--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Jesus, you'd think the Black Death was…" description: "\"“Jesus, you'd think the Black Death was sweeping the globe every three months or so...ebola, SARS, avian flu. You know how many people made money on th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/max-brooks-2735_black-death_jesus-you-d-think-the-black-death-was-sw_1011599.png" --- # Jesus, you'd think the Black Death was sweeping the globe… ![“Jesus, you'd think the Black Death was sweeping the globe every three months or so...ebola, SARS, avian flu. You know how many people made money on those scares? Shit, I made my first million on useless antiradiation pills during dirty bomb scares.” quote by Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/max-brooks-2735_black-death_jesus-you-d-think-the-black-death-was-sw_1011599.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/max-brooks-2735_black-death_jesus-you-d-think-the-black-death-was-sw_1011599.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/max-brooks-2735_black-death_jesus-you-d-think-the-black-death-was-sw_1011599.png) > ““Jesus, you'd think the Black Death was sweeping the globe every three months or so...ebola, SARS, avian flu. You know how many people made money on those scares? Shit, I made my first million on useless antiradiation pills during dirty bomb scares.”” [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker cynically notes profit motives behind pandemics, highlighting opportunistic profiteering in crises. **In simple terms:** People profit from fear during health crises. Key Takeaway Beware of exploitation in emergencies. Themes greed crisis exploitation profit motive Mood critical skeptical Type analysis commentary When to use this quote - public health policy - investment decisions - media analysis Key Concepts economics ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies limit profiteering? - What safeguards exist? A Different Perspective Not all crisis responses are altruistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-death/) [Death Sweeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-sweeping-2200424/) [Ebola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ebola/) [Government corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-corruption/) [Manipulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manipulation/) [Money Scares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-scares-2138446/) [Months Ebola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months-ebola-2200423/) [Pharmaceutical industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pharmaceutical-industry/) [Scares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scares/) [Three months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-months/) ## Related quotes > [If you want to make real money, do something that scares the crap out of 99% of the population, and only one person in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kelly/if-you-want-to-make-real-money-do-something-that-scares-the-crap-out/) [Charlie Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kelly/) > [Money scares me, and it always has done. I've got a childish concept of money, and I like to keep it that way in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/money-scares-me-and-it-always-has-done-i-ve-got-a-childish-concept-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This is so much money that it scares the shit out of me. I don't know how to handle it. I don't know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/this-is-so-much-money-that-it-scares-the-shit-out-of-me-i-don-t-know/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“Accounts from Europe indicate that the danse macabre took another form, inspired by the Black Death, rather like our children's rhyme 'Ring o' Ring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-arnold/accounts-from-europe-indicate-that-the-danse-macabre-took-another/) [Catharine Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-arnold/) > [“It was the greatest tidal wave of death since the Black Death, perhaps in the whole of human history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-spinney/it-was-the-greatest-tidal-wave-of-death-since-the-black-death-perhaps/) [Laura Spinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-spinney/) > [If a Black Death could be spread throughout the world once in every generation survivors could procreate freely without making the world too full.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-a-black-death-could-be-spread-throughout-the-world-once-in-every/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I bet it was pretty hard to pick up girls if you had the Black Death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-it-was-pretty-hard-to-pick-up-girls-if-you-had-the-black-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Oh, such a shame, such a shame. Oh, such a shame. What’s it all about anyhow?” “I’ve wondered for a long time.” “But why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/oh-such-a-shame-such-a-shame-oh-such-a-shame-what-s-it-all-about/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Ring around the rosie. A pocket full of posie. Ashes ashes, we all fall down. Some people say that this poem is about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/ring-around-the-rosie-a-pocket-full-of-posie-ashes-ashes-we-all-fall/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [“Even more than black death he dreaded the gaudy gate: the mask of sweet red rubber, the violet overhead lights, the rattling ride through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-begley/even-more-than-black-death-he-dreaded-the-gaudy-gate-the-mask-of/) [Adam Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-begley/) > [We need to have a modicum of faith in people's common sense, creativity and will to survive and prosper even in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/we-need-to-have-a-modicum-of-faith-in-people-s-common-sense/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [“After the Black Death in the mid-1300s, the persecution of Jews intensified, and many Jews in Europe moved farther east. Some left because life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/after-the-black-death-in-the-mid-1300s-the-persecution-of-jews/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [We are all bound thither; we are hastening to the same common goal. Black death calls all things under the sway of its laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/we-are-all-bound-thither-we-are-hastening-to-the-same-common-goal/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [ “\[According to 1348 theorists, poisoning of Christian water by Jews was the cause of Black Death.\] Even the poison used to contaminate the Christian… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kelly/according-to-1348-theorists-poisoning-of-christian-water-by-jews-was/) [John Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kelly/) > [When I say forever,' Koschei whispered, 'I mean until the black death of the world. An Ivan means just the present moment, the flickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-say-forever-koschei-whispered-i-mean-until-the-black-death-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## More by Max Brooks > [When I believe in my ability to do something, there is no such word as no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/when-i-believe-in-my-ability-to-do-something-there-is-no-such-word-as/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Fear is the most valuable commodity in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/fear-is-the-most-valuable-commodity-in-the-universe/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Sometimes you find your path, sometimes it finds you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/sometimes-you-find-your-path-sometimes-it-finds-you/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [I wanted to serve. It was Desert Storm. I thought, 'I was a rich kid, and America's been good to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-wanted-to-serve-it-was-desert-storm-i-thought-i-was-a-rich-kid-and/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [ \[...