--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Violence is immoral because it thrives on…" description: "\"Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monolog..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/martin-luther-king-jr-127_bitterness_violence-is-immoral-because-it-thrives-o_716264.jpg" --- # Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather… ![“Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.” quote by Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/martin-luther-king-jr-127_bitterness_violence-is-immoral-because-it-thrives-o_716264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/martin-luther-king-jr-127_bitterness_violence-is-immoral-because-it-thrives-o_716264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/martin-luther-king-jr-127_bitterness_violence-is-immoral-because-it-thrives-o_716264.jpg) > “Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.” [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. Violence erodes love, community, and dialogue, leading to mutual bitterness and self‑destruction. **In simple terms:** Violence harms everyone and stops conversation. Key Takeaway Choose non‑violent solutions. Themes peace community dialogue morality justice Mood reflective determined hopeful Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - conflict resolution - community building - activism - personal relationships Key Concepts non‑violence social cohesion ethical consequences Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster dialogue in hostile situations? - What alternatives exist when non‑violence seems insufficient? A Different Perspective Non‑violence may be seen as passive or ineffective against immediate threats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) [Brotherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brotherhood/) [Brutality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutality/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Destroyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroyers/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Justice and love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-and-love/) [Monologues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monologues/) [Peace and justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace-and-justice/) [Survivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivor/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/violence-as-a-way-of-achieving-racial-justice-is-both-impractical-and-2/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/violence-ends-up-defeating-itself-it-creates-bitterness-in-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a violence that liberates, and a violence that enslaves; there is a violence that is moral and a violence that is immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/there-is-a-violence-that-liberates-and-a-violence-that-enslaves-there/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [“The triumph of violence ends in a festival of mourning.” “I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/the-triumph-of-violence-ends-in-a-festival-of-mourning-i/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [I think violence begets violence. I don't think a way to solve any sort of conflict is with violence because nothing ever ends up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/i-think-violence-begets-violence-i-don-t-think-a-way-to-solve-any/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/this-business-of-burning-human-beings-with-napalm-of-filling-our/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. It destroys communities and makes humanity impossible. It creates bitterness in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-old-law-of-an-eye-for-an-eye-leaves-everyone-blind-it-destroys/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The way of acquiescence leads to moral and spiritual suicide. The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-way-of-acquiescence-leads-to-moral-and-spiritual-suicide-the-way/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“Deep sorrow does not come because one has violated a law, but only if one knows he has broken off the relationship with Divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/deep-sorrow-does-not-come-because-one-has-violated-a-law-but-only-if/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [The Bible calls us to love our neighbors, and to do justice and love kindness, not to indiscriminately kill one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hamilton/the-bible-calls-us-to-love-our-neighbors-and-to-do-justice-and-love/) [Adam Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hamilton/) > [“He(Prophet Muhammad) laid the foundation of a universal government. His law was one for all. Equal justice and love for everyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-b-margoliouth/he-prophet-muhammad-laid-the-foundation-of-a-universal-government-his/) Rev. B. Margoliouth > [All ideologies end up killing people. If you separate love from nonviolence you turn nonviolence into an ideology, a gimmick. Structures that are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-goss/all-ideologies-end-up-killing-people-if-you-separate-love-from/) Jean Goss > [ I am Sa’kagé a lord of shadows. I claim the shadows that the Shadow may not." \[...\] "I am the strong arm of deliverance.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/i-am-sa-kag-a-lord-of-shadows-i-claim-the-shadows-that-the-shadow-may-2/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [Without justice and love, peace will always be a great illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-justice-and-love-peace-will-always-be-a-great-illusion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am Sa’kagé a lord of shadows. I claim the shadows that the Shadow may not. I am the strong arm of deliverance. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/i-am-sa-kag-a-lord-of-shadows-i-claim-the-shadows-that-the-shadow-may/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) ## 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 Bitterness quotes > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If Japanese tea 'stands,' it acquires a coarse bitterness and an unwholesome astringency. Milk and sugar are not used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-bird/if-japanese-tea-stands-it-acquires-a-coarse-bitterness-and-an/) [Isabella Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-bird/) > [Stronger than alcohol, vaster than poetry, Ferment the freckled red bitterness of love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/stronger-than-alcohol-vaster-than-poetry-ferment-the-freckled-red/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [“What?" I ask. I try not to get snappy with her. She hasn't really done anything wrong. Falling in love with Turner isn't a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/what-i-ask-i-try-not-to-get-snappy-with-her-she-hasn-t-really-done/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [“The fairest things have fleetest end, Their scent survives their close: But the rose’s scent is bitterness To him that loved the rose. —Francis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-rule/the-fairest-things-have-fleetest-end-their-scent-survives-their-close/) [Ann Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-rule/) > [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“No," I say. "I didn't know that," and as I say it I feel flooded with bitterness at all the things Ingrid kept secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-lacour/no-i-say-i-didn-t-know-that-and-as-i-say-it-i-feel-flooded-with/) [Nina LaCour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-lacour/) > [Forgiving someone who've done you wrong or didn't treat you right could mean that you are allowing yourself to end up away from bitterness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-t-pascua/forgiving-someone-who-ve-done-you-wrong-or-didn-t-treat-you-right/) [April T Pascua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-t-pascua/) > [You cannot be inspired if you are surrounded with negativity, open the door and step into the inspirational garden of nature. Do not let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/you-cannot-be-inspired-if-you-are-surrounded-with-negativity-open-the/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Carry it by the comfortable handles of gratitude for what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-horne/it-s-not-the-load-that-breaks-you-down-it-s-the-way-you-carry-it/) [Lena Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-horne/) > [Not forgiving prolongs hurt and anger and leads to smoldering resentment, which will make us miserable until it kills us. Resentment destroys the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-walters/not-forgiving-prolongs-hurt-and-anger-and-leads-to-smoldering/) Richard Walters > [Let us not give in to pessimism, to that bitterness that the devil offers us every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/let-us-not-give-in-to-pessimism-to-that-bitterness-that-the-devil/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves how bitterness tastes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rin-chupeco/sometimes-it-is-good-to-remind-ourselves-how-bitterness-tastes/) [Rin Chupeco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rin-chupeco/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [Be sure there is something waiting for you after much patience, to astonish you to a degree, that you forget the bitterness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/be-sure-there-is-something-waiting-for-you-after-much-patience-to/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) [Browse all 1,210 Bitterness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. 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