--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's the age old thing: If you want to…" description: "\"It's the age old thing: If you want to get elected, blame immigrants. It worked in the 20th century and it works now, and it's heart-breaking to see pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/moby-549_20th-century_it-s-the-age-old-thing-if-you-want-to-ge_362722.png" --- # It's the age old thing: If you want to get elected, blame… ![“It's the age old thing: If you want to get elected, blame immigrants. It worked in the 20th century and it works now, and it's heart-breaking to see people make the same mistakes. They're looking at a complicated world, but they just keep blaming immigrants, and it's really disturbing that people…” quote by Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/moby-549_20th-century_it-s-the-age-old-thing-if-you-want-to-ge_362722.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/moby-549_20th-century_it-s-the-age-old-thing-if-you-want-to-ge_362722.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/moby-549_20th-century_it-s-the-age-old-thing-if-you-want-to-ge_362722.png) > “It's the age old thing: If you want to get elected, blame immigrants. It worked in the 20th century and it works now, and it's heart-breaking to see people make the same mistakes. They're looking at a complicated world, but they just keep blaming immigrants, and it's really disturbing that people haven't got past that.” [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Blaming immigrants is a recurring, simplistic political tactic that ignores complex realities. **In simple terms:** Immigrants are blamed for political gain. Key Takeaway Seek nuanced solutions, not scapegoats. Themes politics scapegoating immigration media Mood critical concerned Type political sociological When to use this quote - elections - public debate - policy making - community dialogue Key Concepts Populism identity politics social division Questions to Reflect On - Why do leaders resort to scapegoating? - How can societies move beyond blame? A Different Perspective Such rhetoric can inflame tensions and hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [20th century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Age Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-old/) [Blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blame/) [Blame Immigrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blame-immigrants-772779/) [Blaming Immigrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blaming-immigrants-3327484/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Complicated world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated-world/) [Disturbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disturbing/) [Elected Blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elected-blame-3327485/) [Havens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/havens/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart breaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-breaking/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Immigrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrants/) [Immigrants Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrants-really-1929908/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Old things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-things/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Same mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/same-mistakes/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Elected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-elected-1031558/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Economists argue about the relative impact of immigrants versus robots on wage stagnation - voters don't care much. They blame immigrants. It's easier to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katty-kay/economists-argue-about-the-relative-impact-of-immigrants-versus/) [Katty Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katty-kay/) > [That's unfortunately common - to blame immigrants, to blame the African-Americans who are being helped by federal programs, to blame anyone available, to direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/that-s-unfortunately-common-to-blame-immigrants-to-blame-the-african/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ \[Donald\] Trump is explained with the intersection of a number of things: our economic crisis, the way it's easier to blame immigrants, with the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/donald-trump-is-explained-with-the-intersection-of-a-number-of-things/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [It is always easier to have somebody to blame, but immigrants are not the cause of the country's economic woes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pramila-jayapal/it-is-always-easier-to-have-somebody-to-blame-but-immigrants-are-not/) [Pramila Jayapal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pramila-jayapal/) > [Salaries haven't kept up with inflation, and there is such anger coming out of Washington about immigrants that I think it has curtailed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-serrano/salaries-haven-t-kept-up-with-inflation-and-there-is-such-anger/) [Jose Serrano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-serrano/) > [I always heard that immigrants had a really hard life when they came to America. But when I showed up here, everyone was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-vergara/i-always-heard-that-immigrants-had-a-really-hard-life-when-they-came-2/) [Sofia Vergara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-vergara/) > [If you look at who starts new businesses, people that are innovative and risk takers. When you look at immigrants, you really have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/if-you-look-at-who-starts-new-businesses-people-that-are-innovative/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [I always heard that immigrants had a really hard life when they came to America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-vergara/i-always-heard-that-immigrants-had-a-really-hard-life-when-they-came/) [Sofia Vergara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-vergara/) > [People associate farmworkers with illegal immigrants, and that's really not the case.