--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For people may not know what they think…" description: "\"For people may not know what they think about politics in the Balkans, or the vexed question of men and women, but everyone has a definite opinion abou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/louis-simpson-36946_balkans_for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think_1365124.jpg" --- # For people may not know what they think about politics in… ![“For people may not know what they think about politics in the Balkans, or the vexed question of men and women, but everyone has a definite opinion about the flavour of shredded coconut.” quote by Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/louis-simpson-36946_balkans_for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think_1365124.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/louis-simpson-36946_balkans_for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think_1365124.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/louis-simpson-36946_balkans_for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think_1365124.jpg) > “For people may not know what they think about politics in the Balkans, or the vexed question of men and women, but everyone has a definite opinion about the flavour of shredded coconut.” [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) ## 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 have strong opinions on trivial matters while lacking depth on serious topics. **In simple terms:** We argue about small things more than big ones. Key Takeaway Focus on meaningful issues. Themes opinions triviality politics gender culture Mood humorous critical Type satirical observational When to use this quote - social media - dinner conversations - political forums Key Concepts social commentary humor Questions to Reflect On - Why do we focus on the insignificant? - What topics deserve deeper discussion? A Different Perspective Trivial debates can distract from real problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balkans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balkans/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“3 tbsp honey ¼ cup coconut oil, melted over a medium heat 1 tsp vanilla extract ½ cup shredded coconut ½ cup chopped macadamia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-francon/3-tbsp-honey-cup-coconut-oil-melted-over-a-medium-heat-1-tsp-vanilla/) [Dominique Francon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-francon/) > [“2 cups unbleached flour 1 cup rolled oats 1 Tbsp baking powder ½ tsp sea salt 1 cup sliced almonds ½ cup shredded coconut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-petrovna/2-cups-unbleached-flour-1-cup-rolled-oats-1-tbsp-baking-powder-tsp/) Tanya Petrovna > [We have taken a grave and hazardous decision to sustain the Greeks and try to make a Balkan Front.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/we-have-taken-a-grave-and-hazardous-decision-to-sustain-the-greeks/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“The neo-cons, or some of them, decided that they would back Clinton when he belatedly decided for Bosnia and Kosovo against Milosevic, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-neo-cons-or-some-of-them-decided-that-they-would-back-clinton/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [In a Balkan country, not so many years ago, a party which had been beaten by a narrow margin in a general election retrieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-a-balkan-country-not-so-many-years-ago-a-party-which-had-been/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [We have carried out the attempted premeditated murder of an entire nation. We were caught in that criminal act and have been obstructed. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitrije-tucovic/we-have-carried-out-the-attempted-premeditated-murder-of-an-entire/) Dimitrije Tucovic > [ In terms intellectually, \[what\] shaped my life was the whole Munich thing \[the Munich Agreement\] that I knew about all my life, in terms… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-terms-intellectually-what-shaped-my-life-was-the-whole-munich/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [There are some common problems in the Balkans in the settlement of which Bulgaria should also participate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todor-zhivkov/there-are-some-common-problems-in-the-balkans-in-the-settlement-of/) [Todor Zhivkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todor-zhivkov/) > [“If you write anything meaningful over there, June, keep it far away from this city. They will turn a story about glue-addicted gypsy children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ward/if-you-write-anything-meaningful-over-there-june-keep-it-far-away/) [Annie Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ward/) > [“War is a war. Everywhere is hard and bloody, but the Balkans in it bring their coloring and passion. Someone happened to be on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlatko-top-i/war-is-a-war-everywhere-is-hard-and-bloody-but-the-balkans-in-it/) Zlatko Topčić > [The clash of religion. We've had to coexist for hundreds of years in Bulgaria, in the Balkans, and we still don't get along. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-penkov/the-clash-of-religion-we-ve-had-to-coexist-for-hundreds-of-years-in/) [Miroslav Penkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-penkov/) > [ Once over there \[Balkans\], I felt extremely patriotic. Here are these people, from 18-year-olds to military veterans, enduring real duress for the cause of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/once-over-there-balkans-i-felt-extremely-patriotic-here-are-these/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [There a lot of occasions when Albanians cause trouble, but then we are also very nice people. People sometimes forget that there are good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/granit-xhaka/there-a-lot-of-occasions-when-albanians-cause-trouble-but-then-we-are/) [Granit Xhaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/granit-xhaka/) > [“The writer does not dare dream of giving the best of his individuality. No, he must never express his anger. The vacillating demands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/the-writer-does-not-dare-dream-of-giving-the-best-of-his/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [“The Balkans aren't worth the life of a single Pomeranian grenadier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/the-balkans-aren-t-worth-the-life-of-a-single-pomeranian-grenadier/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) ## More by Louis Simpson > [“These wars have been so great, they are forgotten Like the Egyptian dynasts. My confrere In whose thick boots I stood, were you amazed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/these-wars-have-been-so-great-they-are-forgotten-like-the-egyptian/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) > [The Open Road goes to the used-car lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/the-open-road-goes-to-the-used-car-lot/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) > [It's complicated, being an American, Having the money and the bad conscience, both at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/it-s-complicated-being-an-american-having-the-money-and-the-bad/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) > [I gave no prescriptions, And those who have taken my moods for prophecies Mistake the matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/i-gave-no-prescriptions-and-those-who-have-taken-my-moods-for/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) > [The aim of military training is not just to prepare men for battle, but to make them long for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/the-aim-of-military-training-is-not-just-to-prepare-men-for-battle/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) > [All that grave weight of America Cancelled! Like Greece and Rome. The future in ruins!