--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Take any country that has laws against…" description: "\"Take any country that has laws against hate crimes, inspiring hatred and genocide and so on. The first thing they would do is ban the Old Testament. Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/noam-chomsky-42_bans_take-any-country-that-has-laws-against-h_2148551.jpg" --- # Take any country that has laws against hate crimes… ![“Take any country that has laws against hate crimes, inspiring hatred and genocide and so on. The first thing they would do is ban the Old Testament. There's nothing like it in the literary canon that exalts genocide, to that extent. And it's not a joke either. Like where I live, New England, the…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/noam-chomsky-42_bans_take-any-country-that-has-laws-against-h_2148551.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/noam-chomsky-42_bans_take-any-country-that-has-laws-against-h_2148551.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/noam-chomsky-42_bans_take-any-country-that-has-laws-against-h_2148551.jpg) > “Take any country that has laws against hate crimes, inspiring hatred and genocide and so on. The first thing they would do is ban the Old Testament. There's nothing like it in the literary canon that exalts genocide, to that extent. And it's not a joke either. Like where I live, New England, the people who liberated it from the native scourge were religious fundamentalist lunatics, who came waving the holy book, declaring themselves to be the children of Israel who are killing the Amalekites, like God told them.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Banning religious texts to prevent hate overlooks that literature can contain violent narratives, and suppression may conflict with free speech principles. **In simple terms:** Banning books isn’t the solution to hate. Key Takeaway Protect free expression, address hate through education. Themes free speech hate literature ethics Mood critical concerned analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - school curricula - public policy debates - media literacy programs - community dialogues Key Concepts censorship moral responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What alternative ways can societies curb hate without censorship? - How can education address extremist interpretations? A Different Perspective Suppression may drive ideas underground, making them harder to counter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bans/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Canon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canon/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Declaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/declaring/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [Exalts Genocide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exalts-genocide-4506792/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Fundamentalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentalist/) [Genocide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genocide/) [Genocide Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genocide-thing-3458129/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Hate crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate-crime/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Hatred Genocide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred-genocide-4506791/) [Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy/) [Holy books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-books/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-hate-1076485/) [Liberated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberated/) [Native](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native/) [New england](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-england/) [Old testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-testament/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Scourge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scourge/) [Testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testament/) ## Related quotes > [I am arguing that it is a mistake for trans activists to focus our resources and attention on winning inclusion in legal equality frameworks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/i-am-arguing-that-it-is-a-mistake-for-trans-activists-to-focus-our/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [“Representations of pre-Color humans stand beside casualty statistics. One hundred and ten million died for Gold to rule. Then their bombers dropped solocene into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/representations-of-pre-color-humans-stand-beside-casualty-statistics/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“There are laws of hate in the universe, shaping even its loves, and it is time I made them work for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/there-are-laws-of-hate-in-the-universe-shaping-even-its-loves-and-it/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [Laws on hate speech and hate crimes do important work in a world that has been rooted in racism and bigotry since the inception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deray-mckesson/laws-on-hate-speech-and-hate-crimes-do-important-work-in-a-world-that/) [DeRay Mckesson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deray-mckesson/) > [I'm not so out of touch that I don't see how young people interact today.It was horrific. And that's an example of something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-m-not-so-out-of-touch-that-i-don-t-see-how-young-people-interact/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Discrimination, hate crime and worse are widespread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-mordaunt/discrimination-hate-crime-and-worse-are-widespread/) [Penny Mordaunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-mordaunt/) > [“Human and hate cannot coexist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/human-and-hate-cannot-coexist/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“The doctrine that only whites can be racist is, in fact, itself an instigation to hate crimes. It is a doctrine that has already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/the-doctrine-that-only-whites-can-be-racist-is-in-fact-itself-an/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [“It has happened that a group of autistics, who were considered radical by many, attempted to petition the United Nations to recognize autistics as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-d-taylor/it-has-happened-that-a-group-of-autistics-who-were-considered-radical/) [Thomas D. