--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What are you for? It may be, to a degree…" description: "\"What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for [Donald] Trump, and do not participate in that bra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/michael-eric-dyson-1424_animus_what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-c_14940.png" --- # What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that… ![“What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for [Donald] Trump, and do not participate in that brand of animus, that gas-bagging of enormous bigotry.” quote by Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/michael-eric-dyson-1424_animus_what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-c_14940.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/michael-eric-dyson-1424_animus_what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-c_14940.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/michael-eric-dyson-1424_animus_what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-c_14940.png) > “What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do not participate in that brand of animus, that gas-bagging of enormous bigotry.” [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) ## 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 questions personal purpose and reflects on the comfort some feel from distancing themselves from extremist politics, highlighting how identity can be used to avoid confronting broader societal bigotry. **In simple terms:** Identity can mask deeper moral responsibility. Key Takeaway Self‑examination reveals hidden complicity. Themes identity political disengagement racial dynamics moral responsibility social comfort Mood thoughtful critical reflective Type philosophical political social When to use this quote - discussing personal values - analyzing political affiliations - examining racial group dynamics - debating moral complacency Key Concepts self‑reflection political identity racial solidarity bigotry Practical Applications - diversity training - civic education Questions to Reflect On - How does personal identity influence political choices? - What responsibilities arise when we claim moral distance from bigotry? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animus/) [Bigotry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigotry/) [Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brands/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers/) [Brothers and sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) [Consoling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consoling/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Enormous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous/) [Enormous Bigotry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous-bigotry-378934/) [Gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gas/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [Vote Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote-donald-236423/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-brothers-378935/) ## Related quotes > [That is an extremely important role: how white brothers and sisters laterally spread knowledge, insight, and challenge in a way that white brothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/that-is-an-extremely-important-role-how-white-brothers-and-sisters/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“They're our White brothers. We've all got shortcomings. Stop counting white faces.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-a-david/they-re-our-white-brothers-we-ve-all-got-shortcomings-stop-counting/) [S. A. David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-a-david/) > [I am thankful, however, that some of our white brothers have grasped the meaning of this social revolution and committed themselves to it. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-am-thankful-however-that-some-of-our-white-brothers-have-grasped/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I believe that all men, black, brown, and white, are brothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-that-all-men-black-brown-and-white-are-brothers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe that all men, black and brown, and white, are brothers, varying, through Time and Opportunity, in form and gift and feature, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/i-believe-that-all-men-black-and-brown-and-white-are-brothers-varying/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Bigotry is surely an exportable American commodity, especially when it comes to race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/bigotry-is-surely-an-exportable-american-commodity-especially-when-it/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so-2/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I'm not going to vote for Donald Trump. There's no way I would vote for him under any circumstance. However, I think that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-cleaver/i-m-not-going-to-vote-for-donald-trump-there-s-no-way-i-would-vote/) [Emanuel Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-cleaver/) > [I cast my vote against Donald Trump. I did it without joy or enthusiasm. I did it out of civic duty and love for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-navarro/i-cast-my-vote-against-donald-trump-i-did-it-without-joy-or/) [Ana Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-navarro/) > [Will I support our president, whoever that might be? Absolutely. Did I vote for Donald Trump? Absolutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-bondi/will-i-support-our-president-whoever-that-might-be-absolutely-did-i/) [Pam Bondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-bondi/) > [When it comes to the presidency, I will not vote for Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/when-it-comes-to-the-presidency-i-will-not-vote-for-donald-trump/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [A vote for Donald J. Trump is a vote for renewed American greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayleigh-mcenany/a-vote-for-donald-j-trump-is-a-vote-for-renewed-american-greatness/) [Kayleigh McEnany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayleigh-mcenany/) > [ If that's the kind of person you want, vote for Hillary \[Clinton\], vote for \[Donald\] Trump - and you go to hell with both… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/if-that-s-the-kind-of-person-you-want-vote-for-hillary-clinton-vote/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I'm not here trying to convince anybody to vote for Donald Trump. I think every Christian needs to make up his own mind about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/i-m-not-here-trying-to-convince-anybody-to-vote-for-donald-trump-i/) [Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/) ## More by Michael Eric Dyson > [Jeremiah Wright is one of the greatest prophetic preachers that black America has produced. What I find striking is that many white brothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/jeremiah-wright-is-one-of-the-greatest-prophetic-preachers-that-black/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I went to school four years later than most people because I was a teen father, hustled on the streets, worked, lived on welfare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-went-to-school-four-years-later-than-most-people-because-i-was-a/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [It is true that race is a social fiction, a myth perpetuated by a variety of peoples throughout the modern period, especially, to further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/it-is-true-that-race-is-a-social-fiction-a-myth-perpetuated-by-a/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [ I've written a lot of other books and this book \[Tears we cannot stop\] was different. I couldn't just say what I wanted to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-ve-written-a-lot-of-other-books-and-this-book-tears-we-cannot-stop/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“And there is a