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/all-that-grave-weight-of-america-cancelled-like-greece-and-rome-the/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) > [Paranoia imposes its own vision on the external world; it differs from other kinds of visionary experience in that the paranoid wants others to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/paranoia-imposes-its-own-vision-on-the-external-world-it-differs-from/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) > [The treasures of Cathay were never found. In this America, this wilderness Where the axe echoes with a lonely sound, The generations labor to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/the-treasures-of-cathay-were-never-found-in-this-america-this/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) > [In my grandmother's house there was always chicken soup And talk of the old country--mud and boards, Poverty, The snow falling down and necks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/in-my-grandmother-s-house-there-was-always-chicken-soup-and-talk-of/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) > [“Do not write. I am sad, and want my light put out. Summers in your absence are as dark as a room. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/do-not-write-i-am-sad-and-want-my-light-put-out-summers-in-your/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) > [Being shelled is the main work of an infantry soldier, which no one talks about. Everyone has his own way of going about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/being-shelled-is-the-main-work-of-an-infantry-soldier-which-no-one/) [Louis Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) [Explore all 12 Louis Simpson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/) ## More Balkans quotes > [“The Balkans aren't worth the life of a single Pomeranian grenadier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/the-balkans-aren-t-worth-the-life-of-a-single-pomeranian-grenadier/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [“The writer does not dare dream of giving the best of his individuality. No, he must never express his anger. The vacillating demands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/the-writer-does-not-dare-dream-of-giving-the-best-of-his/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [There a lot of occasions when Albanians cause trouble, but then we are also very nice people. People sometimes forget that there are good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/granit-xhaka/there-a-lot-of-occasions-when-albanians-cause-trouble-but-then-we-are/) [Granit Xhaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/granit-xhaka/) > [ Once over there \[Balkans\], I felt extremely patriotic. Here are these people, from 18-year-olds to military veterans, enduring real duress for the cause of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/once-over-there-balkans-i-felt-extremely-patriotic-here-are-these/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [The clash of religion. We've had to coexist for hundreds of years in Bulgaria, in the Balkans, and we still don't get along. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-penkov/the-clash-of-religion-we-ve-had-to-coexist-for-hundreds-of-years-in/) [Miroslav Penkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-penkov/) > [“War is a war. Everywhere is hard and bloody, but the Balkans in it bring their coloring and passion. Someone happened to be on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlatko-top-i/war-is-a-war-everywhere-is-hard-and-bloody-but-the-balkans-in-it/) Zlatko Topčić > [“If you write anything meaningful over there, June, keep it far away from this city. They will turn a story about glue-addicted gypsy children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ward/if-you-write-anything-meaningful-over-there-june-keep-it-far-away/) [Annie Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ward/) > [There are some common problems in the Balkans in the settlement of which Bulgaria should also participate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todor-zhivkov/there-are-some-common-problems-in-the-balkans-in-the-settlement-of/) [Todor Zhivkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todor-zhivkov/) > [ In terms intellectually, \[what\] shaped my life was the whole Munich thing \[the Munich Agreement\] that I knew about all my life, in terms… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-terms-intellectually-what-shaped-my-life-was-the-whole-munich/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [We have carried out the attempted premeditated murder of an entire nation. We were caught in that criminal act and have been obstructed. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitrije-tucovic/we-have-carried-out-the-attempted-premeditated-murder-of-an-entire/) Dimitrije Tucovic > [In a Balkan country, not so many years ago, a party which had been beaten by a narrow margin in a general election retrieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-a-balkan-country-not-so-many-years-ago-a-party-which-had-been/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“The neo-cons, or some of them, decided that they would back Clinton when he belatedly decided for Bosnia and Kosovo against Milosevic, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-neo-cons-or-some-of-them-decided-that-they-would-back-clinton/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [We have taken a grave and hazardous decision to sustain the Greeks and try to make a Balkan Front.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/we-have-taken-a-grave-and-hazardous-decision-to-sustain-the-greeks/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“In this city, the victors had delusions of grandeur. It was visual. Across the street from the hotel stood City Hall, sporting an oversized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maass/in-this-city-the-victors-had-delusions-of-grandeur-it-was-visual/) Peter Maass > [The reality of Canadian history is that we've been willing to do the important things the world demanded of us: fighting in World War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-alexander/the-reality-of-canadian-history-is-that-we-ve-been-willing-to-do-the/) [Chris Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-alexander/) [Browse all 71 Balkans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balkans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For people may not know what they think about politics in the Balkans, or the vexed question of men and women, but everyone has a definite opinion about the flavour of shredded coconut.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Louis Simpson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think-about-politics-in-the-balkans/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Balkans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think-about-politics-in-the-balkans/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/louis-simpson-36946_balkans_for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think_1365124.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/louis-simpson-36946_balkans_for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think_1365124.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89b/louis-simpson-36946_balkans_for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think_1365124.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For people may not know what they think about politics in the Balkans, or the vexed question of men and…” — Louis Simpson", "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": "Louis Simpson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-simpson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For people may not know what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think-about-politics-in-the-balkans/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-simpson/for-people-may-not-know-what-they-think-about-politics-in-the-balkans/#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 } } ] } ```