--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reduce your humanity through what Jules…" description: "\"Reduce your humanity through what Jules Feiffer called little murders. The minute I hear someone trying to demean me, I know that that person means to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/maya-angelou-104_assassination_reduce-your-humanity-through-what-jules_2262292.png" --- # Reduce your humanity through what Jules Feiffer called… ![“Reduce your humanity through what Jules Feiffer called little murders. The minute I hear someone trying to demean me, I know that that person means to have my life. And I will not give it to them. When a person commits these little murders, and then you catch him or her at it, he or she might say…” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/maya-angelou-104_assassination_reduce-your-humanity-through-what-jules_2262292.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/maya-angelou-104_assassination_reduce-your-humanity-through-what-jules_2262292.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/maya-angelou-104_assassination_reduce-your-humanity-through-what-jules_2262292.png) > “Reduce your humanity through what Jules Feiffer called little murders. The minute I hear someone trying to demean me, I know that that person means to have my life. And I will not give it to them. When a person commits these little murders, and then you catch him or her at it, he or she might say, "Oh, I didn't mean it." But make no mistake: It is an assassination attempt.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When others demean you, treat it as an attack on your life and refuse to surrender your dignity. **In simple terms:** Defend your dignity against insults. Key Takeaway Refuse to let insults dictate your self‑worth. Themes self‑respect resilience power dynamics Mood defiant empowered Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - workplace conflict - online harassment - personal relationships - public speaking Key Concepts psychological aggression personal sovereignty boundary setting Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate criticism from a “little murder”? - What strategies protect your sense of self? A Different Perspective It may be hard to recognize subtle demeaning remarks as attacks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assassination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) [Assassination Attempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination-attempt-2058733/) [Commit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commit/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Little Murders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-murders-5210225/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minutes/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Mistake Assassination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake-assassination-5210226/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Murders Minute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murders-minute-5210227/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [“You do realise, don't you, that I was present during the assassination attempt?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-carson/you-do-realise-don-t-you-that-i-was-present-during-the-assassination/) [Rae Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-carson/) > [“A missed opportunity? It is like surviving an assassination attempt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/a-missed-opportunity-it-is-like-surviving-an-assassination-attempt/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [The first thing that I really understood politically and was old enough to get was the failed assassination attempt on Reagan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/the-first-thing-that-i-really-understood-politically-and-was-old/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [“Garfield's assassination attempt made "the whole nation care".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-davis/garfield-s-assassination-attempt-made-the-whole-nation-care/) [Jefferson Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-davis/) > [“Come with us!” shouted one of the Indonesians. Bean thought this was probably a good idea. Since the assassination attempt had included one backup,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/come-with-us-shouted-one-of-the-indonesians-bean-thought-this-was/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Congrats, you’ve just had your first assassination attempt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-jacka/congrats-you-ve-just-had-your-first-assassination-attempt/) [Benedict Jacka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-jacka/) > [“His polytheistic hankerings were dramatically demonstrated in 1981 when he suffered an assassination attempt in Rome, and attributed his survival to intervention by Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/his-polytheistic-hankerings-were-dramatically-demonstrated-in-1981/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Hopefully next time I won't be recovering from an assassination attempt, and then I'll do better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/hopefully-next-time-i-won-t-be-recovering-from-an-assassination/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [“His polytheistic hankerings were dramatically demonstrated in 1981 when he suffered an assassination attempt in Rome, and attributed his survival to intervention by Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/his-polytheistic-hankerings-were-dramatically-demonstrated-in-1981-2/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“They needn’t have worried. Three hundred men, it turned out, were not enough to massacre a man like Bussy.\* The assassination attempt had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-goldstone/they-needn-t-have-worried-three-hundred-men-it-turned-out-were-not/) [Nancy Goldstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-goldstone/) > [Of course, there are dangers in religious freedom and freedom of opinion. But to deny these rights is worse than dangerous, it is absolutely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/of-course-there-are-dangers-in-religious-freedom-and-freedom-of-2/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Character assassination is at once easier and surer than physical assault; and it involves far less risk for the assassin. It leaves him free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-barth/character-assassination-is-at-once-easier-and-surer-than-physical/) [Alan Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-barth/) > [“Assassination is murder with a touch more precision. Brother Sim is precise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/assassination-is-murder-with-a-touch-more-precision-brother-sim-is/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [ We have the ability to take him \[President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez\] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/we-have-the-ability-to-take-him-president-of-venezuela-hugo-chavez/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [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/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Assassination quotes > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ We have the ability to take him \[President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez\] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/we-have-the-ability-to-take-him-president-of-venezuela-hugo-chavez/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [“Assassination is murder with a touch more precision. Brother Sim is precise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/assassination-is-murder-with-a-touch-more-precision-brother-sim-is/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [In modern day academia, secretly assassinating your peers is not necessarily performed the same way it was in king Tarquins day. The growth in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-spacey/in-modern-day-academia-secretly-assassinating-your-peers-is-not/) [Simon Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-spacey/) > [The Romans have provided a lot of writers with a model for various interstellar empires, of course, and no wonder. The Roman Empire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-romans-have-provided-a-lot-of-writers-with-a-model-for-various/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [We know from Talmadge Hayer, one of the men who carried out the assassination, who was shot by Ruben X as he tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/we-know-from-talmadge-hayer-one-of-the-men-who-carried-out-the/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) > [Assassination's the fastest way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/assassination-s-the-fastest-way/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“He also had a condition that was referred to as granulated eyelids and it caused him to blink more than usual, as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-hansen/he-also-had-a-condition-that-was-referred-to-as-granulated-eyelids/) [Ron Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-hansen/) > [“Hundreds of political assassinations related to minority races, labor leaders and spokesmen against fascism have taken place in the U.S. since World War II.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/hundreds-of-political-assassinations-related-to-minority-races-labor/) [Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/) > [However, after the assassination of Salman Taseer, the killer of Salman Taseer was welcomed by the religious fanatics. And they showered rose petals on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahbaz-bhatti/however-after-the-assassination-of-salman-taseer-the-killer-of-salman/) [Shahbaz Bhatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahbaz-bhatti/) > [There is not a single celebrated Southern name in any of the departments of human industry except those of war, assassination, lynching, murder, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-not-a-single-celebrated-southern-name-in-any-of-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I think that the implication of King's assassination has not been fully appreciated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/i-think-that-the-implication-of-king-s-assassination-has-not-been/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [The Senate has been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-chase-smith/the-senate-has-been-debased-to-the-level-of-a-forum-of-hate-and/) [Margaret Chase Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-chase-smith/) > [A deep, black grief gripped Robert Kennedy in the months following his brother's assassination. He lost weight, fell into melancholy silences, wore his brother's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-clarke/a-deep-black-grief-gripped-robert-kennedy-in-the-months-following-his/) [Thurston Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurston-clarke/) [Browse all 264 Assassination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Reduce your humanity through what Jules Feiffer called little murders. The minute I hear someone trying to demean me, I know that that person means to have my life. And I will not give it to them. 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