easy to like I say, smoke a joint or even to wear a Chairman Mao…” — Lester Bangs", "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": "Lester Bangs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Basically no, I mean I think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-very-easy-to-like-i-say-smoke-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/basically-no-i-mean-i-think-that-it-s-very-easy-to-like-i-say-smoke-a/#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 } } ] } ```