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-longoria/people-associate-farmworkers-with-illegal-immigrants-and-that-s/) [Eva Longoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-longoria/) > [If you want to get elected, shake hands with 25, 000 people between and November 7.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/if-you-want-to-get-elected-shake-hands-with-25-000-people-between-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [The public is tired of politicians professing certain beliefs and not acting on those beliefs. They want elected officials who have the moral courage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colonel-tom-parker/the-public-is-tired-of-politicians-professing-certain-beliefs-and-not/) [Colonel Tom Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colonel-tom-parker/) > [You want to represent the country and you want elected officials that are representative of the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-klobuchar/you-want-to-represent-the-country-and-you-want-elected-officials-that/) [Amy Klobuchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-klobuchar/) > [I just think the mood of the country is now that people don't necessarily want an elected official to tell them how they ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cornyn/i-just-think-the-mood-of-the-country-is-now-that-people-don-t/) [John Cornyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cornyn/) > [I don't want to be elected president to sit around and see gridlock just become so dominant that people literally decline in their lives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-don-t-want-to-be-elected-president-to-sit-around-and-see-gridlock/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [There are many Israelis who are not keen on Barack Obama - they did not want to see him elected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/there-are-many-israelis-who-are-not-keen-on-barack-obama-they-did-not/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) ## More by Moby > [If Nirvana had remained a small, underground punk rock band, Kurt Cobain would still be alive. And he'd probably be living in Seattle, getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/if-nirvana-had-remained-a-small-underground-punk-rock-band-kurt/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [A great song is a great song, whether it's on vinyl or CD or cassette or reel to reel or mp3. Then again, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/a-great-song-is-a-great-song-whether-it-s-on-vinyl-or-cd-or-cassette/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [When I dj at big venues I try to play tracks that I would want to hear if I were e'd up in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/when-i-dj-at-big-venues-i-try-to-play-tracks-that-i-would-want-to/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [The good thing about not being drop-dead gorgeous is that as time passes, I don't have much to worry about. I have friends who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/the-good-thing-about-not-being-drop-dead-gorgeous-is-that-as-time/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [When you look at the consequences of climate change, at rainforest deforestation, at antibiotic resistance, these are not necessarily political issues, but rather issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/when-you-look-at-the-consequences-of-climate-change-at-rainforest/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [What I love about making albums in the 21st century is that so few people buy albums! I can make an album without any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/what-i-love-about-making-albums-in-the-21st-century-is-that-so-few/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Factory-farm lobbyists are so powerful and so well funded and they do everything in their power to hide the truth about farming. They keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/factory-farm-lobbyists-are-so-powerful-and-so-well-funded-and-they-do/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [What makes me feel old is having no hair on the top of my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/what-makes-me-feel-old-is-having-no-hair-on-the-top-of-my-head/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Up until I started working with him, I had thought that music was a nice thing that I enjoyed and liked making, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/up-until-i-started-working-with-him-i-had-thought-that-music-was-a/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [I'm obsessed with politics, and I talk about it any chance I can get. I have strong opinions about how the world should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-m-obsessed-with-politics-and-i-talk-about-it-any-chance-i-can-get-i/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [As I wake its kaleidoscopic mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/as-i-wake-its-kaleidoscopic-mind/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Even love is goin' 'round. You can't ignore what is goin' 'round](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/even-love-is-goin-round-you-can-t-ignore-what-is-goin-round/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [“I had an epiphany a few years ago when I was out at a celebrity party and it suddenly dawned on me that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-had-an-epiphany-a-few-years-ago-when-i-was-out-at-a-celebrity-party/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [I see 'Ahab's Wife' as offering an alternative vision to](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-see-ahab-s-wife-as-offering-an-alternative-vision-to/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [I think that, for a lot of us, the closer we get to showing people who we really are, that's where we feel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-think-that-for-a-lot-of-us-the-closer-we-get-to-showing-people-who/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) [Explore all 483 Moby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) [Browse all 672 20th century quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's the age old thing: If you want to get elected, blame immigrants. 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