--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People ask, \"What could possibly cause a…" description: "\"People ask, \"What could possibly cause a normal person to torture her own child?\" Well, the answer is: Nothing could cause a normal person to torture t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/martha-stout-9173_care_people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-n_838090.png" --- # People ask, "What could possibly cause a normal person to… ![“People ask, "What could possibly cause a normal person to torture her own child?" Well, the answer is: Nothing could cause a normal person to torture their own child. The reason that we see that happening is that there are people who don't care, who don't love - even their own children.” quote by Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/martha-stout-9173_care_people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-n_838090.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/martha-stout-9173_care_people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-n_838090.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/martha-stout-9173_care_people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-n_838090.png) > “People ask, "What could possibly cause a normal person to torture her own child?" Well, the answer is: Nothing could cause a normal person to torture their own child. The reason that we see that happening is that there are people who don't care, who don't love - even their own children.” [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People who lack empathy and love can harm even their own children, showing that cruelty stems from emotional emptiness. **In simple terms:** Lack of love leads to harming children. Key Takeaway Beware of emotional neglect. Themes empathy parenting violence psychology morality Mood somber urgent concerned Type analytical ethical educational When to use this quote - family counseling - child protection - social services - education programs Key Concepts psychopathy attachment theory moral development Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate a parent’s emotional disengagement? - How can society intervene early? A Different Perspective Not all cruelty is caused by external pressures; internal voids matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Cause Normal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-normal-617531/) [Child Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-reason-617530/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Normal person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-person/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Who Don't Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-who-dont-care/) [Person Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-torture-617529/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [Torture Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture-child-617528/) ## Related quotes > [Yet it is awful to love a person who is a torture to you. And a fascinating person who loves you and won't hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/yet-it-is-awful-to-love-a-person-who-is-a-torture-to-you-and-a/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [Screw normal. You know why? 'Cause if you're normal, the crowd will accept you. But if you're deranged, the crowd will make you their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/screw-normal-you-know-why-cause-if-you-re-normal-the-crowd-will/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [I do not like punishments. You will never torture a child into duty; but a sensible child will dread the frown of a judicious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-kirke-white/i-do-not-like-punishments-you-will-never-torture-a-child-into-duty/) [Henry Kirke White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-kirke-white/) > [“What you teach a child today can have life-long results. If you love, encourage, and treat a child with respect and dignity, that child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-hill/what-you-teach-a-child-today-can-have-life-long-results-if-you-love/) [Brenda Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-hill/) > [“When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-was-a-child-i-used-to-speak-like-a-child-think-like-a-child/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Reasoning with a child is fine, if you can reach the child's reason without destroying your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/reasoning-with-a-child-is-fine-if-you-can-reach-the-child-s-reason/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [“Question like a child, reason like an adult, and write like a sage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/question-like-a-child-reason-like-an-adult-and-write-like-a-sage/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“The needed materials for each specific activity are gathered together on a tray for the child. This preselection by the adult is necessary because,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-polk-lillard/the-needed-materials-for-each-specific-activity-are-gathered-together/) [Paula Polk Lillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-polk-lillard/) > [A child starts from nothing and advances alone. It is the child's reason about which the sensitive periods revolve. The reason provides the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/a-child-starts-from-nothing-and-advances-alone-it-is-the-child-s/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Actors will always tell you it's more fun playing bad guys. A lot of the time, it's criminals who are the people who don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-gleeson/actors-will-always-tell-you-it-s-more-fun-playing-bad-guys-a-lot-of/) [Brendan Gleeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-gleeson/) > [I don't want to make music for people who don't care about music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/i-don-t-want-to-make-music-for-people-who-don-t-care-about-music/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [Buck wild for all of my people who don't care. Lost like a bunch of black millionaires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/busta-rhymes/buck-wild-for-all-of-my-people-who-don-t-care-lost-like-a-bunch-of/) [Busta Rhymes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/busta-rhymes/) > [I don't care for people who don't care for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-care-for-people-who-don-t-care-for-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Life itself and who people actually are can be greatly reflected in how they dance. And I don't mean how good you are. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/life-itself-and-who-people-actually-are-can-be-greatly-reflected-in/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Don't loose your respect chasing people who don't care about.!