paradox that many of you refuse to see: to get to a point where race won’t make a difference, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/and-there-is-a-paradox-that-many-of-you-refuse-to-see-to-get-to-a/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [ Elvis \[Presley\] had a stepstool, if you will, to success because he came from the dominant culture. They identified with him. Michael Jackson had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/elvis-presley-had-a-stepstool-if-you-will-to-success-because-he-came/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I believe in a God of a second chance and a God of love and mercy, because I need so much more of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-believe-in-a-god-of-a-second-chance-and-a-god-of-love-and-mercy/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed levees and exploded the conventional wisdom about a shared American prosperity, exposing a group of people so poor they didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/hurricane-katrina-overwhelmed-levees-and-exploded-the-conventional/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I was very struck when Min. Farrakhan said if Jesus and Muhammad were here today, they'd be embracing each other. That's a tremendous message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-was-very-struck-when-min-farrakhan-said-if-jesus-and-muhammad-were/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“O! save us, we pray thee, thou God of Heaven and of earth, from the devouring hands of the white Christians!!! . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/o-save-us-we-pray-thee-thou-god-of-heaven-and-of-earth-from-the/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [We can't exempt ourselves from the same moral calculus that we are willing to apply to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/we-can-t-exempt-ourselves-from-the-same-moral-calculus-that-we-are/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [New Orleans invented the brown paper bag party - usually at a gathering in a home - where anyone darker than the bag attached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/new-orleans-invented-the-brown-paper-bag-party-usually-at-a-gathering/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“Whiteness is an advantage and privilege because you have made it so, not because the universe demands it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/whiteness-is-an-advantage-and-privilege-because-you-have-made-it-so/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I'm just challenging white supremacy at its intellectual heart every day. It's a pedagogy that I deploy against some of the most vicious resistance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-m-just-challenging-white-supremacy-at-its-intellectual-heart-every/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [There are huge divorces and divides and chasms in black America between the have-gots and the have-nots, between the monied and the poor, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/there-are-huge-divorces-and-divides-and-chasms-in-black-america/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) [Explore all 242 Michael Eric Dyson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) ## More Animus quotes > [I still say exactly what my original opinion is. Do you borrow money from China to send it to anyone? Out of your surplus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-still-say-exactly-what-my-original-opinion-is-do-you-borrow-money/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [“It is an animus, she decides, the representation of the Logos in the female, as the anima is the representation of Eros in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gruber/it-is-an-animus-she-decides-the-representation-of-the-logos-in-the/) [Michael Gruber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gruber/) > [ Courage in danger is half the battle. \[Lat., Bonus animus in mala re, dimidium est mali.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/courage-in-danger-is-half-the-battle-lat-bonus-animus-in-mala-re/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [The government's assertion that it must be unhindered in protecting our security can camouflage the desire to increase Executive power, while the press's cry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stengel/the-government-s-assertion-that-it-must-be-unhindered-in-protecting/) [Richard Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stengel/) > [“her keyboard. “There,” she said eventually. “Bringing up real-time scan.” The display changed to a zoomed-in view of the Animus penetration around the object,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walden/her-keyboard-there-she-said-eventually-bringing-up-real-time-scan-the/) [Mark Walden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walden/) > [Bad mind, bad heart. (Mals Mens, Malus Animus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anacharsis-cloots/bad-mind-bad-heart-mals-mens-malus-animus/) [Anacharsis Cloots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anacharsis-cloots/) > [It does not matter a feather whether a man be supported by patron or client, if he himself wants courage. \[Lat., Animus tamen omnia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/it-does-not-matter-a-feather-whether-a-man-be-supported-by-patron-or/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Comedy speaks for civilization; farce bears an ill-concealed, sometimes unconcealed animus against civilization. Often against civility too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/comedy-speaks-for-civilization-farce-bears-an-ill-concealed-sometimes/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [“What’s an “Animus”?’ asked Mad Dog. Literally, it means “animating spirit” – that’s the essence of your core being, the spirit that defines you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-prowse/what-s-an-animus-asked-mad-dog-literally-it-means-animating-spirit/) [Jane Prowse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-prowse/) > [ There's a certain level of vehemence, it seems to me, that's directed at me \[and\] directed at the president. You know, people talking about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-holder/there-s-a-certain-level-of-vehemence-it-seems-to-me-that-s-directed/) [Eric Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-holder/) > [The animus is symbolized by male figures appearing in a womans dreams and fantasies, as a husband, son, father, lover, Prince Charming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-williams/the-animus-is-symbolized-by-male-figures-appearing-in-a-womans-dreams/) [Esther Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-williams/) > [ A mind that is charmed by false appearances refuses better things. \[Lat., Acclinis falsis animus meliora recusat.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-mind-that-is-charmed-by-false-appearances-refuses-better-things-lat/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ The mind is hopeful; success is in God's hands. \[Lat., Sperat quidem animus: quo eveniat, diis in manu est.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/the-mind-is-hopeful-success-is-in-god-s-hands-lat-sperat-quidem/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Ascribing racial animus to people who are trying to safeguard democratic integrity is a crude yet effective political tactic that obscures the truth. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-meese/ascribing-racial-animus-to-people-who-are-trying-to-safeguard/) [Edwin Meese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-meese/) > [It's rare to find a consistently creative or insightful person who is also an angry person. They can't occupy the same space, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/it-s-rare-to-find-a-consistently-creative-or-insightful-person-who-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) [Browse all 29 Animus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What are you for? 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