--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is easy to blur the truth with a…" description: "\"“It is easy to blur the truth with a simple linguistic trick: start your story from \"Secondly.\" Yes, this is what Rabin did. He simply neglected to spe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/mourid-barghouti-32520_truth_it-is-easy-to-blur-the-truth-with-a-simp_302403.jpg" --- # It is easy to blur the truth with a simple linguistic… ![“It is easy to blur the truth with a simple linguistic trick: start your story from "Secondly." Yes, this is what Rabin did. He simply neglected to speak of what happened first. Start your story with "Secondly," and the world will be turned upside-down. Start your story with "Secondly," and the…” quote by Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/mourid-barghouti-32520_truth_it-is-easy-to-blur-the-truth-with-a-simp_302403.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/mourid-barghouti-32520_truth_it-is-easy-to-blur-the-truth-with-a-simp_302403.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/mourid-barghouti-32520_truth_it-is-easy-to-blur-the-truth-with-a-simp_302403.jpg) > ““It is easy to blur the truth with a simple linguistic trick: start your story from "Secondly." Yes, this is what Rabin did. He simply neglected to speak of what happened first. Start your story with "Secondly," and the world will be turned upside-down. Start your story with "Secondly," and the arrows of the Red Indians are the original criminals and the guns of the white men are entirely the victims. It is enough to start with "Secondly," for the anger of the black man against the white to be barbarous. Start with "Secondly," and Gandhi becomes responsible for the tragedies of the British.”” [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Starting a story with a later event can invert perceived causality, reshaping blame and moral judgment. **In simple terms:** Changing order of events changes who is seen as responsible. Key Takeaway Be mindful of narrative sequencing to avoid bias. Themes storytelling bias history justice politics Mood analytical provocative Type expository critical. When to use this quote - political analysis - media critique - education - activism Key Concepts Narrative framing causality ethical persuasion Questions to Reflect On - What does the order of your narrative imply? - How might rearranging facts alter perception? A Different Perspective Simplistic ordering can oversimplify complex histories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Red Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red-indian/) [Red Indians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red-indians/) [Secondly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secondly/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [We are not the Red Indians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/we-are-not-the-red-indians/) [Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/) > [I do not apologize for the takeover of the region by the Jews from the Palestinians in the same way I don't apologize for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-do-not-apologize-for-the-takeover-of-the-region-by-the-jews-from/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“I had no desire to have either dreams or adventures like Alice, and the amount of them merely amused me. I had very little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-4/i-had-no-desire-to-have-either-dreams-or-adventures-like-alice-and/) [J R R Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-4/) > [“How can these countries who have stolen land from the Red Indians, the Aborigines, the Eskimos dare to tell us what to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mugabe/how-can-these-countries-who-have-stolen-land-from-the-red-indians-the/) [Robert Mugabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mugabe/) > [“My dear boy', Le Chiffre spoke like a father, 'the game of Red Indians is over, quite over. You have stumbled by mischance into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/my-dear-boy-le-chiffre-spoke-like-a-father-the-game-of-red-indians-is/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [I do not admit... that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America, or the black people of Australia... by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-do-not-admit-that-a-great-wrong-has-been-done-to-the-red-indians-of/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-do-not-agree-that-the-dog-in-a-manger-has-the-final-right-to-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Again, if there are really no fairies, why do people believe in them, all over the world? The ancient Greeks believed, so did the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/again-if-there-are-really-no-fairies-why-do-people-believe-in-them/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“I am not thinking in the manner of Peter Pan,” said the other. “With all reverence for the author of that masterpiece I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saki/i-am-not-thinking-in-the-manner-of-peter-pan-said-the-other-with-all/) [Saki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saki/) > [If you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way to do it is to tell their story and to start with 'secondly'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/if-you-want-to-dispossess-a-people-the-simplest-way-to-do-it-is-to/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“Only when the last tree has been cut down and the last river has dried up will man realise that reciting red indian proverbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/only-when-the-last-tree-has-been-cut-down-and-the-last-river-has/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [“Peter Pan has to be the book of my childhood. Come to think of it, it's the book of my adulthood too. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/peter-pan-has-to-be-the-book-of-my-childhood-come-to-think-of-it-it-s/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“To tell you the truth, I don't much wish anything, except to get out of this cursed country again." "Don't say that, Brotherton. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/to-tell-you-the-truth-i-don-t-much-wish-anything-except-to-get-out-of/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Every one is struggling for freedom-from the atom to the star. The ignorant man is satisfied if he can get freedom within a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-one-is-struggling-for-freedom-from-the-atom-to-the-star-the/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I am by nature the most intolerant and insular Englishman... If you happen to be a person like that and you learn from evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-dowding-1st-baron-dowding/i-am-by-nature-the-most-intolerant-and-insular-englishman-if-you/) [Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-dowding-1st-baron-dowding/) ## More by Mourid Barghouti > [“Hungarian Proverb: A dish of cabbages can be heated when it grows cold, but it will never taste the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/hungarian-proverb-a-dish-of-cabbages-can-be-heated-when-it-grows-cold/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [The fish, Even in the fisherman's net, Still carries, The smell of the sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/the-fish-even-in-the-fisherman-s-net-still-carries-the-smell-of-the/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“I tried to put the displacement between parenthesis, to put a last period in a long sentence of the sadness of history, personal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/i-tried-to-put-the-displacement-between-parenthesis-to-put-a-last/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“In my despair I remember that there is life after death; there is life after death and I have no problem. But I ask:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/in-my-despair-i-remember-that-there-is-life-after-death-there-is-life/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“Pave the sea or hit your head against the wall if you wish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/pave-the-sea-or-hit-your-head-against-the-wall-if-you-wish/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“Palestine at this moment is not the golden map hanging on a golden chain adorning the throats of women exile. I used to wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/palestine-at-this-moment-is-not-the-golden-map-hanging-on-a-golden/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“And now I pass from my exile to their...homeland? My homeland? The West Bank and Gaza? The Occupied Territories? The Areas? Judea and Samaria?