--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When society gives censors wide and vague…" description: "\"“When society gives censors wide and vague powers they never confine themselves to deserving targets. They are not snipers, but machine-gunners. Allow ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/143/nick-cohen-45719_censors_when-society-gives-censors-wide-and-vagu_2976197.jpg" --- # When society gives censors wide and vague powers they… ![“When society gives censors wide and vague powers they never confine themselves to deserving targets. They are not snipers, but machine-gunners. Allow them to fire at will, and they will hit anything that moves.” quote by Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/143/nick-cohen-45719_censors_when-society-gives-censors-wide-and-vagu_2976197.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/143/nick-cohen-45719_censors_when-society-gives-censors-wide-and-vagu_2976197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/143/nick-cohen-45719_censors_when-society-gives-censors-wide-and-vagu_2976197.jpg) > ““When society gives censors wide and vague powers they never confine themselves to deserving targets. They are not snipers, but machine-gunners. Allow them to fire at will, and they will hit anything that moves.”” [Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When censorship is granted broad, vague authority, it indiscriminately suppresses speech rather than targeting truly harmful content. **In simple terms:** Broad censorship harms more speech than it protects. Key Takeaway Guard against vague censorship powers. Themes freedom of speech government power media democracy accountability censorship Mood cautious critical concerned Type political analytical warning When to use this quote - journalism - online platforms - political protest - academic research Key Concepts authoritarianism overreach public discourse Questions to Reflect On - Who decides what is “deserving”? - How can societies limit censor overreach? A Different Perspective Vague powers can be abused, leading to self‑censorship and loss of trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Censors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censors/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Free speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-speech/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) ## Related quotes > [“There is no doubt that 'force multipliers' - squad automatic weapons - have changed the character of warfare once again, just as their predecessors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ford/there-is-no-doubt-that-force-multipliers-squad-automatic-weapons-have/) Roger Ford > [Given the prevailing lack of discipline, it would have been impossible to use Congolese machine-gunners to defend the base from air attack: they did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/given-the-prevailing-lack-of-discipline-it-would-have-been-impossible/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [Imagine censors that wouldn't let you sit in a man's lap. I've been in more laps than a napkin!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/imagine-censors-that-wouldn-t-let-you-sit-in-a-man-s-lap-i-ve-been-in/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Advertisers, not governments, are the primary censors of media content in the United States today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-edwin-baker/advertisers-not-governments-are-the-primary-censors-of-media-content/) C. Edwin Baker > [“Too many adults wish to 'protect' teenagers when they should be stimulating them to read of life as it is lived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-a-edwards/too-many-adults-wish-to-protect-teenagers-when-they-should-be/) Margaret A. Edwards > [Shut the door, they're coming through the window, shut the window, they're coming through the door," are the words to an old song. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/shut-the-door-they-re-coming-through-the-window-shut-the-window-they/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Censors are dead men set up to judge between life and death. For no live, sunny man would be a censor, he'd just laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/censors-are-dead-men-set-up-to-judge-between-life-and-death-for-no/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [I have a very serious censorship office inside my head; it censors things that I could tell you that you would never forget, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/i-have-a-very-serious-censorship-office-inside-my-head-it-censors/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [there are lots of would-be censors out there, and although they may have different agendas, they all want basically the same thing: for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-are-lots-of-would-be-censors-out-there-and-although-they-may/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Censorship is not an occupation that attracts intelligent, subtle minds. Censors can and often have been outwitted. But the game of slipping Aesopian messages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/censorship-is-not-an-occupation-that-attracts-intelligent-subtle/) [J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/) > [“The censors of our age do not yet burn books, they attempt to restrict speech in the name of "offense". The tactics may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmine-savastano/the-censors-of-our-age-do-not-yet-burn-books-they-attempt-to-restrict/) [Carmine Savastano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmine-savastano/) > [In conclusion, you can see that there is a place for censors and we only wish that we could tell you where it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/in-conclusion-you-can-see-that-there-is-a-place-for-censors-and-we/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [ \[Censors are\] people with secret attractions to various temptations... They are defending themselves under the pretext of defending others, because at heart they fear… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-jones/censors-are-people-with-secret-attractions-to-various-temptations/) [Ernest Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-jones/) > [“Mainstream features can turn into ventures when you fender their venders and set off their censors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-w-allison/mainstream-features-can-turn-into-ventures-when-you-fender-their/) [Calvin W. Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-w-allison/) > [“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/censors-don-t-want-children-exposed-to-ideas-different-from-their-own/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) ## More by Nick Cohen > [Former lefties can make a good living in the media by attacking their ex-comrades - I'd do it myself if the price was right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cohen/former-lefties-can-make-a-good-living-in-the-media-by-attacking-their/) [Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) > [London is one of the world's centres of Arab journalism and political activism. The failure of left and right, the establishment and its opposition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cohen/london-is-one-of-the-world-s-centres-of-arab-journalism-and-political/) [Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) > [No one is as murderously 'Islamophobic' as Islamists are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cohen/no-one-is-as-murderously-islamophobic-as-islamists-are/) [Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) > [Shallow uniformity is not an accident but a consequence of what Marxists optimistically call late capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cohen/shallow-uniformity-is-not-an-accident-but-a-consequence-of-what/) [Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) > [“The faster you strip cultures down, the more you find contrariness and disputation, rather than a solid core, until eventually you reach the individual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cohen/the-faster-you-strip-cultures-down-the-more-you-find-contrariness-and/) [Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) > [The evidence for man-made global warming is as final as the evidence of Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cohen/the-evidence-for-man-made-global-warming-is-as-final-as-the-evidence/) [Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) > [Antisemitism is unique among religious hatreds. It is a racist conspiracy theory fashioned for the needs of messianic and brutal rulers, as dictators from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cohen/antisemitism-is-unique-among-religious-hatreds-it-is-a-racist/) [Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) > [“Potentially, anyone writing on the Web can reach a global audience. In practice, hardly anyone ever does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cohen/potentially-anyone-writing-on-the-web-can-reach-a-global-audience-in/) [Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) [Explore all 9 Nick Cohen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) ## More Censors quotes > [I enjoy upsetting the right people. I love poking fun at earnest censors. I want to push the bounds of what can be said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/i-enjoy-upsetting-the-right-people-i-love-poking-fun-at-earnest/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/censors-don-t-want-children-exposed-to-ideas-different-from-their-own/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [“Mainstream features can turn into ventures when you fender their venders and set off their censors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-w-allison/mainstream-features-can-turn-into-ventures-when-you-fender-their/) [Calvin W. Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-w-allison/) > [ \[Censors are\] people with secret attractions to various temptations... They are defending themselves under the pretext of defending others, because at heart they fear… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-jones/censors-are-people-with-secret-attractions-to-various-temptations/) [Ernest Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-jones/) > [In conclusion, you can see that there is a place for censors and we only wish that we could tell you where it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/in-conclusion-you-can-see-that-there-is-a-place-for-censors-and-we/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [I turned to historical films because they pass censors more easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiang-wen/i-turned-to-historical-films-because-they-pass-censors-more-easily/) [Jiang Wen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiang-wen/) > [I'm gonna sing those songs that offend the censors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nickelback/i-m-gonna-sing-those-songs-that-offend-the-censors/) Nickelback > [“The censors of our age do not yet burn books, they attempt to restrict speech in the name of "offense". The tactics may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmine-savastano/the-censors-of-our-age-do-not-yet-burn-books-they-attempt-to-restrict/) [Carmine Savastano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmine-savastano/) > [Censorship is not an occupation that attracts intelligent, subtle minds. Censors can and often have been outwitted. But the game of slipping Aesopian messages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/censorship-is-not-an-occupation-that-attracts-intelligent-subtle/) [J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/) > [The worst censors are those prohibiting criticism of the theory of evolution in the classroom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/the-worst-censors-are-those-prohibiting-criticism-of-the-theory-of/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [Freedom of the press is essential to the preservation of a democracy; but there is a difference between freedom and license. Editorialists who tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/freedom-of-the-press-is-essential-to-the-preservation-of-a-democracy/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [there are lots of would-be censors out there, and although they may have different agendas, they all want basically the same thing: for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-are-lots-of-would-be-censors-out-there-and-although-they-may/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I have a very serious censorship office inside my head; it censors things that I could tell you that you would never forget, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/i-have-a-very-serious-censorship-office-inside-my-head-it-censors/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [The people are the only censors of their governors, and even their errors will tend to keep these to the true principles of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-people-are-the-only-censors-of-their-governors-and-even-their/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Censors are dead men set up to judge between life and death. For no live, sunny man would be a censor, he'd just laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/censors-are-dead-men-set-up-to-judge-between-life-and-death-for-no/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) [Browse all 77 Censors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When society gives censors wide and vague powers they never confine themselves to deserving targets. They are not snipers, but machine-gunners. 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