--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing degrades a man do more than the…" description: "\"Nothing degrades a man do more than the allowed stoop so low as to hate someone\" — Martin Luther King, Jr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/martin-luther-king-jr-127_degrade_nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the_1168307.png" --- # Nothing degrades a man do more than the allowed stoop so… ![“Nothing degrades a man do more than the allowed stoop so low as to hate someone” quote by Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/martin-luther-king-jr-127_degrade_nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the_1168307.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/martin-luther-king-jr-127_degrade_nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the_1168307.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/martin-luther-king-jr-127_degrade_nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the_1168307.png) > “Nothing degrades a man do more than the allowed stoop so low as to hate someone” [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating others with contempt erodes one's character more than any other vice. **In simple terms:** Hating others damages you. Key Takeaway Avoid contempt, practice empathy. Themes respect humility character empathy Mood reflective serious Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - personal relationships - leadership - conflict resolution - social activism Key Concepts moral decay psychology of hatred Questions to Reflect On - How does hatred affect your self‑respect? - What steps can you take to cultivate respect? A Different Perspective It may be hard to change ingrained biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allowed Stoop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allowed-stoop-3375722/) [Degrade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrade/) [Degrades Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrades-man-3375723/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Low Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/low-hate-1502905/) [Lows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lows/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Stoop Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stoop-low-1141553/) [Stoops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stoops/) ## Related quotes > [I shall never permit myself to stoop so low as to hate any man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/i-shall-never-permit-myself-to-stoop-so-low-as-to-hate-any-man/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [I am too busy with my cause to hate too absorbed in something bigger than myself. I have no time to quarrel, no time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-james/i-am-too-busy-with-my-cause-to-hate-too-absorbed-in-something-bigger/) [Lawrence James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-james/) > [For One in such a lofty position to stoop so low is a marvel that is staggering. What sublime humility and humble sublimeness, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/for-one-in-such-a-lofty-position-to-stoop-so-low-is-a-marvel-that-is/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [Don't ever let them pull you down so low as to hate them. (also cited as: I will permit no man to narrow and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/don-t-ever-let-them-pull-you-down-so-low-as-to-hate-them-also-cited/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [A wrong concept misleads the understanding; a wrong deed degrades the whole man, and may eventually demolish the structure of the human ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/a-wrong-concept-misleads-the-understanding-a-wrong-deed-degrades-the/) [Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/) > [Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/let-no-man-pull-you-so-low-as-to-hate-him/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Don't ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them. We must use the weapon of love. We must have the compassion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/don-t-ever-let-anyone-pull-you-so-low-as-to-hate-them-we-must-use-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [We'll scorch the earth, set fire to the sky, we stoop so low to reach so high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u2/we-ll-scorch-the-earth-set-fire-to-the-sky-we-stoop-so-low-to-reach/) [U2](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u2/) > [Never stoop to someone's low just dirt off your shoulder and move forward in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-stoop-to-someone-s-low-just-dirt-off-your-shoulder-and-move/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I would never stoop so low as to be fashionable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-would-never-stoop-so-low-as-to-be-fashionable/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [No you didn't have to stoop so low. Have your friends collect your records and then change your number. I guess that I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotye/no-you-didn-t-have-to-stoop-so-low-have-your-friends-collect-your/) [Gotye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotye/) > [“Le no man pull you low enough to hate him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/le-no-man-pull-you-low-enough-to-hate-him/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Let no one drag you so low as to hate them" -Martin Luther King Jr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-jefferson/let-no-one-drag-you-so-low-as-to-hate-them-martin-luther-king-jr/) [Elle Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-jefferson/) > [I will never stoop low to do certain things on camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmin-bhasin/i-will-never-stoop-low-to-do-certain-things-on-camera/) [Jasmin Bhasin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmin-bhasin/) > [Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-no-man-pull-you-low-enough-to-hate-him/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Martin Luther King, Jr > [The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-strong-man-holds-in-a-living-blend-strongly-marked-opposites/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/every-genuine-expression-of-love-grows-out-of-a-consistent-and-total/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I’ve been to the Mountaintop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-ve-been-to-the-mountaintop/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The supreme task is to organize and unite people so that their anger becomes a transforming force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-supreme-task-is-to-organize-and-unite-people-so-that-their-anger/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The great issue of life is to harness the drum major instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-great-issue-of-life-is-to-harness-the-drum-major-instinct/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somebody-must-have-sense-enough-and-morality-enough-to-cut-off-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/darkness-is-only-driven-out-with-light-not-more-darkness/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [What seems so necessary today may not even be desirable tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/what-seems-so-necessary-today-may-not-even-be-desirable-tomorrow/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The Negro cannot win the respect of his oppressor by acquiescing; he merely increases the oppressor's arrogance and contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-negro-cannot-win-the-respect-of-his-oppressor-by-acquiescing-he/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/whenever-you-are-engaged-in-work-that-serves-humanity-and-is-for-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-have-a-dream-that-one-day-even-the-state-of-mississippi-a-desert/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) [Explore all 1,210 Martin Luther King, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More Degrade quotes > [Money degrades all the gods of man and converts them into commodities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/money-degrades-all-the-gods-of-man-and-converts-them-into-commodities/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [So far as discipline is concerned, freedom means not its absence but the use of higher and more rational forms as contrasted with those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/so-far-as-discipline-is-concerned-freedom-means-not-its-absence-but/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [What more degrades woman today than that she so often seeks marriage as a support? Why is the holy sacrament of love, the sanctity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-c-ames/what-more-degrades-woman-today-than-that-she-so-often-seeks-marriage/) [Mary C. Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-c-ames/) > [Any time you can degrade or take away the top leadership of an organization, it's a positive step forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/any-time-you-can-degrade-or-take-away-the-top-leadership-of-an/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [For God to be kept out of the classroom or out of America's public debate by nervous school administrators or overcautious politicians serves no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/for-god-to-be-kept-out-of-the-classroom-or-out-of-america-s-public/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [Psychoanalysis is a technique we practice at our cost; psychoanalysis degrades our risks, our dangers, our depths; it strips us of our impurities, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/psychoanalysis-is-a-technique-we-practice-at-our-cost-psychoanalysis/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [... one pets what one degrades; and one has to support what one has enfeebled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/one-pets-what-one-degrades-and-one-has-to-support-what-one-has/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [You degrade us and then ask why we are degraded. You shut our mouths and ask why we don't speak. You close your colleges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/you-degrade-us-and-then-ask-why-we-are-degraded-you-shut-our-mouths/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“And she looked upon the mirror that was given as a gift. She hated everything about it, from the circular size of it, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/and-she-looked-upon-the-mirror-that-was-given-as-a-gift-she-hated/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [If you've got the platform and the ability to make a difference, then this goes beyond 'should' and reaches the level of 'must.' You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-you-ve-got-the-platform-and-the-ability-to-make-a-difference-then/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [So much of the habitat destruction and pollution is based on the simple principle that we somehow have been given free license over other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/so-much-of-the-habitat-destruction-and-pollution-is-based-on-the/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [The decision to give an indicative date for a return is a mistake. It degrades the process. It degrades human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-trimble/the-decision-to-give-an-indicative-date-for-a-return-is-a-mistake-it/) [David Trimble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-trimble/) > [There will be little drudgery in this better ordered world. Natural power harnessed in machines will be the general drudge. What drudgery is inevitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/there-will-be-little-drudgery-in-this-better-ordered-world-natural/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [Of the two, I prefer those who render vice lovable to those who degrade virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/of-the-two-i-prefer-those-who-render-vice-lovable-to-those-who/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [If someone does me injury I must desire that this injury shall not degrade me. I must desire this out of love for him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/if-someone-does-me-injury-i-must-desire-that-this-injury-shall-not/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) [Browse all 200 Degrade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrade/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing degrades a man do more than the allowed stoop so low as to hate someone", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the-allowed-stoop-so-low-as-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Degrade" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the-allowed-stoop-so-low-as-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/martin-luther-king-jr-127_degrade_nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the_1168307.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/martin-luther-king-jr-127_degrade_nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the_1168307.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/721/martin-luther-king-jr-127_degrade_nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the_1168307.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing degrades a man do more than the allowed stoop so low as to hate someone” — Martin Luther King, Jr", "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": "Martin Luther King, Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing degrades a man do more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the-allowed-stoop-so-low-as-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nothing-degrades-a-man-do-more-than-the-allowed-stoop-so-low-as-to/#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 } } ] } ```