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb/don-t-loose-your-respect-chasing-people-who-don-t-care-about/) [Caleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb/) ## More by Martha Stout > [“A part of a healthy conscience is being able to confront consciencelessness. When you teach your daughter, explicitly or by passive rejection, that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/a-part-of-a-healthy-conscience-is-being-able-to-confront/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [I would hesitate to tell people to stop being kind or sympathetic to sociopath. But just like loyalty, some things that can be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/i-would-hesitate-to-tell-people-to-stop-being-kind-or-sympathetic-to/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [“when confronted with a destructive outcome that is clearly their doing, they will say, plain and simple, “I never did that,” and will to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/when-confronted-with-a-destructive-outcome-that-is-clearly-their/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [Usually sociopaths will look down upon us for that very reason - that we're gullible. We're weak. One person told me that he thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/usually-sociopaths-will-look-down-upon-us-for-that-very-reason-that/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [A conscience is, for a while anyway, pretty easy to fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/a-conscience-is-for-a-while-anyway-pretty-easy-to-fake/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's. His hair was perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/i-saw-a-werewolf-drinking-a-pina-colada-at-trader-vic-s-his-hair-was/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [The most reliable sign, the most universal behavior of unscrupulous people is not directed, as one might imagine, at our fearfulness. It is, perversely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/the-most-reliable-sign-the-most-universal-behavior-of-unscrupulous/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [When you were a child, where boredom could actually get to be painful. Sociopaths experience that kind of pain in boredom. And so to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/when-you-were-a-child-where-boredom-could-actually-get-to-be-painful/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [One way or another, a life without conscience is a failed life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/one-way-or-another-a-life-without-conscience-is-a-failed-life/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [We raise our children, especially girls, to ignore their spontaneious reactions-we teach them not to rock the societal boat...By the time she is thirty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/we-raise-our-children-especially-girls-to-ignore-their-spontaneious/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [Most of who we are is our deepest emotions, and someone who cannot feel those emotions in a positive way is never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/most-of-who-we-are-is-our-deepest-emotions-and-someone-who-cannot/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [“Unless under the spell of a psychotic delusion, extreme rage, inescapable deprivation, drugs, or a destructive authority figure, a person who is conscience-bound does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/unless-under-the-spell-of-a-psychotic-delusion-extreme-rage/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [“If all you had ever felt toward another person were the cold wish to “win,” how would you understand the meaning of love, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/if-all-you-had-ever-felt-toward-another-person-were-the-cold-wish-to/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [“And so without our primordial attachments to others, what would we be? Evidently, we would be the players of a game, one that resembled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/and-so-without-our-primordial-attachments-to-others-what-would-we-be/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [When I speak of divisions greater than gender or race, I say that because it is so unimaginable. I can imagine what it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/when-i-speak-of-divisions-greater-than-gender-or-race-i-say-that/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) [Explore all 75 Martha Stout quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) ## More Care quotes > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [We all know what it feels like to love someone and care about them and want to protect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-madeira/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-love-someone-and-care-about-them/) [Kiana Madeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-madeira/) > [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/) > [I certainly do care for you Jeff Campbell less than you are always thinking and much more than you are ever knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-certainly-do-care-for-you-jeff-campbell-less-than-you-are-always/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [What makes you care about nature, about the planet? Is it really that you're afraid of what's going to happen if you don't take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/what-makes-you-care-about-nature-about-the-planet-is-it-really-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [I don't care if you make a print on a bath mat, just as long as it is a good print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-don-t-care-if-you-make-a-print-on-a-bath-mat-just-as-long-as-it-is/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [The world's problems are, by and large, human problems-the unavoidable consequence of egoic sleepwalking. If we care to look, all the signs are present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/the-world-s-problems-are-by-and-large-human-problems-the-unavoidable/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) [Browse all 19,019 Care quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People ask, \"What could possibly cause a normal person to torture her own child?\" Well, the answer is: Nothing could cause a normal person to torture their own child. The reason that we see that happening is that there are people who don't care, who don't love - even their own children.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martha Stout" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-normal-person-to-torture-her/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Care" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-normal-person-to-torture-her/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/martha-stout-9173_care_people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-n_838090.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/martha-stout-9173_care_people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-n_838090.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/martha-stout-9173_care_people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-n_838090.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People ask, \"What could possibly cause a normal person to torture her own child?\" Well, the answer is…” — Martha Stout", "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": "Martha Stout", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People ask, \"What could possibly cause...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-normal-person-to-torture-her/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/people-ask-what-could-possibly-cause-a-normal-person-to-torture-her/#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 } } ] } ```