\]you don’t have to be Sun freakin Tzu to know that real fighting isn’t about killing or even hurting the other guy, it’s about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/you-don-t-have-to-be-sun-freakin-tzu-to-know-that-real-fighting-isn-t/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“rank warehouses among your most attractive hideouts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/rank-warehouses-among-your-most-attractive-hideouts/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [I think Americans are at our best when we recover from a crisis. We've suffered some blows that other countries would have never recovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-americans-are-at-our-best-when-we-recover-from-a-crisis-we-ve/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“The living dead had taken more from us than land and loved ones. They'd robbed us of our confidence as the planet's dominant life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/the-living-dead-had-taken-more-from-us-than-land-and-loved-ones-they/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“PARNELL AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, TENNESSEE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/parnell-air-national-guard-base-tennessee/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Often, a school is your best bet-perhaps not for education but certainly for protection from an undead attack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/often-a-school-is-your-best-bet-perhaps-not-for-education-but/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Any survival guide will tell you, don't buy a pair of combat boots before any disaster. They'll tear your feet up. Or water -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/any-survival-guide-will-tell-you-don-t-buy-a-pair-of-combat-boots/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [When I read Frank Miller's 'The Dark Knight Returns', I think it's a wonderful record of the Reagan era. I think it's amazing. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/when-i-read-frank-miller-s-the-dark-knight-returns-i-think-it-s-a/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [The dead walk among us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/the-dead-walk-among-us/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“What we did, what every president since Washington has done, was provide a measured, appropriate response, in direct relation to a realistic threat assessment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/what-we-did-what-every-president-since-washington-has-done-was/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) [Explore all 142 Max Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) ## More Black death quotes > [When I say forever,' Koschei whispered, 'I mean until the black death of the world. An Ivan means just the present moment, the flickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-say-forever-koschei-whispered-i-mean-until-the-black-death-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [ “\[According to 1348 theorists, poisoning of Christian water by Jews was the cause of Black Death.\] Even the poison used to contaminate the Christian… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kelly/according-to-1348-theorists-poisoning-of-christian-water-by-jews-was/) [John Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kelly/) > [We are all bound thither; we are hastening to the same common goal. Black death calls all things under the sway of its laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/we-are-all-bound-thither-we-are-hastening-to-the-same-common-goal/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“After the Black Death in the mid-1300s, the persecution of Jews intensified, and many Jews in Europe moved farther east. Some left because life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/after-the-black-death-in-the-mid-1300s-the-persecution-of-jews/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [We need to have a modicum of faith in people's common sense, creativity and will to survive and prosper even in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/we-need-to-have-a-modicum-of-faith-in-people-s-common-sense/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [“Even more than black death he dreaded the gaudy gate: the mask of sweet red rubber, the violet overhead lights, the rattling ride through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-begley/even-more-than-black-death-he-dreaded-the-gaudy-gate-the-mask-of/) [Adam Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-begley/) > [Ring around the rosie. A pocket full of posie. Ashes ashes, we all fall down. Some people say that this poem is about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/ring-around-the-rosie-a-pocket-full-of-posie-ashes-ashes-we-all-fall/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [“Oh, such a shame, such a shame. Oh, such a shame. What’s it all about anyhow?” “I’ve wondered for a long time.” “But why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/oh-such-a-shame-such-a-shame-oh-such-a-shame-what-s-it-all-about/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I bet it was pretty hard to pick up girls if you had the Black Death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-it-was-pretty-hard-to-pick-up-girls-if-you-had-the-black-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If a Black Death could be spread throughout the world once in every generation survivors could procreate freely without making the world too full.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-a-black-death-could-be-spread-throughout-the-world-once-in-every/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“It was the greatest tidal wave of death since the Black Death, perhaps in the whole of human history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-spinney/it-was-the-greatest-tidal-wave-of-death-since-the-black-death-perhaps/) [Laura Spinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-spinney/) > [“Accounts from Europe indicate that the danse macabre took another form, inspired by the Black Death, rather like our children's rhyme 'Ring o' Ring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-arnold/accounts-from-europe-indicate-that-the-danse-macabre-took-another/) [Catharine Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-arnold/) > [“In October 1347, several trading ships from Genoa, Italy, pulled into the harbor at Messina in Sicily. Everyone aboard those ships was dead or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/in-october-1347-several-trading-ships-from-genoa-italy-pulled-into/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [I have made my bed In charnels and on coffins, where black death Keeps record of the trophies won](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-have-made-my-bed-in-charnels-and-on-coffins-where-black-death-keeps/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Even though we know the origin of diseases, panic sweeps. It's one thing that frightens us, because it's your health and your body -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberley-nixon/even-though-we-know-the-origin-of-diseases-panic-sweeps-it-s-one/) [Kimberley Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberley-nixon/) [Browse all 53 Black death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Jesus, you'd think the Black Death was sweeping the globe every three months or so...ebola, SARS, avian flu. You know how many people made money on those scares? 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