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-d-taylor/) > [Hate crime and hate speech must not be tolerated. Our policy and lawmakers and those who uphold the law must protect the most vulnerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-burke/hate-crime-and-hate-speech-must-not-be-tolerated-our-policy-and/) [Sinead Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-burke/) > [Hate crime is not new in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/hate-crime-is-not-new-in-the-united-states/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [Number one, it is absolutely critical that we tone down the rhetoric when it comes to the immigration debate, because there has been an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/number-one-it-is-absolutely-critical-that-we-tone-down-the-rhetoric/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Civil Sanity (Sonnet 1631) You know what the problem is! We question love more than we question hate. We question humility more than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/civil-sanity-sonnet-1631-you-know-what-the-problem-is-we-question/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [If you hit minorities they're gonna blame conservatives, Second Amendment, guns, and the terrorists won't get their due credit. So from now on acts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/if-you-hit-minorities-they-re-gonna-blame-conservatives-second/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [People are just afraid of things too much … Sure, evil exists, extremism exists. Somebody could commit a hate crime and hurt me. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/people-are-just-afraid-of-things-too-much-sure-evil-exists-extremism/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Bans quotes > [ Ben Carson also denounced \[Donald\] Trump's ban all Muslims proposal saying we do not and would not advocate being selective on one's religion. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/ben-carson-also-denounced-donald-trump-s-ban-all-muslims-proposal/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [Why dost thou shrink from my approach, O Man? Why dost thou ever flee in fear, and cling To my false rival, Life? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/why-dost-thou-shrink-from-my-approach-o-man-why-dost-thou-ever-flee/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Art penetrates, no matter how many bans you put out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mawra-hocane/art-penetrates-no-matter-how-many-bans-you-put-out/) [Mawra Hocane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mawra-hocane/) > [The American people intuitively understand this, which is why the majority of Catholics practice birth control and some of those opposed to gay marriage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-american-people-intuitively-understand-this-which-is-why-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In every state of the Union, Fundamentalists still fight to ban all the science they dislike and prosecute all who teach it. To them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/in-every-state-of-the-union-fundamentalists-still-fight-to-ban-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [My argument is focused on the fact that a relatively small percentage of the world's Muslim countries are impacted by this order. Stated differently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-rivkin/my-argument-is-focused-on-the-fact-that-a-relatively-small-percentage/) [David B. Rivkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-rivkin/) > [It is cruel for you to leave your daughter, so full of hopeand resolve, to suffer the humiliations of disfranchisement she already feels so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/it-is-cruel-for-you-to-leave-your-daughter-so-full-of-hopeand-resolve/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Banning guns, drugs, alcohol, premarital sex, political incorrectness, and gay marriage hasn't worked. We should ban Life. So long as even one of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/banning-guns-drugs-alcohol-premarital-sex-political-incorrectness-and/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [The most damaging prejudice consists of banning any kind of investigation of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-most-damaging-prejudice-consists-of-banning-any-kind-of/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida's ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held \[as views of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lewis-hinkle/when-observers-look-back-50-years-from-now-the-arguments-supporting/) [Robert Lewis Hinkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lewis-hinkle/) > [The bill would ban human cloning, and any attempts at human cloning, for both reproductive purposes and medical research. Also forbidden is the importing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-calvert/the-bill-would-ban-human-cloning-and-any-attempts-at-human-cloning/) [Ken Calvert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-calvert/) > [We should totally ban for-profit charters. For-profit's first obligation is to its stockholders, not to its children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ravitch/we-should-totally-ban-for-profit-charters-for-profit-s-first/) [Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ravitch/) > [I have been asked what would I ban immediately if I could. Advertising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/i-have-been-asked-what-would-i-ban-immediately-if-i-could-advertising/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) > [Lacking its own ingenuity, the parasite fears the visionary. What it cannot plagiarize, it seeks to censor. What it cannot regulate, it seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ryan/lacking-its-own-ingenuity-the-parasite-fears-the-visionary-what-it/) [Andrew Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ryan/) [Browse all 318 Bans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Take any country that has laws against hate crimes, inspiring hatred and genocide and so on. The first thing they would do is ban the Old Testament. There's nothing like it in the literary canon that exalts genocide, to that extent. And it's not a joke either. Like where I live, New England, the people who liberated it from the native scourge were religious fundamentalist lunatics, who came waving the holy book, declaring themselves to be the children of Israel who are killing the Amalekites, like God told them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/take-any-country-that-has-laws-against-hate-crimes-inspiring-hatred/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/take-any-country-that-has-laws-against-hate-crimes-inspiring-hatred/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/noam-chomsky-42_bans_take-any-country-that-has-laws-against-h_2148551.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/noam-chomsky-42_bans_take-any-country-that-has-laws-against-h_2148551.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/noam-chomsky-42_bans_take-any-country-that-has-laws-against-h_2148551.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Take any country that has laws against hate crimes, inspiring hatred and genocide and so on. 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