--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Americans (I, I'm afraid, among them) go…" description: "\"Americans (I, I'm afraid, among them) go around carelessly assuming they're tolerant the way they go around carelessly saying, 'You ought to be in pict..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3be/margaret-halsey-6554_america_americans-i-i-m-afraid-among-them-go-aro_519778.jpg" --- # Americans (I, I'm afraid, among them) go around carelessly… ![“Americans (I, I'm afraid, among them) go around carelessly assuming they're tolerant the way they go around carelessly saying, 'You ought to be in pictures.' But in the clinches, they turn out to be tolerant about as often as they turn out to be Clark Gable.” quote by Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3be/margaret-halsey-6554_america_americans-i-i-m-afraid-among-them-go-aro_519778.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3be/margaret-halsey-6554_america_americans-i-i-m-afraid-among-them-go-aro_519778.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3be/margaret-halsey-6554_america_americans-i-i-m-afraid-among-them-go-aro_519778.jpg) > “Americans (I, I'm afraid, among them) go around carelessly assuming they're tolerant the way they go around carelessly saying, 'You ought to be in pictures.' But in the clinches, they turn out to be tolerant about as often as they turn out to be Clark Gable.” [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People claim tolerance but act inconsistently, especially under pressure. **In simple terms:** Tolerance is often superficial. Key Takeaway Examine true openness in actions. Themes hypocrisy social norms identity Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical observational When to use this quote - political debate - media criticism - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology culture authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What does genuine tolerance look like? - How do you respond when tolerance is tested? A Different Perspective People may hide bias behind politeness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid Carelessly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-carelessly-4388255/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Americans Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans-afraid-403523/) [Assuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assuming/) [Assuming Tolerant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assuming-tolerant-4388253/) [Clark gable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clark-gable/) [Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/) [Tolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerance/) [Turn Tolerant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turn-tolerant-4388254/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Americans are not afraid of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasso-plattner/americans-are-not-afraid-of-the-future/) [Hasso Plattner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasso-plattner/) > [I'm afraid of Americans; I'm afraid of the world; I'm afraid I can't help it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-m-afraid-of-americans-i-m-afraid-of-the-world-i-m-afraid-i-can-t/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [It was mid-November 2008. There were pirates taking ships with impunity in African waters, terrorists punching holes in Indian security, China sinking towards depression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/it-was-mid-november-2008-there-were-pirates-taking-ships-with/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Immigrants have been coming here for a long time. The Americans that are afraid of others coming were immigrants once themselves, so they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfrey/immigrants-have-been-coming-here-for-a-long-time-the-americans-that/) [Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfrey/) > [It is subversive to set up inquisitions like this, state or national, into the thoughts and consciences of Americans. . . . It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-luscomb/it-is-subversive-to-set-up-inquisitions-like-this-state-or-national/) [Florence Luscomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-luscomb/) > [Are Americans afraid to face the reality that there is a significant portion of this world's population that hates America, hates what freedom represents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-hannity/are-americans-afraid-to-face-the-reality-that-there-is-a-significant/) [Sean Hannity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-hannity/) > [“Like the Biblical Israelites, Americans who are afraid want to put their trust in actors who can effectively protect them, but rather than turning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-albertson/like-the-biblical-israelites-americans-who-are-afraid-want-to-put/) [Bethany Albertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-albertson/) > [I really want Americans, and all of us, to be less afraid of death, and know that it's a passage, but that - don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/i-really-want-americans-and-all-of-us-to-be-less-afraid-of-death-and/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [Do not be afriad! I can see that Americans are not afraid. They are not afraid of the sun, they are not afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-noonan/do-not-be-afriad-i-can-see-that-americans-are-not-afraid-they-are-not/) [Peggy Noonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-noonan/) > [ “I find suggestion a hell of a lot more provocative than explicit detail. You didn't see Clark\[Gable\] and Vivien\[leigh\] rolling around in bed in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-crawford/i-find-suggestion-a-hell-of-a-lot-more-provocative-than-explicit/) [Joan Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-crawford/) > [I have never met a man more shy than Clark Gable. He was so shy, you couldn't make him talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-have-never-met-a-man-more-shy-than-clark-gable-he-was-so-shy-you/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [“Barbara and I had arrived early, so I got to admire everyone’s entrance. We were seated at tables around a dance floor that had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farley-granger/barbara-and-i-had-arrived-early-so-i-got-to-admire-everyone-s/) [Farley Granger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farley-granger/) > [When Clark Gable died, I cried for 2 days straight. I couldn't eat or sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/when-clark-gable-died-i-cried-for-2-days-straight-i-couldn-t-eat-or/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [I learned early on, having known the most handsome, successful, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Robert Taylor, don't ever spend too much time looking in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stack/i-learned-early-on-having-known-the-most-handsome-successful-gary/) [Robert Stack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stack/) > [“I've been thinking lately about immortality. What it means to be remembered, what I want to be remembered for, certain questions concerning memory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/i-ve-been-thinking-lately-about-immortality-what-it-means-to-be/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) ## More by Margaret Halsey > [Life itself, however, flows and is sequential and punishes those who try to compartmentalize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/life-itself-however-flows-and-is-sequential-and-punishes-those-who/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [the crucial disadvantage of aggression, competitiveness and skepticism as national characteristics is that these qualities cannot be turned off at five o'clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-crucial-disadvantage-of-aggression-competitiveness-and-skepticism/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Englishwomen's shoes look as if they had been made by someone who had often heard shoes described, but had never seen any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/englishwomen-s-shoes-look-as-if-they-had-been-made-by-someone-who-had/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [it is a waste of time to ask more of people than they have to give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/it-is-a-waste-of-time-to-ask-more-of-people-than-they-have-to-give/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [I would have felt more comfortable on a girder fifty floors above the street, catching white-hot rivets in a pail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/i-would-have-felt-more-comfortable-on-a-girder-fifty-floors-above-the/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [The position of children as a group, in a commercial society, is not wholly advantageous. A commercial society urges its citizens to be responsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-position-of-children-as-a-group-in-a-commercial-society-is-not/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Money does not corrupt people. What corrupts people is lack of affection ... Money is simply the bandage which wounded people put over their wounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/money-does-not-corrupt-people-what-corrupts-people-is-lack-of/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Identity is not found, the way Pharaoh's daughter found Moses in the bulrushes. Identity is built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/identity-is-not-found-the-way-pharaoh-s-daughter-found-moses-in-the/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [I am living with a rising generation which talks like people coming out of ether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/i-am-living-with-a-rising-generation-which-talks-like-people-coming/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [children are an embarrassment to a business civilization. A business society needs children for the same reason that a nomadic or a pastoral society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/children-are-an-embarrassment-to-a-business-civilization-a-business/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [The only way not to worry about the race problem is to be doing something about it yourself. When you are, natural human vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-only-way-not-to-worry-about-the-race-problem-is-to-be-doing/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Employed as I had been employing it, liquor is a fixative of old patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/employed-as-i-had-been-employing-it-liquor-is-a-fixative-of-old/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [in the comparatively short time between my childhood and my daughter's, the business society has ceased urging people to produce and is now exerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/in-the-comparatively-short-time-between-my-childhood-and-my-daughter/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [A person may be totally unimaginative and have the social vision of a mole, and we still call him a decent man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/a-person-may-be-totally-unimaginative-and-have-the-social-vision-of-a/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Infants, I note with envy, are receptive to enjoyment in a degree not attained by adults this side of the new Jerusalem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/infants-i-note-with-envy-are-receptive-to-enjoyment-in-a-degree-not/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) [Explore all 98 Margaret Halsey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. 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