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/and-now-i-pass-from-my-exile-to-their-homeland-my-homeland-the-west/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [Behind me the world, ahead of me my world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/behind-me-the-world-ahead-of-me-my-world/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“When you hear on the radio and read in newspapers and magazines and books and speeches the words 'the Occupied Territories' year after year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/when-you-hear-on-the-radio-and-read-in-newspapers-and-magazines-and/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [The Danger of a Single Story”, which has resonated with me immensely every time I read it. “Power is the ability not just to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/the-danger-of-a-single-story-which-has-resonated-with-me-immensely/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“You look out of the car window on your right and are surprised to find that the narrow, worn strip that carries you has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/you-look-out-of-the-car-window-on-your-right-and-are-surprised-to/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [If you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way to do it is to tell their story and to start with 'secondly'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/if-you-want-to-dispossess-a-people-the-simplest-way-to-do-it-is-to/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“The homeland does not leave the body until the last moment, the moment of death. The fish, Even in the fisherman's net, Still carries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/the-homeland-does-not-leave-the-body-until-the-last-moment-the-moment/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“The others are still masters of the place. They give you a permit. They check your papers. They start files on you. They make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/the-others-are-still-masters-of-the-place-they-give-you-a-permit-they/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) [Explore all 15 Mourid Barghouti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) ## More Secondly quotes > [When I do eventually drop, I pray to God that it'll happen in one of three ways. Firstly, on stage or leaving the stage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-b-king/when-i-do-eventually-drop-i-pray-to-god-that-it-ll-happen-in-one-of/) [B. B. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-b-king/) > [Secondly, security. Both the challenges we face in the world and the responsibilities that our country has in protecting our people, are major issues.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/secondly-security-both-the-challenges-we-face-in-the-world-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Secondly, love and relationships are complicated. No one could ever get it right in a four-line sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-grenier/secondly-love-and-relationships-are-complicated-no-one-could-ever-get/) [Adrian Grenier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-grenier/) > [First off, I don't do self-deprecation comedy based on being fat. I would always talk about it honestly. Secondly, I don't care how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-garlin/first-off-i-don-t-do-self-deprecation-comedy-based-on-being-fat-i/) [Jeff Garlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-garlin/) > [What makes the Universal Declaration an epochal document is first of all its global impetus and secondly the breadth of its claims, a commitment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/what-makes-the-universal-declaration-an-epochal-document-is-first-of/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [Secondly, I thought it was ridiculous to have two undercover policemen driving around in a striped tomato.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/secondly-i-thought-it-was-ridiculous-to-have-two-undercover-policemen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is very normal for people on the ground to look at somebody apparently walking in midair and thinking first that person is crazy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/it-is-very-normal-for-people-on-the-ground-to-look-at-somebody/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [His death certificate says he died first of pneumonia and secondly of Alzheimer's disease. They could have listed another cause of death: a refusal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/his-death-certificate-says-he-died-first-of-pneumonia-and-secondly-of/) [Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/) > [I really encourage people to travel so we can see how the rest of the world views our country. That's really important. Secondly, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/i-really-encourage-people-to-travel-so-we-can-see-how-the-rest-of-the/) [Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/) > [A good government implies two things; first, fidelity to the objects of the government; secondly, a knowledge of the means, by which those objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-story/a-good-government-implies-two-things-first-fidelity-to-the-objects-of/) [Joseph Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-story/) > [When a man interrupts a woman in mid-sentence, it reveals much about him. First, it shows he hasn't been listening to what she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/when-a-man-interrupts-a-woman-in-mid-sentence-it-reveals-much-about/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [The last time I went to a festival without a hat, two things happened. One: I got sunstroke. Secondly, I had to buy what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-cullum/the-last-time-i-went-to-a-festival-without-a-hat-two-things-happened/) [Jamie Cullum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-cullum/) > [If all the shows on television were about happy, functional relationships, first of all I don't know how many role models there are out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-roth/if-all-the-shows-on-television-were-about-happy-functional/) Andrea Roth > [My purpose is to entertain myself first and other people secondly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/my-purpose-is-to-entertain-myself-first-and-other-people-secondly/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [I will never win an Oscar, and do you know why? First of all, because I'm not Jewish. Secondly, I make too much money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-will-never-win-an-oscar-and-do-you-know-why-first-of-all-because-i/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) [Browse all 21 Secondly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secondly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is easy to blur the truth with a simple linguistic trick: start your story from \"Secondly.\" Yes, this is what Rabin did. He simply neglected to speak of what happened first. Start your story with \"Secondly,\" and the world will be turned upside-down. Start your story with \"Secondly,\" and the arrows of the Red Indians are the original criminals and the guns of the white men are entirely the victims. It is enough to start with \"Secondly,\" for the anger of the black man against the white to be barbarous. 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